Nougat 27

It is said that we are known by the company we keep, and to some extent, that is true. However, Y’shua leaves us with a mystery worth pondering. Let’s reflect on the first half of the mystery as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Luke 15:2 AFV

[2] And the Pharisees and the scribes criticized Him, saying, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

His Peeps

They were men of the Book. The Law, if we wished to be more precise. By current standards, they were not lawyers. But, as they lived under a Theocracy, while under occupation in their own country, as Keepers and Teachers of the Law, they had clout.

He claimed to be the Fulfilment of the Law. He claimed to be the Messiah. His origins were known. He was a commoner. A plebian. What He taught was often counter to their interpretation of the Law. He often disregarded their authority, and on occasion, He openly chastised them.

Then there was the matter of His associates.

He publicly surrounded Himself with degenerates, fishermen, prostitutes, legally and spiritually unclean people, and with tax collectors. He even ate at their homes. He made time for the needy and those who suffered. He commended the paltry coins paid as temple tax by the widow, suggesting that the focus of the wealthy amounted to nothing. His actions pushed the envelope of the Law they safeguarded, incurring doubt about their teachings. And He rarely – if ever – voluntarily associated with them, the religious elite.

They, the Keepers of the Law, were being sidelined by the upstart, who claimed to be the Fulfilment of the Law.

How else could they react?

Self-Check

How would we have reacted?

Application

It must have been hard for the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law to appreciate Y’shua’s approach. He was an anomaly. Nothing Y’shua did fit their expectations of a Messiah; but the miracles were out of this world. He proposed a different order for God’s kingdom, while suggesting that there was also room for them in His version of God’s Kingdom.

Let’s allow that to sit with us for a while.

As the Fulfilment of the Law, His teachings often critiqued that which the Gatekeepers promoted. It didn’t add up. He sidelined them to keep company with the destitute, desolate, desperate, distressed, diseased, and disadvantaged.

Definitely not their cup of tea.

Point to Ponder

With whom are we, followers of Y’shua associating?

Whose side would we be associated with?

Does it really matter?

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May all we seek be found in Christ