He Taught Them Many Parables… (The Doctor And The Sick) # 23

For example, sometimes our dogs misunderstand some things about us. Someone suggested these are some of the misunderstandings our pet dogs have...

• Getting up does NOT mean we are going for a walk

• Just because I'm eating, doesn't mean you can

But not only do we have misunderstandings with our pets, we also have them with each other.

Illus: A Pastor recently told his congregation that the church needed some extra money. He asked the people to consider donating a little more than usual in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns. After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000 bill in offering.

The Pastor was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation, and said he'd like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate. A very quiet, elderly, saintly looking lady all the way in the back shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front.

Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much, and in thanks he asked her to pick out three hymns.

Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation. Pointing to the three most handsome men in the building, she said, "I'll take him and him and him."

Life is full of misunderstandings.

Illus: When Senator Strom Thurmond was given a birthday party in December of 2002 for his one hundredth birthday, Senator Trent Lott, the Majority Leader, was asked to speak in his honor. To honor Senator Thurmond, he made reference to him running for president in 1948 as one of the highlights of his life.

Then he said that the country would be a lot better off if everyone would have followed the state that he represented and voted for him.

However, when Senator Strom Thurmond ran for President he was a strong segregationist, and because of that, many of Senator Trent Lott’s enemies picked up on that one thing and assumed he was referring to Senator Thurmond’s position on segregation.

Senator Lott was asked about this, and he said when Senator Thurmond ran for President, he ran on many good things. He said it was a time when communism was sweeping the world and he ran on a strong military, and our state was impressed with his candidacy. He said, “I did not have segregation on my mind when I said that to honor him on his birthday!”

Is this what he meant? The fact is, only God knows what he really meant.

But it does not matter how diplomatic we might be, people are going to MISUNDERSTAND US! Sometime we are mis-understood.

• Because someone wants to misunderstand us for an ulterior motive.

• Because of what we say

• Because of what we do

• Because of what we are wearing

• Because of who we are with

• Because of the expression on our face

There are so many things we can do that will cause people to misunderstand us.

But take comfort in this, the Lord Jesus was the most misunderstood person to ever walk on this earth.

• Some purposely took what he said and tried to make something out of it

• Sometimes the crowd could not comprehend what he was saying

Look at Luke 5:27-32, we read, “And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The People in Palestine during this time were divided into two groups:

• The orthodox Jews who rigidly kept the law and all the man-made petty regulations that they added to the law

• And the rest who didn't keep all the minute regulations

Because of the differences in these two groups, the orthodox treated the others like second class citizens.

HOW DID THEY TREAT THEM? They did a number of things, such as:

• They scrupulously avoided their company

• They refused to do business with them

• They refused to give to them or receive anything from them

• They avoided any form of entertainment with them, including table fellowship