Tuesday, August 4, 2009

A Voice in the Wilderness: Jesus' World

A Voice in the Wilderness: Jesus' World: "Sunday school classes have given us the picture of a Jesus who toured in a peaceful countryside preaching and healing. However, this picture is far from the truth. Jesus' world was in pain.

A world in pain
The people of Jesus' world were under foreign dominion, and they were oppressed in every possible way. Many patriotic people were made outlaws and were forced to live by highway robbery. We read about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. How cruel it was on the part of that foreign governor to slaughter the Galileans while they were doing a religious ritual in their temple! Jesus sent out the twelve with a warning that they might be arrested or killed. The government authorities were always in fear of mass riots. There were spies among the people, which is probably the reason why Jesus talked to the people in parables, but in plain language to his disciples."

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