Disaster, that old imposter, humbled John the Baptist. Triumph, that old imposter, humbled Elijah the prophet.
In this Finale, consider Jesus. He met both the imposters with an equanimity that defied their ability to sidetrack him into either depressive or manic behavior. To appreciate that, we must understand the burden God imposed on Jesus when he came, the cost he paid from his first recorded awareness of his mission Luke 2:49. (Though we can’t honestly determine exactly when he KNEW his destiny, Mark 10:45, but at least by age 12.) We can fairly say that his awareness of the Cross shadowed him throughout his ministry. He came to die. He intended to die. He fixed his mind on the Cross. He never deviated from dying on the Cross. The severest challenges to his intention came at the start of his ministry, Matthew 4:1-11, and at the end, Luke 22:39-46. And, as a human being, he LONGED to have it completed for the JOY that followed. That’s why Hebrews 12:2 never fails to challenge us with Christ’s priority in daily life. Hebrews 11 records the successes of earlier believers to serve God. But after mentioning all that space allowed the writer, he insisted that Christians “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith”, 11:2a, b. On Jesus, not on the heroes of faith, since only his example overcame the Doubt that humbled the Baptist, the Success that humbled Elijah and the innumerable sins that humble all of us. If we have them, any ONE else, or any PURPOSE as our model for life, we’re certain to fall into the temptation to fault God or doubt our ability to continue in faith. If we fix our attention on Jesus, we escape all sins by the Perfection in God’s will that Jesus embodied. We dare not try to fathom the Master’s suffering in Gethsemane. We can only stand afar and wonder at its majesty. We can, with reservations, appreciate his DESIRE to celebrate the last Passover with the Eleven Luke 22:15a, because you “stood by me in my trials” Luke 22:28. Of which we have no clue, other than the rejection everywhere facing him. For how could those men have received such commendation, having failed him so much? Only the Grace of God could be so kind. But then, the Grace of God we experience in forgiveness, patience, mercy, kindness and compassion empowers us to be generous with the Eleven. End Part III And now, guys, this may be the Finale. Or I may write one more part. V
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