Bible Devotions for Living

This is a list of scenes where the Lord Jesus viewed and treated people differently than the mere humans around him treated them. Examine yourself to see if you are more like the Lord of the people in each scene.

Jesus viewed people by their present behaviors as believers (repentant), the Pharisees viewed them as ‘sinners’ based on their past:

Jesus accepted and loved the repentant sinful woman that anointed His feet and wiped them with her hair, the Pharisee was appalled because she was a sinner. Jesus also accepted and loved a repentant Zacchaeus and went to dine with him, but the people were disgusted with him. The Pharisees and the people judged people by their past instead of by their present repentant condition as believers (Lk 7:38-39; Lk 19:5-7).

• Imitate God by looking past a believer’s sin before they were saved.

Jesus did not seek vengeance when people didn’t treat Him right, James and John wanted to call down fire:

James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on the town that didn’t accommodate them, Jesus held off on judgment (Lk 9:51-55).

• Imitate God and don’t look for vengeance on people who mistreat you.

Jesus viewed people equally. He didn’t look down on or overly honor them: 

• Regardless of their people group (Mt 15:21-18) – Jesus spoke to and helped the Canaanite woman although the apostles wanted to send her away.
• Regardless of their malady of financial status (Mt 20:29-34; Lk 18:35-43) – Jesus paid attention to the blind beggars, but man tried to quiet them and ignore them.
• Regardless of their ‘Religious’ status / condition (Mt 9:9-11; Mk 2:15-17; Lk 5:29-32; Lk 15:1-2) – Jesus dined with ‘sinners’ but the religious leaders would not. He didn’t look down on sinners piously.
• Regardless of their religious affiliation, birthright and gender (Mt 9:9-11; Jn 4:27) – Spoke to non-Jewish woman, dined with ‘sinners’.
• Regardless of their Christian “clique / denomination” (Mk 9:38-40; Lk 9:49-50) – Jesus accepted believers who were true believers but that were not in His group of followers; the Apostles did not. They rebuked somebody who wasn’t part of their group for casting out a demon in Jesus’ Name. Jesus rebuked them and made it clear that that person was a ‘believer’ and should not be rejected as an ‘outsider’.
• Regardless of their age (Mt 19:13-15; Mk 10:13-16; Lk 18:15-17) – Jesus honored and embraced children; Apostles wanted to drive them away.
• Regardless of their familiarity or vocation (Mt 13:54-58; Jn 7:24) – Crowds minimized Jesus because they knew Him as the carpenter’s son.

• Imitate God by viewing people equally … not exalting some and demeaning others.

Jesus did not seek to please man, man does (Lk 20:21 and interactions with Pharisees).

Pilate gave into the will of the people even though he knew it was wrong (Jn 19:12-16). Jesus did not seek to please anybody, including the Pharisees who would look to kill Him.

• Imitate Jesus by focusing on pleasing God and not man.

Jesus wasn’t afraid of people (Mt 21:23-23:36; Mk 14:55-71; Jn 5:18-27; Jn 8:13-58; Jn 7:16-24)

• Not their threats (Lk 13:31-32) – Jesus wasn’t afraid of man’s threats (Herod) but was focused on the work of God
• Not their opinions – The Pharisees feared man’s response (Lk 22:2; Mt 21:46) and did not have the courage of their conviction. Jesus confronted the Pharisees head on KNOWING they would have Him crucified. He spoke to them and rebuked them even though He would pay for His commits via retribution. He did it anyway because it was more important to Jesus to fear and obey God than to worry about the opinions and reaction of people. Even if it meant His life.
• Not religious leaders or the threat of persecution (Jn 12:42; Jn 5:18-27; Jn 8:13-58; Jn 7:16-24) – Jesus showed no fear of the high priest or Pharisees. Apostles ran from Gethsemane and Peter was even afraid to be associated with Jesus for fear of what would happen to him.
• Not them killing Him – Jesus wasn’t afraid of being killed for God’s work. He decided to go to Judea even though there was a threat against His life. The Apostles tried to discourage Him. (Jn 11:7-9). He also had no problem telling the truth to His persecutors even if it incited them (Also see Mt 27:11-13 (Before Pilate))

• Imitate God by not being afraid of mankind or what they can do to you.

Jesus wasn’t interested in popularity and the number of His followers, the Pharisees were:

The Pharisees hated it when people stopped following them (Jn 12:9-11), Jesus intentionally preached a difficult message to drive false followers away from Him (Jn 6:26ff, 61-66).

• Imitate God by not seeking friends from the world or having fickle friends / followers.

Summary:

• Don’t judge a believer by the sin they committed before they were saved.
• Don’t look for vengeance on people who mistreat you.
• Don’t exalt or demean people, view them as the same regardless of:
  • Their people group
  • Their malady of financial status
  • Their ‘Religious’ status / condition
  • Their religious affiliation, birthright and gender
  • Their Christian “clique / denomination”
  • Their age
  • Their familiarity or vocation
• Focus on pleasing God and not man.
• Don’t be afraid of mankind or what they can do to you.
  • Not their threats
  • Not their opinions
  • Not religious leaders or the threat of persecution
  • Not them killing Him
• Don’t seek popularity or judge yourself by your number of friends and followers