Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Jesus Teaches on Direction: A Lost Passage

The Gospel according to......

"One day Jesus approached the temple with His disciples, teaching them about the kingdom of God. As they approached the temple courts, a group of religious leaders approached Him saying, 'Teacher, walk with us to the right of the temple and discuss with us the importance of following the law. For the paths are straight, and there are no people to distract us. We can therefore discuss the law of Moses without missing anything. Our conversation will not be interrupted.' Jesus said to them, 'You follow the law and know it well. You do well to do this, for the law reveals sin and the darkness in your life. I came not to do away with the law, but to fulfill it."

"Walking further, another group of religious leaders stopped Jesus and said to Him, 'Good Teacher, please walk along these paths to the left of the temple and talk with us. Here there will be many paths, people and opportunities to help the poor and sick. We can share with them the kingdom of God not by our words and the law, but by our kind actions." Jesus looked at them and said, "You open your arms to the poor and care for the sick. You do well to do this, for blessed are the poor and sick. For my kingdom is for them. Against these things there is no law."

"At this, Jesus' disciples were confused and said to Him, "Then which direction should we go? How will we then get to where we are going? Which group of religious leaders will we follow?" Jesus said, "Right and left are only directions. If it's my Father's will to travel left, then I will travel left. You will do well to follow me. If it is my father's will to travel right, then I will travel right as well. Both paths lead us to where we want to go and on both paths are the kingdom of God. So you would be correct in following those on the right, and you would be correct in following those on the left. And both direction I will walk as my Father leads."