The Fool
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Taste is a wonderful thing. The way we can enjoy such a wide variety of food is a blessing.
But here is something intresting: Our mouths are more sentative to some flavours than others.
Sourness for example is a strong flavor. Sweetness, so long as you are not over endulging is also a strong flavour.
Both sweetness and sourness are considered palatible.
But the strongest flavour we can taste is intresting: The strongest flavor we can taste is the one flavor that is classed as non-palitible.
In other words, we dont like the taste at all.
This flavor is called bitterness.
Why is our strongest flavor the most unplesent?
Bitterness in food is because the food has lots of alkaloids. Alkaloids are what makes food bitter.
What are alkaloids?
Alkaloids are a plants natural toxic defence. Simply put, alkaloids are what make plants toxic.
So, God in his infinate wisdom made us extra sentative to bitterness so that we would not end up poisining ourselves.
Intresting but whats the point?
There are 2 greek words that mean fool. One is “af-ron” which means ignorant. They are foolish because of ignorance.
But the other greek word is “mor-ano”, where the english word “moron” comes from.
Paul uses this word in romans 1:22.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
The word Mor-ano literally means “to become tasteless”.
Jesus used the word mor-ano when he said:
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned?
Salt is a flavor enhancer.
It makes sweet things sweeter, sour things sourer, savory more savory, and bitter things more bitter.
Here is what is so interesting: Salt cannot lose its flavor in the sense that it will always enhance sweet, sour and savory foods.
But when salt gets evaporated again and again it looses its ability to effect bitterness only.
In other words: Saly looses its flavor when it no longer has any effect on the bitter alkaloids.
A fool, therefore, is literally someone who’s taste, judgment, is so poor then they cannot detect the toxins, the poisons, the evil of their actions.
So by this biblical understanding of foolishness, perhaps the greatest fool in the bible has to be:
Judas Iscariot.
Judas is a man who, as salt, lost his ability to detect or discern the evil bitterness of his thoughts and actions.
And in the end, not being able to pick up the bitterness of his sin, poisioned his mind to death.
As Jesus Himself said:
24 The Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
What can we learn about the foolishness of Judas? What can we learn about the dangers of loosing our saltiness?
The Decision of a Fool
The Decision of a Fool
For Judas the final straw in his mind was when Jesus rebuked him over the expensive jar of oil that Mary broke in her worship of Jesus.
We are told:
5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the proceeds given to poor people?”
6 Now he said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he kept the money box, he used to steal from what was put into it.
The mind of a fool is a selfish mind.
Selfishness has been called the mother of all sin, while pride is the father of all sins.
Judas was a thief. Yet, this sin eventually stopped bothering him.
The bitterness of theivery, stopped being bitter. Judas lost his saltiness.
As christians we need to diligently and regulary examine ourselves, our minds and our thoughts.
And a vital prt of this self examination is testing our saltiness against bitter thoughts.
Am I becoming foolish? Are there foods that at one stage i coulnt eat because they were to bitter but now im getting used to it?
Translation: Are there clear NT sins that are not as offensive to me now than they used to be?
The Deeds of a Fool
The Deeds of a Fool
Judas shows us the actions of a fool:
1: He rejected love.
Jesus called Judas Friend.
50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him.
Some have suggested that this is not indicting true friendship but just a common greeting.
This is completely wrong.
Yes, Jesus did use the greeting “Friend” at times but this is not one of them.
20 And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
The word “friend” here is the greeting “Anthropos” in Greek and it means “Fellow human”.
Jesus called Judas “He-teros” and it means comrade - literally: A companion.
2: Jesus washed the feet of Judas.
Jesus manifested his love for us in his act of sacrificial service on the cross.