Friday, August 2, 2013

Jeremiah 26 - Don't Kill The Messenger

Don't kill the messenger. If you don't like the message that the LORD is trying to get you to hear and understand, it will not help to persecute or kill the messenger. God is not going to change His mind when He asks you to repent; unless of course, you repent.

Jeremiah proclaims the warning from the courtyard of the LORD's house. The priests, the prophets, and the people are not happy! For some reason they think that if they kill the messenger the message will no longer be valid. If the messenger is killed, then the false prophets can continue to preach their propaganda to please those itching ears and make everyone happy. At least, that seems to be the premise. But, that's not the way it works with God. He will find another messenger and yet another.

The message that Jesus proclaimed was pretty straightforward. “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”" (Mark 1:14-15 NIV see also Matt 4:17)

It was the same message that John, Jesus' forerunner, had proclaimed. What happened to the two of them? They were both put to death, but the message did not change. Jesus instructions to his followers was to go out and proclaim this very same message - the Kingdom of God. That is exactly what they did.  For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. St. Paul, "...proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!" (Acts 28:30-31) Tradition tells us that Paul was eventually beheaded for the message he bore to the world. But, all those persecutions and executions did not stop the message from being delivered.

The message does not change, just because you kill the messenger.

Keep on proclaiming the Kingdom, through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J

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