So why didn't it all work out in a wonderfully successful way? Why didn't everybody think that Jesus and his vision were just what this hurting world needed? It's difficult to frame a simple answer to this, but we can try.
In his Gospel, John has two phrases which express the tragedy without necessarily explaining it. He says "The world knew him not . . . his own people received him not." Why? John later reports a statement of Jesus which seems to answer that question. Jesus says, "This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light"(John 3:19). There it is in the clearest and simplest words – the tragic heart of the human condition. The Bible's word for this condition, itself simple and clear, is sin.
This is what this parable of Jesus is about. In it, he tells his own destiny. Jesus had no illusions about the consequences of his words and actions. He knew the dark depths of human nature which surrounded him.
The ironic contradiction in human behavior and experience is to reject that which is clearly in our interest to accept. Our judgment is deeply flawed, and our choices are apt to be terribly wrong.
The kingdom that Jesus offers us is not taken from us by some grudging God; we ourselves choose something else! But even as we paint that grim portrait of our human nature, another face shines through it, that of Jesus Christ. The face is a promise that in Christ our humanity is also capable of a shining glory. Through Christ we can, if we choose, to set foot from time to time in the very kingdom we refuse most of the time. Thank goodness for our patient, gracious, steadfast and loving God!
The Peace of Christ be with you,
Bob+
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