The Christmas story is literally crammed full of powerful lessons. I encourage you in the few days left leading up to Christmas to spend time reading the Christmas story (Matthew 1:1 – 2:23, Luke 1:1 – 2:40, John 1:1 – 18). Quiet yourself and everything around you, read through the narrative, and let God teach you some of the compelling lessons. During the weeks before Christmas, I’ve been blogging about some of those teachings. Here’s the last message:
JESUS IS RADICALLY DIVISIVE
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him... Matthew 2:3
We tend to think of Jesus as nice, safe and passive. But Herod heard the news of the birth of a “king” and shook in his boots. So did the religious establishment. Rightly so. This is the same “king” who dumped tables over in the Temple, referred to the religious elite as a “brood of vipers”, and said, “Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). Jesus knew the truth of the gospel would divide the world. It is as true today as it has always been.
Which Jesus do you know? A passive, safe Jesus that exists primarily to meet your needs and make you comfortable? Or the real Jesus that is the “way, truth and the life” (John 14:6)?
Ryan Smallwood
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