Thought of the Day 01.29.10

My perception of the Jewish leaders of the New Testament is, to say the least, not favorable. Whenever I think of them, I immediately have a negative reaction (almost a revulsion) to them as the enemies of Christ. And until this morning, I basically thought He was as opposed to them as they were to Him.

But then I read in Matthew 8:1-4 how Jesus specifically instructs a leper whom He has just healed to tell no one but go straight to the priest and “present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Later, in Matthew 9:1-8, after the scribes are bothered by Jesus forgiving a paralytic man’s sins, He specifically heals the man, “ that you may know [about Me].” And again in the same chapter, He went to the home of a Jewish leader to bring his daughter back to life, news which spread everywhere. (verses 18-26).

This means that, although the Jewish leaders hated Him, Jesus deliberately reached out to them to show them Who He was, a view I had somehow missed but which seems pretty obvious in retrospect, given His love of all mankind.