MARCH 9 The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

March 9 / Day 10 

365 Prayers to JESUS

Jesus, oh how sweet the Name, oh how precious is the privilege to call on the Name Jesus and to know that You hear. Lord, to come to You with all that we have and to be able to drop it into the very Blood of Sacrifice that You shed for me on Calvary! Oh what joy and the peace of being able to leave them with You! Jesus, I will continually praise Your Name even in all circumstances for Your Love and Mercy never changes and I am now able to catch a glimpse of how great is Romans 8:28, for the more I love You, the more I can praise You and even our worldly pains can bring us Your Peace. Forgive me my sins, all my sins, that I may serve and love you better. 

The Jesus Questions

JQ#2 - Let us look at this passage in Matthew 5:43-48 and answer the question(s) Jesus asked in Matthew 5:46-47. There are 4 separate questions but they are asked successively. Because all 4 questions ask the same question and two of the questions are obviously rhetorical; let’s examine the questions and then seek to answer them relative to “context”. JQ#2A &B  “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors of the same.” (Matthew 5:46)  JQ#2C &D “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?” (Matthew 5:46) The first thing that jumped out at me was the theme that runs in this passage and that is “LOVE”. In 5:43 Jesus repeated a popular teaching at that time when He makes the statement: You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” Jesus addresses both “love” and “hate” but He concludes His teachings in this last section at the end of a great teaching chapter by teaching about the importance of “love” and there is a very personal lesson Jesus is trying to convey to us by adding this section on “love” to conclude His teachings on how we should view God, improve ourselves, and develop a proper perspective on how to treat our “brethren”. It is important in our seeking to understand God that we understand the importance that God Himself places on “love”. We need go no further than John 3:16, and there is a reason that almost everyone can quote John 3:16 which starts: “For God so loved…” and it states the extent of His love for “the world” (context of this verse establishes the world as mankind and His original physical creation) was demonstrated by His willingness to give “His only begotten Son” so that fallen man could be redeemed and inherit “eternal life”. When we consider God’s motivation was driven by “love” then we do get a glimpse of how important and what a big, big part that “Love” plays in God’s plan! One could conclude that “love” is the key to an “everlasting life”! One should read the book of John to get a true appreciation of the importance of “love” in every thing God does for us and in everything He asks us to do for others. Study again these questions in Matthew 5:46-47 in the context of God’s love and the importance that God places on us to “love one another”! I would also like to see some comments on why God chose “tax collectors” to drive His point home to us?