Magi or Religious Lawyer?

As I was reading the beginning of Matthew again I was struck by the contrast between the magi and the "people's chief priests and teachers of the law" (religious lawyers). Here are a couple of differences:
1. The Magi knew prophecy and followed the prophetic "star" of "the King of the Jews"
2. The Magi came from the East = far away to worship
3. The Magi to worship the King in Jerusalem or at least ask the leaders there where he was
4. The Magi went on to Bethlehem and completed their mission

1. The religious lawyers knew what was written in the prophets
2. The religious lawyers remained there in Jerusalem and did not go to Bethlehem
3. The religious lawyers must have seen the star but did not translate current events spiritually/prophetically
4. The religious lawyers stayed in Jerusalem and completed their mission

What would have happened if:
1. The religious lawyers did more than just read the Scriptures to know it but to follow it?
2. The religious lawyers interpreted the signs of the times and current events?
3. The religious lawyers got excited about the Magi's visit, interpretation, and wisdom enough to follow them to Bethlehem?
4. The religious leaders influenced King Herod more than he influenced them?

The Magi followed the Scriptural Star in faith and they got there--to where the star was leading--to Jesus.
The religious lawyers followed nothing. They knew Scripture but somehow that was enough for them. And they got nowhere.

Perhaps this is what Jesus was referring to when he made the statement, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." (John 5:39-40).

"Just Thinking About Jesus"

I was wondering today about how I could start meaningful, spiritual conversations with others whom I know are not Christians but perhaps once were. I wondered how I would come across if I was deep in thought and he or she asked me, "What are you so deep in thought about?" and I replied, "I was just thinking about Jesus." I wouldn't want it to be annoying, just bridging. I was reading over an article adapted from The Evangelism Study Bible, that explored responding to people who have had a bad experience with Christianity. I found their five reminders worth repeating and good for keeping in the back of your mind, once practiced in your "holy imagination" (aka, spiritual reflection). 1. Don't be defensive. Remembering that it isn't so much that you do not agree, but HOW you disagree that will stick in their minds when they walk away. Take into yourself their comments as if you were the one who did them wrong and then reflect it back to the...

What if Metallica Came to YOUR Church?

A reaction to John Van Sloten's, The Day Metallica Came To Church: Searching For The Everywhere God in Everything , 2010. This book caused me to rethink some of my foundational theologies, specifically Creation and the Fall. If God created us in His image and declared His creation as ‘very good’, what consequences did the sin of Adam and Eve have upon us? How deep does it go? I have some very strong thinking patterns that hold everything as either good or bad, God’s or Satan’s, black or white. This either/or (dualistic?) outlook doesn’t leave room for the mysterious. But what if all of these things were meant to lead me to something more? What if I always stopped short because I was led to believe that when I came to a certain point I had arrived—mission complete--stop here and move on to another subject? And what if that wasn't true? I was challenged by the thought of how God speaks to us outside of the Bible. I have believed that God speaks to me through many things (...

Are Teens Living an Avatar Existence in our Matrix World?

What if teens today are living out their lives in a somewhat Matrix existence? A false reality where the "adult world" that is seen and lived in by adults is participated in by their sending a 'surrogate avatar' out into it everyday while their 'real body' is kept in an underground world. This makes sense. The world the next generation has been handed by adults of the past 2-3 generations has not been a very safe one at all. What is seen on the outside is never the "real"--it hasn't been the real in the former generations for decades! All that is cared about is the self--and we have become very adept at self-preservation. But I wonder if this isn't just a deception of the Enemy? If we are creating a lifestyle of fake-living, how can the next generation be real? They would be cast to the sidelines until they wised up on how to live with us--in a fake, covered up manner. But learned they have! 2 nd life living among our teens is n...

NextGenKent

Search This Blog