Route 55 Lenten Devotional Week 2
Posted on 2/24/2021 12:00:00 AM
THUS IT IS WRITTEN
PSALM 78:1-2 O MY PEOPLE, HEAR MY TEACHING; LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH. I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES, I WILL UTTER HIDDEN THINGS, THINGS FROM OF OLD – WHAT WE HAVE HEARD AND KNOWN, WHAT OUR FATHERS HAVE TOLD US.
One of the most common teaching methods Jesus used was parables – word pictures that illustrated spiritual truths. The parables were meant to help people understand in a clearer and deeper way the nature of God, how Jesus was the promised Messiah, and what it could mean to accept the salvation he provided enabling his followers to live life God’s way.
For those willing to listen and learn, the parables could be like turning on a light of understanding, but unfortunately there were also those who chose not to accept Jesus’ teaching and kept stumbling around in spiritual darkness.
During the last supper with his disciples, Jesus painted one of these powerful word pictures for them. (John 15:1-8) Jesus explained how God was the Gardener, Jesus himself was the vine, and his followers were the branches. It was only by being connected to him that their lives could produce a rich harvest of fruit. In a time and place in which vineyards were a common part of the countryside, seeing them would have been a frequent reminder to his disciples of what Jesus had taught.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5