Luke 11:27-28

Luke 11:27-28

 

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The humility and discipline that Jesus displayed while he was living on this earth is impressive. In the text above, a woman is heaping praise on Jesus, and Jesus’ mother, after Jesus drove out a demon from a man. If Jesus were any other man, he could have justifiably responded to the woman’s praise with something like “You got that right, I’m pretty awesome. Just look at what incredible stuff I just pulled off”. Yet he does not. Instead he points the spotlight at his Father, at God, the one he is disciplined and committed to serving and glorifying above everything else. There are countless examples throughout the New Testament where Jesus gives credit and fame to God instead of himself. It would have been so easy to start heaping praise on himself, getting puffed up on what he was accomplishing. But that would have been sinful as it would have pulled him into arrogance, pride, and boasting, turning him away from his sole mission on this earth. Jesus never once dipped into sin, he never once pulled the spotlight off his Father in heaven, he never once deviated from the plan that was laid out from the very beginning of time. Jesus acknowledged that everything good that he was doing was made possible through his Father. It was God that was giving him the power to heal the sick, give the blind sight, allow the lame to walk, and even bring the dead back to life. So in the text above in Luke 11, instead of mounting praise on him and his mother, he turned the crowds aim back to God. He turned the focus back to the Lord, stating that the blessed are those that hear God and follow him. Jesus’ mission on earth was to spread the Word of God, bring people to faith in him, and defeat sin and death. His response to the woman keeps that focus, as if saying “it’s not about my mother, or even me…rather it’s all about my Father. Turn to him, hear his words, and follow him.” May we follow these same words that Christ spoke, turning to the Father in heaven, hearing his good word, and following the path he puts before us. To God alone be the glory!