November 3

Preparation of Apostles for the End - Matthew 16:13-28, 17:1-27, 18:1-35; Mark 8:27-38, 9:1-50; Luke 9:18-50, 17:1-10

Jesus is never what we expect. And that's a good thing...or rather, a God thing.

So much here. I'm sure the apostles heads are in a whirl. Jesus trying to explain His death and resurrection. The transfiguration on the mountain with the mysterious appearance of Moses and Elijah and the second pronouncement of God that Jesus is His son. Their attempts to heal a demon-possessed boy and failure because they don't believe. And the everyday sorts of surprises that living with Jesus just naturally crop up. Did they ever get used to Him knowing what they were thinking and saying? He answers the question about the Temple tax before Peter asks Him about it. He knows they've been arguing over who the greatest is and so He uses a child to explain. I don't think He picks a child because of their humility and innocence as many have suggested. I think He picks a child because they are insignificant and unimportant and overlooked. That would be consistent with the way Jesus did things. It would be surprising that He held something up someone non-important as important to Him.

But in all of this, the story that has always reached out to me is Jesus words on those outside the perceived chosen group -- the people driving out demons in Jesus name that John wants to put a stop too because "he was not one of us." Mark 9:38-41 Lol. First of all, here's someone with enough faith -- a greater faith than the apostles -- because they had tried and failed to heal a demon-possessed boy and this person was succeeding. Christ views them as one of His. The way God views His people is different than how we view His people. He draws His circle of the saved differently than we would draw it.

Lord knows.