Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Judges 17-21
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 10:24-25
Jesus: A student is no greater than his teacher, and a servant is never greater than his master. It is sufficient if the student is like his teacher and the servant like his master. If people call the head of a house “Beelzebul,” which means “devil,” just imagine what they’re calling the members of his household.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
The two verses that make up this paragraph in Jesus’ lesson to His disciples has been used in many ways through the years. I’ll admit I’ve taken the first verse by itself to talk about training to the peak of understanding. Learning to become as near the Master as possible. But I’ll also admit, I’ve never really put these two verses together until I discovered them as a paragraph in The Voice. It’s an interesting way to look at Jesus’ teaching.
The head of the house holds a special place. If you think historically about the place that person holds, you begin to understand more about what Jesus talks about here. In our mobile society, we don’t get the full impact of His message as His listeners would.
Today, kids leave home and go to school, find a job, buy a house and seldom live with their parents anymore. They create their own households. But not then. Until the last century, societies were not very mobile. Children grew up in the home in which their parents lived. Families lived in the same house for generations. The head of the house most often was the eldest male member of the family, but sometimes the responsibility was passed to a son when the father became to old or feeble to carry out the responsibilities.
The head of the house held significant responsibility. The family succeeded or failed by the wisdom of the head of the house. He made the financial decisions for the house. He gave the blessing for marriages of the sons and daughters within the household. He decided what the occupation of each member of the household would be.
The family learned from the head of the house. The head of the house decided who would go to school and who would not. He decided what level of education each member of the household needed and made provision for it. He was the spiritual leader of the house. He determined the religion the family would follow. If he said the family was going to the synagogue, they all went to the synagogue. If he decided idols would be allowed in the home they would be there and everyone would worship them.
He was the master of all that happened within the boundaries of the families property. The family lived and died by the edicts of the head of the house. Part of being in a particular household meant carrying that family name. You were identified by your household, your genealogy, your heritage. That’s part of the reason genealogies were so important to the Hebrews and records exist today from hundreds of generations in the past. It’s part of the reason our scriptures are full of genealogies. Names meant something.
Names still have significant impact, not as much as they used to, but they carry a lot of weight. Think about a few names that bring some visceral response. Mother Theresa. Billy Graham. Bill Gates. Steve Jobs. Jeffrey Dahmer. Adolf Hitler. We could go on and list dozens and dozens of names that cause us to think good thoughts or bad thoughts about those names.
Imagine the whispers if you lived in Milwaukee and your name was Dahmer. I expect a few folks changed their name after the notorious story of Jeffrey’s killings and cannibalism. And the family name Hitler has all but disappeared. Names bring reactions when we hear them. They do now and they did in Jesus day.
Now think about Jesus’ words. If the head of the house is called, the devil, and he is the best of the bunch, what will people call the rest of the household members? Get the point? So whose house do you want to be a part of?
So, do you want to be in the household of Beelzebub or the household of Jesus? Both bring people into their families. Both teach their doctrine. Both require allegiance to them. One brings death, the other life. One deals in hate and destruction, the other shares love and hope. One wants selfish gain, the other deserves our worship. One tempts with temporary pleasure, the other guarantees eternal life. One pretends godlike qualities, the other is God. Which house do you want to belong to? Which name do you want to carry in this world and the next?
The surprising thing is you get to make a choice. You can choose which name you want to carry. You can decide which house you belong to. You can determine who will be the head of your house. But you only have those two choices, Beelzebub or Jesus, the devil or God. It should be an easy decision. Make the right one if you haven’t already.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.