Kyle Idleman continues Chapter 5 of The End of Me by exploring the difference between a jar being full or filled. He draws on Luke’s account of Jesus at a Pharisee’s house, during which Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14).
As the dinner commences and Jesus is being carefully watched, a man suffering from edema enters the room. His body filled with excess fluid, the man’s health is an empty jar. Of course, Jesus fills that jar and heals the man. It should be a wonderful moment, but the Pharisees make no effort to question their preconceptions in the face of this miracle. The question is: Are they full or filled?
Pastor Idleman explains the reason for the Pharisees’ static behavior. They have no room. They’re full to the brim with ideas so entrenched they are chiseled into their stony hearts. The Pharisees have bought into Jesus being wrong.
Jesus makes a second attempt to get through the Pharisees’ ironclad defense by asking a really irritating question (v. 5): “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” Jesus knows the answer. The Pharisees know the answer. Then Jesus tells a parable in one final attempt to get through, even though He knows the parable is likely to go in one ear and out the other.
Today’s question: Is your jar full of preconceptions or does it need to be filled? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Parable of the Great Banquet”