IN THE WORDS OF JESUS–Part 163

YES, HE is Talking to YOU! (continued)

Love is the Fulfilling of the Law

We finished yesterday with our rather lengthy discussion of what we are calling the Parable of Speaking Well. This concerned the sayings of the Master from the Gospel of Matthew that are found after the discussions that we had regarding the Parable of the Unclean Spirit, as we called it, and all that went with it. Our understanding of the Parable of Speaking Well is a departure from the normal understanding in which the scribes and the Pharisees play a large part insofar as what they said or thought about the Master and His response to them. On the surface this is likely a true depiction, this actions by the Pharisees were a motivation for the words that Jesus used, but this would be then for us just a history lesson and a lesson on not acting like a Pharisee. This is not, from our perspective the intent of the Master as we hold that all that He said in teaching the people in His day He said in parable and beneath the outer meanings are yet deeper meanings which beg to be explored.

For us this was a lesson on the nature of good and evil and how it is known in men as well as a lesson on the treasure of the heart, that it too can be good and evil depending on the source. He does not tell us in these verses, except for calling some of them vipers, who is good and who is evil but He tells us of the nature of being good and evil. He tells us that there is good and there is evil and that each can be shown by the abundance of the heart and  by one’s speaking the difference can be told. Our ideas on these sayings are that they help to point us in the direction of the Kingdom of God which is the reality of what the Master wants us to know and to do as we will see again in the next statement that He makes. We we look at the words Jesus says and relate them together and we not cause them to stand alone, we should see the single pointed message that He gives to us and the instruction that He gives to help us accomplish our goal which is to be a true disciple of the Master and dwell in the Presence of God.

There was a woman listening to the Master’s words on this day when He was, from the combined gospels:

• Healing a man by casting out his demon and thereby restoring the mans speech or his speech and sight depending on the version.
• Hearing the scribes and the Pharisees and whoever else speaking  or He perceiving their thoughts (the three gospels vary on this; one says scribes, another Pharisees and another those speaking out are just called some of them and it is unclear if He heard them or just knew their thoughts) regarding how He must be casting demons out by the power of Beelzebub, Jesus responds with His sayings:
• That a Kingdom divided against itself cannot stand therefore He cannot be casing out Satan by the power of Satan.
• Posing the question regarding how the children of those listening cast out demons and making the point through this question that the Kingdom of God is come upon them.
• Telling the story of the strong man and the stronger man who can overcome him.
• He then makes the point that those who are not with Him are against Him and begins another series of sayings which include:
• Telling the specific part of the  Parable of the Unclean Spirit.
• Speaking about the idea of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.
• Telling us about the good tree and the evil tree, to be one or the other.
• Teaching about the abundance of the heart coming forth in what we speak; and about the two kinds of treasure.
• Teaching us about the idea and the danger of the idle word.

Our discussion of all of this started back in part 153 of In the Words of Jesus and lasted up until yesterday in part 162. We have, from our perspective, put forth our understanding of the meaning of each of these and have devoted many words; we have now come to this place where there is a woman who hears and responds to the Master as if to say that she understood it all. The verses go thus:

“And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:27-28).

This saying only appears in the Gospel of Luke and we can get here the impression that this woman understood more than just the surface meanings of these words. On the surface these are not much more that sayings against those who are against Him and against those not believing who He is and what He does. In this woman however is the understanding that at a minimum shows her that the Master is from God and, it could well be that she understood some or all of the depth of what He said. His common saying to them all is always of the nature of “He that hath ears to hear , let him hear” (Mark 4:9). It is not what she says however that is our point today but the Master’s reply.

Through all the words before this, Jesus is giving explanation intended to show that the healing that He does is not from beneath but from above and this He does first in the clarity of His saying that “….if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Luke 11:20). Then through the example of the strong man and the parable telling of the nature of the man with an unclean spirit Jesus enhances His instruction to include subtle messages regarding the Kingdom; He then continues into His teaching about good and evil speaking which we know is inclusive of thinking. Through all of this is the Master teaching and our idea should be that some of them are understanding more than just the condemnation directed at those who know that they are wrong; this is borne out in the next verses, after Jesus’ reply to the woman, where the rulers, the scribes and the Pharisees, ask the Master for a sign as if to say that ‘we hear you and we understand but we want to be sure’. This part is for another day.

Jesus’ reply to the woman is “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” and this is our message today as it is always the message of the Master. This is an eternal message and, as we know, there are many ways to hear His word. Those listening that day got some part of what He said and, if they did it, if they changed their hearts and became as the good, they are, according to Jesus, blessed. In this message is the idea, to them and to us, that based on all that He had said to them that day, that the understanding of each one’s goodness was a personal appraisal based on the fruits that each one bears. He tells them nothing about what is good or bad, we have the commandments and the Great Commandment, because He knows that each of us who are in possession of our faculties, already knows at what relative place we are in the scheme of things and in the range of being from good to evil. If we are hearing, we know all that is left is to do.

For the many that do not hear the word we cannot speak except to say that we most all have a notion regarding what we do as good or as evil and although one may not have a religious idea to give him perspective we are all coming from and going to the same place. For us who want to be or who think we are disciples of the Master, these words are of exceeding importance and echo all that the Master ever teaches us.

A shorter post today but another tomorrow.

Note on the Quote of the Day