Jesus: Majestic King, Godly Wisdom and Power

Tuesday, February 19, 2013


Devotions: Ps 45, 47, 48; Gen 37:12-24; 1 Cor 1:18-31; Mk 1:14-28

My heart overflows with words of gratitude and praise to my King: You Are the fairest of men, bathed in grace, mighty in conflict, victorious for truth and righteousness; Your enemies fall beneath your arrows, your sword, your lance. Your throne endures forever, and You reign over a community of love and peace, anointed with Spirit, full of light and music. Your queen, attended by mortal princesses, is decked for Your wedding. Glory be to You, my King! Let all God's people celebrate with shouts of joy before our Lord and King. He reigns over all the universe, highly exalted! His majesty astounds those who would rival His rule and command. Tell your children and grandchildren: This is our God, our Guide forever!

Israel told his son Joseph to find his brothers and the flocks they were tending. Joseph searched them out near Dothan. His brothers resented Joseph, and when they saw him approaching, they spoke together about murdering him: 'Here comes this dreamer. Let's kill him and toss his body into one of the pits, and say that he's been devoured by a wild beast. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams!' Reuben, the eldest brother, argued otherwise: 'Shed no blood; cast him into a wilderness pit alive, but do him no other harm.' Reuben planned to rescue Joseph later, to restore him to their father. So when Joseph came to them, the brothers stripped off his robe and cast him naked into a waterless pit.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: The message of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. It is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and thwart the cleverness of the clever.' God sets aside the wise of this world, the scribes and debaters; He makes fools of them all. Under God's wisdom, the wise of the world did not know God through their wisdom; so it has pleased God to save those who believe; He does this through the foolishness of what we preach. Jews demand signs; Greeks want wisdom and logical discourse; but we preach the Messiah crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those God has called, Jews and Greeks alike, the Messiah is God's power and God's wisdom. For God's foolishness is incomparably mightier than mortals, as His weakness outstrips mortal strength. Brothers and sisters, consider your call: not many of you were wise by the world's standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. Rather, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the worldly wise; God chooses what is weak to shame the worldly strong; God chose the lowly and despised, even things that do not exist, to bring to nothing the powers that be in the world, so that no mortal may boast in God's presence. He Is the Source of your life in the Messiah Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom, our Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption. So it is truly written: 'Let those who boast, boast only of the Lord!'

After Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptizer, Jesus came into the Galilee, preaching God's gospel, saying 'The time is fulfilled, and God's kingdom is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.' As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, He came upon Simon and Andrew casting nets into the waters, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!' Immediately the brothers left their nets and followed Jesus. A bit further along, Jesus saw James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were in their boat mending the nets. At once, He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with their hired servants, and followed Jesus. They proceeded into Capernaum; immediately on the Sabbath, He entered the synagogue and began to teach. The congregants were astonished at His preaching, for Jesus taught as One with authority, not like their legal scholars. Right away, there was among them a man with an unclean spirit; he cried out, 'What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You Are: the Holy One of God!' But Jesus rebuked him: 'Be silent, and come out of him.' The unclean spirit convulsed the man, and crying out loudly, came out of him. Everyone seeing this was amazed, and talked among themselves: 'What is this! A new teaching! With authority, He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!' And immediately Jesus' fame spread everywhere throughout the surrounding region of the Galilee.