My Favorite Verses - Vol III (Aug 16 to Nov 16)

Matthew 23:8-12 … Only one Teacher
(10/10/2016)
“And you are not to be called „Rabbi‟, for you have one Teacher, and you are
all students. All who exalt themselves will be humbled & all who humble
themselves will be exalted.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 23:8-12)
This is an important passage, not only because it relays the Truth that no
modern-day preacher should have the gall to claim “special knowledge” of the
Scriptures (“special knowledge” that is indeed impossible to attain, no matter how many
years one might study the ancient manuscripts &/or test their various interpretations), but
also because it reflects the Truth that Jesus himself was a human being – just like
those to whom he was preaching his Way of Selfless Love – and just like his
modern-day readers to this very day (see Numbers 23:19, Acts 2:22, Mark 24:36, John
7:16, John 14:12, et al) … For, as any earnest student of the Scriptures already
knows, Jesus was all about humility – not only related to us, but related to himself
as well. Indeed, he went out of his way on a number of occasions to extol his
followers to not worship him at all, but rather to fully emulate his teachings
instead (see Mark 10:18, John 5:41, John 8:50-54, John 12:44, et al). And yet, as most
of us are already aware, this is not what happened. Paul came along, flipped
Jesus‟ wishes on their head, and created the very same Jesus-centered religion that
Jesus avidly fought to nullify while he was alive …
Ahhh, the sad irony of it all.
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