Jesus confers his authority to the disciples. At first, the mission was a house mission. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Hence, gifts are not to be owned, but to be shared. In the face of persecution the disciples are to be shrewd, as wise as serpents, but yet as harmless as doves. They are to trust in times of crisis, to remember Jesus, the Christ, to live courageously. Jesus praises John the Baptist as a forerunner, he, to rejected for his messages of repentance. Jesus offers the people, not a yoke of law, but a yoke of love, of meek servitude. He meets with opposition over plucking grain on the Sabbath, for healing on the Sabbath, where upon he raises the issue of law versus life. In describing his new family, Jesus makes known that God’s claims are sovereign over even the dearest human claims; and that the spiritual bond between disciples of the kingdom is paramount over even blood bonds. These must have been consoling words for those who had been disowned by their families because of the new faith. So, too, is it consoling for those today who strive to become who they were meant to be at the risk of being disowned by their biological families.
Jesus confers his authority to the disciples. At first, the mission was a house mission. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” Hence, gifts are not to be owned, but to be shared. In the face of persecution the disciples are to be shrewd, as wise as serpents, but yet as harmless as doves. They are to trust in times of crisis, to remember Jesus, the Christ, to live courageously. Jesus praises John the Baptist as a forerunner, he, to rejected for his messages of repentance. Jesus offers the people, not a yoke of law, but a yoke of love, of meek servitude. He meets with opposition over plucking grain on the Sabbath, for healing on the Sabbath, where upon he raises the issue of law versus life. In describing his new family, Jesus makes known that God’s claims are sovereign over even the dearest human claims; and that the spiritual bond between disciples of the kingdom is paramount over even blood bonds. These must have been consoling words for those who had been disowned by their families because of the new faith. So, too, is it consoling for those today who strive to become who they were meant to be at the risk of being disowned by their biological families.
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