Greetings siblings
I pray you are well. This has been a challenging season for many, and it may be hard to stay focused on Y’shua Jesus. If that is you, I assure you – Y’shua understands and is ready to help us get back in track whenever we say the word. Now, let’s get something straight, please don’t confuse understanding with condoning. To condone suggests agreement with our acceptance of an action, one that is not positive; to understand, however, is to grasp the underlying issues for the action. So, Y’shua understood Peter’s denial. He did not condone it. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Matthew 16:13, 15 NIV
[13] When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”…
[15] “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
The Comparison
In trying times, when we are able to see Y’shua as Lord, we access more of Heaven than we could imagine. In the background to our Nougat, we find that it was another interrogation day with Y’shua’s detractors, the Pharisees. This time, they needed proof of Y’shua’s divinity. Y’shua summarily put them in their place and continued to teach the disciples.
With the Pharisees still on His mind, Y’shua warned them against the leaven of the Pharisees. He was still in teacher mode; but the disciples, facing the crisis of no food (having forgotten to purchase bread for the day), were panicking that Y’shua would chastise them. They missed the point completely!
Self-Check
Have we ever misunderstood Y’shua because we were sidetracked? How did we realize that we’d missed a point Y’shua was making in our lives?
Application
Y’shua understood the disciples’ quandary. Nevertheless, He didn’t condone their actions, especially given their time with Him. They were His disciples, His students. As time progressed, they should have known Him. His next questions provided a very profound teaching moment that serves to underscore Y’shua’s disappointment.
With the two questions following in rapid succession, Y’shua invited a comparison of ‘facts’. The first fact was what the disciples knew of the world’s view of Y’shua. He then asked them what they knew Him to be.
Prior to this reflection today, I did not see Y’shua’s disappointment, I missed that aspect of Y’shua’s point. If we carefully reread His earlier response about their misconstrued perceptions, we realize that the disciples were being asked to see Y’shua for who He really is.
Not as who others perceived Him to be, but based on their knowledge borne of experience. I feel that in this season of foment – deaths, debts, crises and confusion; Y’shua is inviting us to make the comparison:
What do people say about Y’shua?
Now, based on our knowledge of Y’shua’s presence in our lives,
What do we say [know] about Y’shua?
Our next actions will determine whether He accepts or understands our response.
Point to Ponder
Is the difference clear? Let’s act on it and praise Him!
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May all we seek be found in Christ
