Imagine a place in which dwelt people who enjoyed living under the care and teachings of civic and religious leaders. These leaders invested their lives in tedious study of the law which had been passed down generation to generation for centuries. As a matter of fact, they had continuously added further explanation to the law by adding amendments and corrections, which came to include hundreds of explanatory notations which, in reality, caused more confusion than clarity. But, the people tried to live up to the law – both the original as well as the amendments and additions.

After hundreds of years of striving to live by the teachings of their leaders, it was all of a sudden discovered that a stranger had come into their land. He came with strange teachings that did not seem to be in alignment with what they had been taught. He didn’t really contradict their teachings, but rather he gave them what he described as the true meaning of the laws which had been passed down generation to generation.

Multitudes were intrigued by this man and his teachings and explanations. They were mesmerized by his ability to teach with such clarity and eloquence. Yet, they were confused because his teachings were in many ways so revolutionary. He certainly had some interesting ideas, but could they really trust this man? After all, they didn’t even know where he was from!

Things began to quickly change when he confronted the civic and religious leaders over what he referred to as their hypocrisy. First of all, he denounced them personally because they were placing such heavy demands on the people while not living up to those demands themselves. Second, he said the leaders had replaced the sincere teachings of the law with their own traditions and were weighing the people down with their excessive legalistic burdens.

The leaders began to plot and scheme, devising plans by which they hoped to silence this man who had become such a nuisance. He was causing such dissension in the minds of so many of their constituents, and they felt as if their persuasive hold over the people was beginning to erode.

So, they came up with a scheme which would prove fatal to this newcomer. They persuaded some to bring false testimony against him, accuse him of treason, and have him executed. Which they did. He was sentenced to death because they rejected his message of truth.

This fictional story of an imaginary town doesn’t do justice to the story of Jesus as it unfolds in the pages of the New Testament, but I hope that it shows us just how difficult it would have been for the people of Jesus’ day to embrace His teachings in the backdrop of what they had been taught for hundreds of years by their leaders. It was a radical, revolutionary message that Jesus brought. He was calling for them to renounce the false teachings of those leaders they had been following and trusting for so long. He was calling for them to place their faith and trust in Him, the One to whom the Old Testament prophets had pointed, and the one of whom John the Baptist said, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

As we come to celebrate another Thanksgiving Day, let us be thankful for the coming of our Lord, bringing light and life to those living in darkness and spiritual death. And as Thanksgiving ushers us into the frenzied Christmas season, let us remember to take time to reflect on the magnitude of God’s grace and love which reached out to sinful man with such majesty as we see in the story of the coming of the Messiah.

We will delve deeper into this story in my next post. But for the next few days, please take time to give consideration to how difficult it must have been for the people of Jesus’ day to embrace His teachings, and how difficult it continues to be for many who are living lives and lifestyles, embracing worldly philosophies and practices, which must be repented of in order to enter into a true and sincere relationship with God through Jesus Christ the Lord.

Until next time:

Blessings