We’re seeing the impact that Jesus’ birth has had beyond those who lived 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. Here’s a story about one of the first people to meet Jesus, when he was about 40 days old, and how he saw Jesus would change the world:
And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:22-35 ESV)
This man, Simeon, was told he would not die until he had seen the Messiah – God’s anointed one – the true king of Israel. Now, here he was, a baby in Simeon’s arms. In this song or poem, he essentially says he can finally die happy.
But this isn’t just about Simeon. It’s not even just about his people, the Jews, even though t happens at a very Jewish occasion – the temple, with all its purification laws, etc. and a Jewish blessing.
You can see it’s much larger when Simeon says God is doing something about salvation for “all peoples” and specifically a light of revelation for the Gentiles (non-Jews) as well as Israel.
The child Simeon blesses will have an impact globally, eternally. Sometimes that will be wonderful, but other times he’s described as being divisive. Whether we like that or not, we can see Jesus has indeed been divisive – it’s hard to sit on the fence about Jesus – families, friends and other people groups have long been divided by their beliefs about him.
Question: How does the birth of Jesus divide people today? What thoughts might he reveal?
Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.
Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!
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Near the end of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
We'll look today at the Attractive quality of these false teachers.
15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing
They will pretend to be sheep, or followers of Jesus, but really they are wolves. They will pretend to have your best interests at heart, but really have their own. They will present a new improved version of Jesus, God, or a new approach to life, all packaged in a slick presentation. It may be too good to be true.
Think of a Time Share Presentation. Perhaps you went to one for free stuff, thinking you knew better. But after the slick presentation, you may have left seriously considering it! Professionals can make their message attractive, even if it's not good for you.
Jesus is saying don’t be surprised when you are attracted to false prophets. They are very good at this…acting like sheep…discerning them to be wolves takes time, care and prayer.
They will also be Inconsistent
16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Seek consistency. Grapes come from grapevines, not thorny bushes. The produce is consistent with its source. But this isnot the case with false teachers! They'll be inconsistent in two ways:
1st they will be inconsistent with their own words
I visited a woman once, who was reading a popular spiritual teacher who claims to be Christian but also claims God helps her predict the future 85% of the time. Unfortunately, a 3-year study of predictions about 115 missing persons and murder cases found she was wrong in every single case.
She claims her teachings benefit her followers, so she writes books, but they are inconsistent with the results. I learned all this from a woman in an unsanitary trailer home with little to her name. All this time, the teacher was making millions on book deals…telling people they can have it all. My friend didn’t notice that the fruit and the tree were very, very different…her experience of this supposed true teaching was very different from the teacher’s own experience.
The 2nd Inconsistency is that false prophets teach what is inconsistent with God’s word through history. This is the easiest to verify: you have a written record of God’s word for thousands of years in the Bible. If someone truly represents Jesus, the truth of God, then their words should match what God has always said. I read this week about someone who says that Jesus wanted them to live in a certain kind of mansion with a certain kind of car, but in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says not to store up treasures on earth…we have a problem!
If God is truly speaking to you or anyone – he will be consistent. If it is inconsistent with God through history, you have a problem.
Tomorrow, we'll examine the other two fruit of a negative spiritual influence.
Question: Can something be true, yet not delivered by an attractive teacher? What would a good teacher’s results look like?
Be sure to discuss this with someone else in your life - someone from the train, bus, work or the neighbourhood - wherever. Watch the challenge videos each day while you're apart, then discuss the question when you see each other.
