Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Listen to the Word

And they took offense at him. (Matthew 13:57a)

Jesus tended to provoke extreme reactions. If you back up just three verses from today’s verse, you’ll see people expressing amazement at the wisdom and power of Jesus. Then before you can blink, the same people take offense at him. The Gospels resound with crowds showering Jesus with “hosanna” and mobs shouting “crucify him!” Nobody was neutral about Jesus.

One of the clearest indicators that the Jesus of our understanding is different from the Jesus of the Gospels is that we often respond to him with mild interest or slight boredom. There is nothing ho-hum about Jesus. When someone claims to be God walking our streets and tells us that following him is the only way to experience real life, we ought to either adore him or abhor him. If hearing Jesus makes you yawn, you aren’t really hearing him.

Live the Word

Confess to Jesus your tendency to be indifferent about him, and ask him to increase your passion for him.