Jesus responded by showing He knew who the woman was, but also by showing who He was - the forgiving God. Jesus was demonstrating Simon the Pharisee either had no forgiveness or very little, whereas the woman had received much. I must recognise I have been forgiven much and respond by loving much also.
v4-15 The four types of people represented are:
Those who hear God's Word which the devil takes away, so they may not believe and be saved.
Those who receive God's Word with joy but have no root, so fall away in times of testing.
Those who hear the Word, but are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures and don't mature.
Those with a noble and good heart, who hear the Word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop.
In all four responses, it's what happens to the Word that makes the difference. This is borne out in life experiences of the way people live and do or don't bear fruit.
Jesus' teaching in parables is so that those whom have been given the secrets of the Kingdom can understand and those who haven't will remain "confused".
v16-21 The responsibilities of Jesus' followers are to be in a place where others can see the light and to consider carefully how we listen.
The privileges of Jesus' followers are that nothing we do will not be disclosed and we can be part of Gods's family.
v22-25 Their faith was defective because they didn't trust in Jesus, no matter what or how. As a result of this incident, they learned who Jesus was.
v26-39 The change meant Legion was in his right mind, no longer crying out or held captive by the demons or others. Jesus can save even the helpless and hopeless.
v35-39 Those who saw Jesus for who He really was were appreciative. Jesus knew what was best for each and did accordingly.
No comments:
Post a Comment