IS THERE ENOUGH GRACE

Matthew 28:8 "So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings,' He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

I have been thinking about something.

We have tried to re-live every moment with Jesus His last week before the crucifixion through the eyes of His disciples. I can understand their frustration, their fear, and even their denial. Unfortunately, I understand all too well the denial part. How many times have I too denied Him. I can even understand their disbelief after hearing the news of His resurrection.

But the thing that I have been pondering is, what were they thinking when they heard the news that he had indeed risen and wanted to meet with them? They were going to have to come face to face with the one they had betrayed and denied. They were going to have to look into the eyes of their teacher, their Rabbi.

To really understand this, we need to know the teacher/disciple relationship at the time of Christ. At the age of 6, young Jewish boys would begin learning the Torah (first five books of the Bible), and as they grew, they would memorize it. By the age of 14 or 15, the best of the best students would continue studying. Most students would leave the school, and learn the family business. (That would be most of the disciples of Jesus). Those remaining in school would seek a well known rabbi to become one of his disciples. The goal of the disciple wasn't just to know what the rabbi knew, but to be just like his rabbi. If the rabbi didn't think the student could make it, he would send him home to work with his parents. (Where did Jesus find His disciples? Working with their parents. That meant they had been rejected by other rabbis.)

But if the rabbi believed that a student had what it took to become like him, he would say, "Come, follow me." (When Jesus chose His disciples, what did he say? Matthew 4:18-22) The student would probably leave his father and mother, leave his village and his friends, and devote his life to learning how to do what the rabbi did. He would follow the rabbi everywhere. He gave up his whole life to be just like his rabbi. (Luke 5:11)

This kind of devotion is what it meant to be a disciple.

So, after following Jesus for three years, listening to His teaching, seeing His miracles, watching Him heal the sick, even raising Lazarus from the dead, the ones He chose to follow Him have failed Him miserably. They were NOTHING like their Rabbi. And now, they have to come face to face with Him.

What were they thinking--and more importantly--what was Jesus thinking?? How would He respond to their failure?

The thing that burdens me is, I too have failed to become like my Rabbi. I know how I feel. But what does Jesus think about me?

Why did He chose those guys to be His disciples? Why did He chose me?

One of the comments this past week on this blog was, "Will there ever be enough Grace for me?"

Was there enough Grace to cover the failure of His disciples? Had Jesus wasted three years of God's divine plan for mankind on a bunch of failures!!

Does He have enough Grace to cover me?

And if the answer is NO, I have another question. Was Calvary necessary??

THINK ON THESE THINGS!!!!!!

We will study more this week. -jl