Wednesday 1 May 2013

Wednesday Reading: Mark 1:21-22

Key Verse: Mark 1:22
22  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

Devotion:
I can remember some of my classes back in school and the teachers that tried to teach me too (it wasn’t that long ago!) The ‘best’ teachers were those who were able to engage me in dialog or in what they were saying and doing; they gained my attention and they fed me in amounts that I could absorb that also made me want to go and find out more. And then there were the others who sent me to sleep so that I ended up getting into trouble once again!

When Jesus was preaching in Galilee, specifically in Capernaum in this instance, He taught in a different way to the scribes. I imagine the scribes as being like those teachers that would send me to sleep… Yes they had a whole lot to say and what they were saying was very important in their own eyes; but that did not make it right in God’s eyes or even right at all! Jesus taught the people what they needed to know and He made sure that everything He taught was the truth as He knew it and not as someone else had theorized or made up. Jesus taught with authority because He knows the truth!

Jesus taught people about repentance and about our Blessed Redeemer. They did not understand it at first because Christ was still there teaching and preaching; but when the time came for Him to be offered up as our sacrifice, He willingly stepped up and took His place in our stead! Jesus did many things that people thought were wrong because of the lies that they had believed in for many years…

We do not have to put up with lies and theories; we can stand up for the truth and even tell others about that same truth. Each of us has a choice as to whether we want to believe in that truth but our position in life is to be diligent with what we know as the truth. If we learn theories then we need to teach them as theories until we find out the truth, not teach them as the truth until someone can prove them wrong. Jesus came forward and preached the truth because He knew it was the truth to begin with. It went against what many people believed, but He was diligent in spreading the truth. Spreading lies and gossip is going to corrupt and break down society instead of bringing it together like Christ teaches us to.

Points to Ponder:
Do you spread gossip?

Do you teach the truth with authority?