While this hatred was coming from the religious authorities, Jesus’ words make clear that the hatred is not only of him but of God, and so those who are supposed to be God’s representatives are actually demonstrating hatred for God. To underline the religious teachers' complete misunderstanding, the quote that is “written in their law” from Psalm 35:19 highlights that they have not recognised that this animosity without cause was predicted. When in your prayer life you feel that God is asking something of you, do you obey without question?

What can we, as followers of Jesus, do to play our part in rebuilding God's one world which was envisaged in the beginning? Joseph’s story has many high points and low points, yet “the Lord was with him”. What helps you to sense that Lord is with you in the high and low points of your life? I try to thank my staff weekly as recognising and encouraging them is part of caring for them. I know what it's like to have no encouragement at all; it leaves you questioning whether you are doing a good job and doubting whether what you are doing is right – making you feel no one cares. It’s an awful place to be, one in which you feel undervalued and unappreciated. When Jesus refers to the 'yeast' of the Pharisees and Herod in verse 15, this is because in many places in the Old Testament yeast was used as a symbol of influence, often negatively. (Interestingly, Jesus unusually uses yeast in a positive way, as a sign of the kingdom, in Luke 13:21 – the difficulty of metaphor!). Jesus is warning his disciples that they are in danger of seeing the world through corrupted eyes, even while in the company of himself. There may be another of Jesus’ sighs of exasperation that they are concerned about having enough to eat, when he is with them and is the ‘bread of life'. Besides, haven’t they seen him produce a miraculous bounty of food for thousands of people? One can almost hear Jesus’ thoughts about what more is needed to convince people that he is the Messiah. Jesus gradually opens the eyes of his followers to a greater understanding of truth about his mission and purpose. Those of us who know how the story unfolds will realise that even the Crucifixion is not a final statement, but leads into a new chapter that emerges from the Resurrection and the unleashing of the Spirit of God in the world.The kingdom of heaven is like yeast," Jesus says. Yeast. It is an image with a cutting edge. Yeast bubbles, ferments, disturbs, agitates. Yeast is hard to control. Yeast is transformative. The kingdom of heaven isn't merely growing quietly in our midst; it is bubbling inside us, fermenting, agitating and transforming us into something new. The movement of God within our lives may well be disturbing and unsettling. This is counter to popular thinking, which runs: "I want God to make the world a safe and secure place for me and my loved ones. I want God to make my life easier, less stressful, more stable, and secure." He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every other name. (vs 8-9) Do you agree that this story is written from someone who looked at the world many years on and sought to find the beginnings of the darker place which that world has become? When God speaks to us he may ask for a sacrifice. Have you ever found God asking more of you than you feel able to offer?

So many of the traditional rules about behaviour have a negative tone – "Don’t do this or that". It shows how awfully we humans can treat each other. But ‘love’ carries many positive tones, perhaps best expressed in "Do all the good you can".

However this is where the problems begin, for it seems that whereas the offering of a lamb was well received, God was less pleased with the crops of the ground, causing Cain to feel resentful towards his brother. It would seem that while the lamb had been the best of those available, although it's not spelled out, Cain's offerings had perhaps not been the best of the crop available, hence the response he received from God for his gift. In the words of the hymn "Jesus bids us shine" we are each called to do our bit in our own location: "You in your small corner and I in mine." Are there things you and your friends might do to make the world a fairer place? How do the words we have considered speak to us in the way we live our lives as disciples of a living God and how can we help others to turn to him? Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. (v. 9) The language is certainly very colourful and the writing intense. Indeed, it may leave us feeling a little uncomfortable. The ‘scoffers’ suggest that the world is continuing much the same as it always has and that the promises of Jesus are proving fruitless. However misguided these ‘godless’ people’s views may seem though, would we like to see them destroyed by fire along with the heavens and the earth? Is this how we imagine the judgement of God?