Today’s Devotional Reading: Insights Gained From the Story of the Antelope Herd That Jumped From a Cliff

By Qianbei

One day, I read an article describing how a herd of antelope had met with a sudden death after jumping from a cliff. The story told how, due to an eye disease, the leader of the herd failed to see the cliff looming behind a thicket of bushes and, clearing the bushes with a single leap, plunged over the precipice. The rest of the herd was following close behind their leader and they too jumped and fell. Of course, there was nothing wrong with the vision of the rest of the herd—they would have been able to see the cliff, so, why did they still jump? Well, it is actually because it is the natural behavior of antelopes to follow the leader of the herd. Wherever the leader goes, the herd follows. They don’t have the ability to make decisions on their own, and so when the leader jumped over the cliff, the herd followed suit, leading to their sudden, collective death. Clearly, the act of blindly following can very easily take one down the wrong path, and in severe cases may even lead to calamity.

Spiritual Reflections: Why Did the Jews Join With the Pharisees in Resisting the Lord Jesus?

By Cheng Tu

My brothers and sisters:

May you have peace in the Lord! We all know that two-thousand years ago, the Jews joined the Pharisees in nailing the Lord Jesus to the cross. I trust many brothers and sisters are confused about the following: During the time when the Lord Jesus appeared to carry out His work, He showed people the way of repentance, taught them to love others as they loved themselves and to be forgiving and patient. He gifted abundant grace unto man and performed many miracles, such as bringing the dead back to life with a single word and feeding five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. At the time, many Jews also followed the Lord Jesus. So what reason could possibly account for the fact that the Jews joined the Pharisees in abandoning the Lord Jesus and nailing Him to the cross even after receiving such abundant grace from Him? Understanding the answer to this question is of great importance to us as we strive to improve in our following of God. Today, let us commune on the question of why the Jews joined the Pharisees in resisting the Lord Jesus and how we may avoid treading the same road of failure as the Jews trod. I pray that God may guide us in the following communion.