We see Jesus preaching in the places where his disciples were raised. This would make sense in that traveling rabbis would need a place to stay on the road and the disciples would have families that would accommodate them.
But it seems that not even this familiarity helped these towns to turn toward greater faithfulness. We are reminded of the human condition - that it is often hard to get us off dead center. We may find ourselves attracted to the flashy - such as the miraculous things Jesus was doing - but when it comes to actual change, we have difficulty letting the impressions lead us toward any significant repentance.
Evidently, people did take offense at Jesus and his teaching along his preaching tour. We see the difference between the ministries of John the Baptizer and Jesus. John was an ascetic living out in the wilderness who fasted regularly. Jesus feasted regularly in the cities he visited. The accusation of being a glutton and a drunkard would be more serious than it sounds at first glance. The fate of this kind of son in Deuteronomy 21:20 was death by stoning.
But we see that the real punishment comes to those who do take offense at Jesus or at a minimum, refuse to repent of their behavior.
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Maybe a little more gentleness and humility will keep us from taking offense at Jesus.
Prayer for the day:
O Savior, meek and lowly of heart, let not our pride refuse your bidding, to become as little children, in joy and simplicity, in trustfulness one toward another, in lowliness of heart; and by this your own glory, bring us unto ours; for your majesty and your mercy's sake. Amen.
Prayer by Eric Milner-White, Church of England, 20th Century
Photo by patchattack via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
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