Jesus our Model

(This is a series of essays on various teachings of LORD/Jesus other than Sermon on the Mount, and on how Jesus lived his life on Earth.)

Miscellaneous Topics (1)

A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!

Jesus : But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates,

'We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.'

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds. [Mt 11:16-19]
(Note : Criticism of various sorts are common. We should not be strayed by them, but we should exercise care and judgement and prayer at all times - Is it according to TRUTH ? Is it right in the sight of LORD or wrong ? Is it lawful ? .... and act according to TRUTH. We SHOULD NOT be easily persuaded into errors/false precepts.)

Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known

Jesus : A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known [Mt 10:24-26].
(Note : False accusation is common. First we should search our heart to see if we have actually done that wrong, and if so, then humble ourselves and confess our sins and make amends and apologize if possible. If not, offer explanation and try to convince them we have not done that wrong. Last of all, endure patiently, and wait - the truth will come out one day. There is a Chinese saying, "when the water subsides, the rock will come out", , meaning, some day in the future, people will know the truth, and there is no worry for the false accusation.)

Jesus : Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. [Luke 12:1-2]
(Note : True to everyone of us too! Therefore we should not do bad things and think the world cannot see us.)

Bear Fruit
Do not fall back into former errors

Jesus : A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, "Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?" And he answered him, "Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down." [Luke 13:6-9]

Jesus' word to the church in Laodicea :
I know your works : you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. [Rev 3:15-19]
(Note: In Chinese, there is a saying : "learning" is like a boat in a river, if one does not keep going forward, one will gradually fall backward. )

Jesus : When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none. Then he says, "I will return to my house from which I came." And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation. [Mt 12:43-45]
(Note : we were all in sins before we repent. But after repentance, those past habits would still come back. We must RESIST, holding fast the teachings of LORD and of Jesus, "if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out ...". If we are overcome by those sins again, being overpowered by those evil spirits, our latter state would be much worse than before. But if we always do the teachings of LORD and of Jesus, the "spirit of TRUTH" will be in our heart, and we can resist such evil spirits.
"Spirit of TRUTH" may be understood when we consider "Spirit of St. Louis" - the spirit of those people who supported Lindbergh in his flight over Atlantic, "Spirit of Miami" - the spirit of people in Florida who sank ships to provide home for fish in Florida, etc.)

Jesus : You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. [Mt 5:13]

Faith

[Luke 7:1-10]
Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue." And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me : and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he marvelled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.
(Note : There are numerous angels helping LORD to manage the whole universe, although the angels are invisible to our eyes. The angels are to uphold LORD's Laws. Therefore, if we haven't broken LORD's Laws, but keep His Laws, LORD will bless us and his angels will help us.)

Sound eye Vs evil eye

Jesus : The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! [Mt 6:22-23]
(Note : "Evil eye" means "evil will, cursing, jealousy, fault-finding" against our neighbour. If we have such attitude, we will be in darkness.
But if we have the eye of LORD : "merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving, jealous against iniquity/evil", then we will be full of light.
There are numerous other things that may blind our eyes : bribe ([Ex. 23:8] And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right), great hatred and iniquity ([Hosea 9:7] The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred.)
Last of all, we should use our eye - careful observation is vital to forming correct judgement.)

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