We had a few sharing their thoughts and they ranged from the mentally challenged people to those that realise that they need Jesus as their Savior. I really thought we had some good interaction and many made valid contributions. Towards the end of the talk one of my friends said, "I don't want to spoil a good party but I don't think that Jesus spoke to the crowdbut only to his twelve disciples".
I had been thinking about that. Verse 1 may lead us to conclude that 1) yes, their was a crowd and 2) yes, the disciples came to him but to draw the conclusion that Jesus was laying out the constitution of the Kingdom for his disciples only, is stretching it. Quit a bit.
Your in the crowd, amazed at His teaching (7:28) only to find out that these words were not meant for you. You'd like to ask Jesus, "but sir, if these words were for your twelve close friends, what are they to me"? Would Jesus have apologized? "I'm sorry, I should have been more specific about identifying my target audience. Forget what I just said. Again, sorry for wasting your time".Jesus' words apply to everyone. The crowds didn't just happen to stand by and accidentaly overhear Jesus' words. His words were meant for all of them.
Whenever Jesus speaks we are confronted with who we truly are. His words of truth shed light into the dark corners of our souls and when He speaks, we know; we just know that He is truth and we're not.
And we have a choice. His words of truth have the power to set us free, But I need to welcome that truth, with its power.
I would have been so discouraged if Jesus would have told me that His words were not aimed at me and my neighbour. Do you believe with me that Jesus looks us in the eye and says; "These are my words. This is the truth. For you. Take them and put them to practise".
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