Glimpse of the Divine

Glimpse of the Divine
Words of Faith 2-21-2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 11
[12] The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

Sometimes, we focus so much on the divinity of Christ that we miss the beautiful glimpses of His humanity. Here is one. Jesus did not just "appear" to be human. He was human. He got hungry and thirsty. Sometimes, He got hot and sweaty. Other times, He was cold and uncomfortable, just like every other human, and the warmth of a fire was something He desired.
As a human, Jesus had a whole range of emotions to contend with, from great joy to enormous grief. He laughed with His disciples and wept at the news that a friend had died. He was blessed by the faith of a centurion and dumbfounded at the hard-heartedness of others. On this day, He was hungry.

As Jesus began the last week of His earthly life, He was utterly human as well as utterly divine. Jesus knew what was ahead for Him. He walked in faith, but surely He was also dreading the pain He knew was coming. He knew that He would be betrayed by one of His very best friends. He knew that on His last night, His disciples still would not "get it," and in the Garden, His soul would be grieved to the point of death. He knew that He would be persecuted by His own people. He knew that He would be tortured. He knew that He would die at the hands of sinful men amid jeers and insults. It was for love that He went forward, but don't mistake that love for anything painless. And for right now, He was hungry.
It seems strange that Jesus was hungry. By the flow of the text, we assume that Jesus stayed in the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. Did they not feed Him before He left for the day? What an oversight! Oh, that we could go back and offer Jesus something to eat. A simple meal. A piece of bread. An offer of hospitality before he faced such inhospitality. But we cannot go back. Jesus started the last week of His earthly life hungry. It shouldn't have been so, but it was, and the Scripture will forever record that fact: He was hungry. It just shouldn't have been so.
No. We cannot go back and feed Jesus. We cannot give any comfort to His last week. We cannot even offer a little bread. Or can we? Actually, Jesus Himself revealed a way.
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:37‑40)

Lord, thank You for entering into human flesh to give us a glimpse of the divine. Thank You for surrendering to the frailty of human flesh to redeem me from the curse of sin and death. Give me eyes to see You and ears to hear You when You are hungry and thirsty in this world. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.