30 March 2010
Psalm 6, 12; Lam. 1:17-22; 2 Cor. 1:8-22; Mark 11:27-33

Jerusalem is personified as reaching out her arms to her neighbors only to find they have become enemies and calling to her lovers, her allies and the nations whose gods have wooed her away from Yahweh, and seeing that they have deceived her. In the midst of her punishment and judgment from Yahweh she finds that all she expected to comfort her have become more pain to her. The prophet makes no pretense of unfair judgment, confessing the sins of the nation as deserving of punishment and now pronounces judgment on those who look on in scorn as she is laid bare. In all of this misery, however, the cry for help is to the Lord alone, dependent on the merciful lovingkindness of the God who has brought on this destruction.

How many times has Jesus been clear about His authority to do as He has done? The Pharisees aren’t looking for information, they are simply trying to get Him to say something that they can then turn into a trial. Jesus, however, turns the tables on them with His question about John. They understand the dilemma well but they refuse to make a statement. The scene proves that their hearts are far from God. They know that if they say John is from God there are implications for them because he spoke against them and if they tell the truth about what they believe then the people will turn on them because it was John who the people had heard and believed. They need the people if they are going to be able to do anything about Jesus. They are refusing to believe rather than give up their power and position. Their hearts are hardened like Pharaoh’s, seeing the people only as objects.

Paul is living proof that God specializes in softening hard hearts. We should never give up praying for those whose hearts are hard towards the Lord. Paul persecuted the church, was present and approved the stoning of Stephen for his testimony concerning Jesus, and yet gave his life for the mission of spreading the Good News to the gentiles. Here he says that his work isn’t motivated by or carried out via human wisdom but simply by grace. Paul understood grace better than any man who has ever lived, and perhaps exalted Jesus more than any man. He knew what unbelief was and He knew the price of unbelief and once he believed he became a man whose one mission in life was to share the Gospel of the grace of God to all who would listen. Have you been in the grip of that grace lately? It is a powerful thing to see a man or woman in that grip.

The words of the LORD are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.