“Don’t you fall asleep in Lolly’s bus!” I teased, knowing my attempts at keeping Ezra awake during our short drive after lunch were largely pointless. I had already tried narrating the trip, pointing out familiar sights and counting the turns left to our destination. His mom smiled from the passengers seat. “It’s fine,” she said. “A little snooze won’t hurt. It’ll hold him over until bedtime.” By my next glance in the rear view mirror, Ezra was sleeping soundly.
I still remember with a chuckle my husband reasoning with our three young children during road trips. Their constant questioning of how much longer or how much further only irritated him. He resorted each time to a similar argument. Even if I told you how many hours or minutes or miles, it wouldn’t make any difference because first of all, you don’t understand the concept of minutes or miles and secondly, you’ll be asking again regardless.
My daughter who lives two hours away in the next state recently shared how she preempts her boys’ questions by pointing out landmarks. When Thomas grows antsy in the car, she asks him to notice what they’re passing and then asks him to tell her what comes next. She’s training him to pay attention to his surroundings and sharing her incredible sense of direction a decade before he will be a driver.
Jesus told a story about a man who went on a long journey after leasing his property to tenant farmers. At harvest time, he sent servants to collect his share of the crop but they were mistreated and sent away empty handed or killed. Finally he sent his son and the greedy tenants killed him to claim the inheritance for themselves. We see plainly, as did the religious leaders in His hearing, that Jesus is the Son and they were the wicked tenants. Mark wrote that they wanted to arrest Him but they were afraid of the crowds so they decided to try and trap Him with His own words.
I write because I have time to mull over my words. I edit, reading aloud to myself before publishing but still I find errors. I converse easily with most anyone but if you set out to trip me up with words, you would probably succeed. Not Jesus.
“When they came they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and do not court anyone’s favor, because you show no partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But he saw through their hypocrisy and said to them, “Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
So they brought one, and he said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”
They replied, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
And they were utterly amazed at him.”
Mark 12:14-17 NET
https://bible.com/bible/107/mrk.12.14-17.NET
““The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/jer.17.9-10.MSG
So they tried again. Sadducees, who believed there was no resurrection from the dead, presented a scenario involving seven brothers and the Law given to Moses. Jesus again saw through their ruse and cut straight to the heart of the matter, telling them they were badly mistaken.
“Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God?”
Mark 12:24 NET
https://bible.com/bible/107/mrk.12.24.NET
These experts in the law who regularly argued cases before the Sanhedrin, the equivalent of our Supreme Court, were accustomed to being the highest authority. They handed down the judgements and their word was law. They would not abide Jesus usurpation of their power.
“The Lord says, “These people worship me only with their words.
They honor me by what they say.
But their hearts are far away from me.
Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules that they have been taught.
They turn everything upside down.
How silly they are to think that potters are like the clay they work with!
Can what is made say to the one who made it, “You didn’t make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter, “You don’t know anything”?”
Isaiah 29:13, 16 NIRV
https://bible.com/bible/110/isa.29.16.NIRV
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.
For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 6-7 NET
https://bible.com/bible/107/2co.4.3-6.NET
“One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate.
He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?””
Mark 12:28 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.12.28.NLT
What would you have asked if you had been there on that day? If you had face time with Jesus in flesh and blood, what would you say? I honestly think I would have been tongue tied and after the moment had passed, I would have thought of a thousand things I should have said. But scripture makes clear that even those who followed Jesus closely didn’t understand many things while He was still alive on the earth. Why would I be any different?
This man asked a respectable question under the circumstances.
“Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel!
The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’
The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.”
The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher.
You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other.
And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.
This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
Mark 12:29-34 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mrk.12.29-34.NLT
Ezra tried to protest when his mom wakened him in the parking lot. His fifteen minute nap in the car had only made him angry until he remembered why we had come out. “Let’s go find our kiddie pool so we can take it home and try it out!” I reminded. His face brightened as he arched his back to hop down from his car seat. His mom waited to gather him in her arms and we crossed the parking lot together.
“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.”
Psalms 145:18 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.145.18.NASB1995
GOOD ~Matthew West https://youtu.be/fAEEc-y1WqE?si=jKtheYcLNWR73Z8v
“I was wrecked by mercy the day I understood.
I’m not loved because I’m worthy.
I’m loved because You’re Good!” ~mw
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