Luke 11:27-28 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. (28) But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
There is a very popular world religion today that esteems the mother of Jesus to an extremely high level. While I have not studied any of their doctrines on the issue or heard any real argumentations as to why they promote her as they do, it does seem, from an outsider’s perspective, that at least at times they elevate her to a level equal or higher than Jesus himself. I have heard some of those religious people say that they pray to her. I have heard some of them mention her in spiritual ways and never mention Jesus and I have seen countless statues of Mary in man people’s front yards.
If Jesus and God had a desire to elevate Mary to a place that she should be praised in a manner similar to Jesus, this passage would have been a perfect place for Jesus to have informed us as such. In our text today, we find Jesus doing what he did most, preaching to a crowd. In that crowd was a woman who shouted out Jesus. In doing so, she shouted out praise to Mary.
“Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.”
We MUST pay attention to the reaction of Jesus here. I think it speaks volumes as to how we should proceed with the words of this woman.
Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Instead of telling us that Mary his mother is deserving high praise for being chosen by God to bare him, Jesus thinks that our attention should be on something else. He said “rather” than focusing on her, we should understand who is really the recipients of God’s blessings. Jesus said blessed are they that HEAR the word of God and Keep it.
Jesus could have described his followers in many ways, but it is not an accident that he describes them in the manner that he does. It is not good enough to have a vague knowledge of Jesus. He wants us to be real students of his mission and his message. But it is also not good enough to simply have knowledge of God’s will, the real blessings fall on those that truly keep his words.
James 1:21-22 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (22) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
To keep God’s word is not just vague or general agreement with Jesus’ philosophies, it is a sincere understanding and accepting of it to the point of applying it to our lives. I assure you that if you search the New Testament as Jesus intends, there will be things delivered to us that we will not necessarily like. But to keep his words is to set aside what we think, what we want, what we prefer and instead to put in place the teachings of God. To be a true follower of Jesus means to live a life of Sacrifice.
Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
True blessings from God come to those that OBEY him.
Reflecting His SON,
Dennis Hogan
Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ
North Hardin Church of Christ
1804 Sam Stewart Dr.
Radcliff, KY 40160
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