Day 224: Tension over Jesus

John 7:25-52; 1 Chronicles 29; Zechariah 13

In these few verses, the tension about Jesus definitely picks up. Jesus tells everyone that he is the provider of life-giving water. He challenges the people and they are divided about who he is. It's the same today. People are divided because of their differences in opinion about who Jesus is. Some are divided because it is their opinion, others because they have studied scripture, but either way, Jesus' presence cannot be ignored.

Secondly, the high priests in this story are truly ridiculous. They send guards to arrest Jesus and when they report back without him, they scoff at the guards. They brag that "Not one of the chief priests or Pharisees has faith in him." That's not shocking considering that Jesus goes against everything they stand for like self-righteousness, personal gain, and legalism. What's sad is that they go on to say that "these people who don't know the Law are under God's curse anyway." They have the perspective that everyone else who is not a priest or Pharisee is worthless and their spiritual soul doesn't matter. That is absolutely unacceptable. "Church people" aren't the only ones that matter in God's eyes; in fact, Jesus puts down these very "churchy" people quite often. The scriptures are filled with love and compassion for those who don't know the Law: outcasts, sinners, widows, orphans, and prostitutes. These are the ones who know they need a savior, and while Jesus did come for everyone, these are the people who will draw near to him and drink of that life-giving water that he talks about.

God chose one of the youngest and most inexperienced to not only be king after David, but to build his holy temple. Why? Because God likes to prove his power by using a little to do a lot. And I love David's song of worship after they collected tons (literally) of gifts for the temple:

"But why should we be happy that we have given you these gifts? They belong to you and we have only given back what is already yours. We are only foreigners living here on earth for a while, just as our ancestors were. And we will soon be gone, like a shadow that suddenly disappears...Always make us eager to give, and help us to be faithful to you." David points out that they were so excited to give gifts to The Lord. Some people would ask, "why are they excited to give their money away?" David answers that question: because it all belongs to The Lord anyway, and to give it back to him as a sign of worship is an awesome thing to do. Secondly, why do earthly things matter? Collecting wealth for ourselves is silly because we are just here a moment and then we die, so what is the point of hanging on to this stuff? We should give it back to God where it can be multiplied and used better than if we keep it.

Reading that God will take care of any false prophets is so encouraging to me. One of the things that frustrates me most are people who teach false things about salvation and Jesus. If people would read the Bible, they would likely be less deceived, but nonetheless, these false prophets are still able to attract followers. God will deal with them in the proper time, and for that I'm thankful.

The last part of this chapter in Zechariah sounds like God is striking down such a false prophet, or the anti-Christ. He then goes on to wipe out two-thirds of the population and then purifies the rest. Wow, that's a tragedy, two-thirds dead. However, those that remain will be tested (not fun) and purified so that they will worship The Lord completely. God is in complete control and has the power to do amazing and terrible things. I pray that should that time come in our lifetime that we would be as ready as we can to live, die, and serve The Lord.