Mark 2

"Have you heard about the guy named Jesus? I'd heard a lot about him, but I just went to hear him speak for the first time yesterday. He actually healed a man and even told the man that he forgave his sins. I've never seen anything like it. I'm definitely going back to see what else he is going to do!" - a common person of Jesus' time period

"Who does Jesus think he is? How dare he tell that man his sins are forgiven? Only God can forgive sins! I don't know what kind of crazy magic he's performing, but it certainly can't be from God. He even hangs out and eats with such wicked, lowly people. No religious person that wants to keep a good reputation would dare do such things. He doesn't even keep the laws of the Sabbath, he doesn't follow rules and traditions." - a pharisee

Jesus rocked everyone's world. For the common people they couldn't get enough of him and what he had to offer in the moment, yet Jesus wanted to lead them to the eternal kingdom and mindset. He definitely was not religious; he was relational. Jesus loved the least of these and spent time with them. He came to save sinners! For the religious people, Jesus was against everything for which they stood. Their mindset was so works based they couldn't get over the fact that Jesus kept breaking "their" rules and traditions. Even though they studied the scriptures, they only saw rules, not God's heart in the rules.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us and continually calling us into a deeper relationship with You. Help us to love the way you do. As we study the Bible, let us see it through the eyes and thoughts of the Holy Spirit. Let us fall in love with Jesus and love the people around us the way he loved the people around him. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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