First this comment about his teaching:
They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. (Mark 1:21-22)I've often wondered about this but I think the simplest explanation is that he didn't really refer to other teachers or authorities he simply spoke about what he knows...first hand.
Next I notice how important prayer is to Jesus:
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)I notice that, while Jesus is all about grace and forgiveness, he never shies away from teaching the truth about condemnation. We love John 3:16&17 because those verses tell us that Jesus came because of his love for the world and his desire to forgive and therefore save the world. But immediately after John 3:16&17 comes John 3:18...
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." (John 3:18)I notice Jesus willingness to talk to ALL people...even a Samaritan woman...with a messed up past. He may have been the first Jewish person to accept her and the rest of the people who lived there. And it's not that he accepted their ways...he accepted them and taught them the truth. Accepting them didn't mean he agreed with them. Somehow he was able to teach them the truth in a way that didn't continue the ancient divisiveness but in a way that built bridges. We need to learn how to do this.
Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:39-42)We begin to see how the Jewish leaders rationalize their persecution of Jesus. He had just healed a man...on the Sabbath...which broke one of their rules...
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. (John 5: 16-18)Jesus says this about those Jewish leaders...I pray he never says it about me...
"You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39-40)But the Jews will be judged by the standard they choose. I wonder if this isn't universally true. Of all the ways people use to come to God, Jesus is the only one that offers grace and forgiveness. If we choose any other way to God we will be judged...but it won't be Jesus who judges us...we'll be judged by our own choices. Jesus doesn't judge, he forgives...if we choose him...
“But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set." (John 5:45)
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