Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17)
The Hebrew scriptures offer us an incredible witness to the fidelity of God and Jesus is the human incarnation of such faithfulness. Jesus comes to fulfill and embody God's promised faithfulness to the people, even when the people fail to keep up their end of the bargain.
As he stands before the people, Jesus claims that he is the fulfillment of God's commitment to the human experience. He comes to be the bridge between the old and the new, between heaven and earth, between life and death, between sin and grace.
What I have so often found particularly amazing about Jesus is that you cannot put him in a nice neat box. He is loving and gracious, yet he is also harsh and dismissive. He is strong-willed, yet he allows others to subdue him. He embraces the law, yet also interprets it anew. He welcomes sinners and outcasts, yet he is the ultimate insider.
Perhaps what Jesus teaches us most is that simple and easy answers are not the way God does things. Instead, Jesus calls us to a discipleship that will be messy, yet blessed. Like our world. Like ourselves.
Loving Jesus, guide us into the beautiful paradox of your life. Amen.
What I have so often found particularly amazing about Jesus is that you cannot put him in a nice neat box. He is loving and gracious, yet he is also harsh and dismissive. He is strong-willed, yet he allows others to subdue him. He embraces the law, yet also interprets it anew. He welcomes sinners and outcasts, yet he is the ultimate insider.
Perhaps what Jesus teaches us most is that simple and easy answers are not the way God does things. Instead, Jesus calls us to a discipleship that will be messy, yet blessed. Like our world. Like ourselves.
Loving Jesus, guide us into the beautiful paradox of your life. Amen.
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