Listening or Learning?

                For the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at the last week of Jesus’ life.  We began with the Triumphal Entry on Sunday, then the clearing of the temple on Monday, the betrayal and teaching on Tuesday, the Last Supper on Thursday, the trial, and crucifixion on Friday, and finally, the Resurrection on Sunday.  We left out two days in that very important week:  Wednesday and Saturday. 

            Today, I would like to look at Wednesday of that week.  We don’t know a lot about what took place on that day.  Luke tells us: “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each night he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mt. of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple” (Luke 21: 37, 38 NIV84).  When Jesus was arrested, He confirmed that every day He was teaching in the temple courts (Matt. 26: 55b). 

            There you have it.  Jesus was teaching and the people were listening.  The problem is that the events of Friday indicate that while the people might have been listening, they weren’t really learning.  Time and again, people gathered around Jesus to hear Him speak, yet they never fully understood who He was or what He was trying to teach them.  Even the Disciples were confused and puzzled, which explains their desertion when the going got rough. 

            It’s easy for us to look back and say: “What were you people thinking?  Didn’t you know that you had the Son of God right there in your midst?  Were you so thick-headed that you couldn’t see the truth when it hit you in the face?”  That’s the benefit of hindsight.

            The truth is that neither the Disciples, the people listening in the temple, nor even us today are ready and able to understand God’s teachings without the help of the Holy Spirit.  Christ made that clear shortly before His death.  He told the Disciples “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14: 26 NIV84).  Later, He said “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16: 13a NIV84). 

            Too often, when we think of God and our salvation, we focus on God the Creator and Jesus, the Savior, but we ignore or pay little attention to the work of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of guilt regarding sin (John 16: 8).  It is the Holy Spirit that gives us power (Acts 1:8a) and reveals God to us (I Corinthians 2: 10).  It is through the Holy Spirit that we are given the wisdom and revelation to know God better (Ephesians 1: 17) and it is by the Spirit that our salvation is guaranteed (Ephesians 1: 14).   It is the Holy Spirit who lives within us (I Corinthians 3: 16) and it is the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us (Romans 8:26) and gives us life and peace (Romans 8:6).  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us that we can attain the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22 – 23).

            Just like the people in the Temple during that last week of Jesus’ life, we sit at Jesus’ feet, reading His Word but understanding nothing.  Without the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, they are just words on paper.  We must invite the Holy Spirit to guide us, give us wisdom, and help us understand.  He will “feed” us with those nuggets of understanding that we can take in and comprehend, and as we grow in our knowledge and understanding, He will give us greater nuggets of truth.  That’s why we often read passages that we have read many times before but suddenly a light bulb goes on and we see something we have never seen before.  That’s the process of sanctification, and it only happens with the help of the Holy Spirit.

            I hope you will take up the Holy Scriptures daily, but I pray that you will begin by inviting the Holy Spirit to teach you, convict you, and fill you with all wisdom.  Don’t be like the people in the Temple that fateful Wednesday who heard but did not understand and who were filled with awe but did not comprehend.  Christ has left us with an awesome Gift and Power.  Don’t underestimate Him or ignore Him.  He is the Power of God living within you!

Acts 1: 8

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