Matthew 11-12

[wolfpurplemoon]

John the Baptist is in prison but sends his own followers to find out what this Jesus guy is all about, and whether he's for real. Jesus says to tell John that he's healing all sorts of people, and also tells everyone that John is Elijah. Jesus also says that the people don't like John because he doesn't socialise, and they don't like Jesus because he'll socialise with just about anyone.

Jesus then tells a couple of cities where he healed some people that he's really disappointed in them for not following him yet, they will get the same treatment as cities that were destroyed for their sin in the Old Testament if they don't wise up.

That didn't sound like it was going to go well for a moment, Jesus invites the people to come and rest because they are weary and burdened, he then tells them to carry his yoke, but luckily he then clarifies that his yoke is easy to carry and not heavy.

Jesus justifies breaking the rules of the Sabbath, apparently some other people did it before in the OT and they were fine, his accusers also say that it is illegal to heal people on the Sabbath, but he does it anyway so they go and plot his death. Jesus starts laying low, while being followed by crowds, healing people and telling them not to let anyone know he's there.

So they accuse him of being able to cast out demons because he has power from a demonic source (Sam from Supernatural anyone?), Jesus says this is ridiculous because Satan wouldn't cast out Satan (I dunno, if a demon was trying to get people to follow it for nefarious means he might cast out a few of his friends to appear good).

Oh the verse that was the premise for The Blasphemy Challenge from a few years ago, Matthew 12:32, denying the power of the holy spirit (like these people who claim that he's using demonic power and not the power of the holy spirit) is totally and forever unforgivable, um, oops!

Jesus' incredibly black and white view of humanity means that he sees people as either evil or good and says that nothing good could come from an 'evil' person. I don't think it's as simple as that.

Jesus rejects his mother and brothers when they come to see him, he prefers his disciples to his blood family, because they do the will of God.

Comments

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

Jesus is now preaching and traveling without the twelve. John the Baptist's disciples come to see him and to verify that he is the Messiah. They were somewhat confused because the prevailing line of thinking of the Jews was that the Messiah would be a king in the political sense. They saw Jesus as a preacher, perhaps a prophet, but they were expecting a warrior, a hero, nobility, etc.
Jesus speaks well of John as a prophet and the prophesied messenger that would prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus uses the metaphor of Elijah, who was considered the greatest prophet of the Jews, to describe John.
Jesus then talks about the people of who aren't satisfied with John or Jesus. They claim that John had a demon in him because he fasted, they claim that Jesus is a drunkard and a sinner because he was a friend of sinners because he didn't fast. Jesus says that one can discern the truth by what people do (e.g. John talked about repentance from sin and baptized people, hardly the actions of someone demon-possessed; Jesus healed people and helped people, hardly the actions of a sinner).
Jesus rebukes the towns (a generalization) who witnessed miracles but did not accept that they were from God, nor did they return to worship of God. Much as occurred in the Old Testament, and even today, there were those who simply chose not to believe regardless of the evidence put in front of them.
Jesus then prays in thanksgiving (a different prayer than in Matthew 6 for those who thought there was only one acceptable prayer). He thanks God for sharing the news with ordinary people and not just "the elite" (the educated, religious, royal, etc.; if the Messiah had come as a king, he wouldn't likely have talked with commoners according to customs of the day).
The burden Jesus speaks of is sin. Everyone struggles with sin whether they admit it or not. It is a burden that people cannot get out from under because it brings guilt, fear, hopelessness, etc. People of Jesus' day tried to live according to the Law and its restrictions and to avoid sin, and then had to work harder to earn enough for their sacrifice for redemption of their sin. Jesus is saying that he offers a better path (more on this later).