Luke 19:1-27

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (v. 8) I was thinking of Zacchaeus in contrast to the incident of Jesus and the earlier young man, the “rich, young ruler”. Zacchaeus and the young man were both wealthy. Jesus had told the young man to go and sell all that he had and follow Him – and the young man went away dispirited. But Zacchaeus offers to give away half of what he has and the Lord honors him. So giving away half – good for Zacchaeus! Giving away all, not so good for the young man.

I think Jesus saw something in these two personalities. Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus – and not asking for anything more; the young man was seeking eternal life – a reward to be obtained. Jesus asked something of each of them – from Zacchaeus He didn’t ask much, from the young man He asked a lot. Jesus has full liberty to ask whatever He will. There is no expectation that He will ask the same from each of us. From those who have little, He may ask a little or a lot. Likewise, from those who have much He may ask a little or a lot. But whatever we do have, He wants it to be used for His Kingdom, not squirrelled away in a handkerchief.

See also:

• August 24 (2019) / Luke 19:1-10
• August 25 (2019) / Luke 19:10-27

Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, and Luke 18:35-43

And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (Luke 18:43b) Two years ago we read these three passages on three consecutive days, and on the second day, Mark’s version, I commented on the crowd’s reaction to Bartimaeus begging Jesus to be healed. See the second link below. What I had not seen back then was the third day, Luke’s version, where the crowd had a third reaction beyond rebuke and encouragement – that they gave praise to God when they saw Bartimaeus healed. Their reaction is a bit short of the blind man (men?) immediately following Jesus, but nonetheless is a really positive response.

They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” (Matthew 20:33) In addition to “Your will be done”, maybe this quotation from the two blind men should be an additional part of our prayer response to decisions that need to be made. Yes, we want what God wants, but it’s more helpful for our faith if we can see His preferred outcome from His perspective. And even though we may not see His perspective at decision time, we need to continue to watch His outcome unfolding so that our eyes can be opened to His work. For example, let’s look at our last two U.S. presidential elections. Do we really believe Romans 13:1? Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Christians are divided between Trump and Biden support. Those who support Biden need to look backward from Trump’s victory in 2016 and his four years in office to see God’s will unfolding during that time. Likewise, Trump supporters need to look forward from Biden’s 2020 victory to see where God’s hand is on his administration. Neither side agrees with everything that their preferred “leader” has done or will do, but in the end God sees and allows both good and evil, and it’s His call, not ours, to mourn or to rejoice. Lord, let our eyes be opened.

See also:

• August 21 (2019) / Matt. 20:29-34
• August 22 (2019) / Mark 10:46-52
• August 23 (2019) / Luke 18:35-42

Matthew 20:17-28, Mark 10:32-45, and Luke 18:31-34

We have some chronological problems with today’s setting. From yesterday’s reading, John 11:54 puts Jesus in a city called Ephraim; scholars put that city some 15 miles north or northwest from Jerusalem. So what is the mother of James and John doing this far south from Capernaum (some 50-60 miles): Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Him with her sons… (Matthew 20:20a) But let’s put that verse together with Mark 10:32, And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. The key phrase here is “those who followed”. I presume that Jesus and His disciples had joined a group from Galilee that was going to Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover celebration. James and John found their mother in that group and the story unfolds. Reading between the lines…!

I just returned from taking some table scraps to our chickens. It’s always interesting to watch them fighting over the best of the scraps – choosing the cut-up strawberries over the lettuce pieces. And no matter what I give them every morning they try to be first in line and are fighting over table scraps or feeder pellets or cracked corn. So this morning, having read today’s readings, I saw the chickens with names James and John, fighting over those table scraps. Now we know and they knew that it was not table scraps they were seeking, but the glory that would be Jesus in His Kingdom. But still, they wanted to be first and they wanted the best seats.

And I wondered about our choosing the best seats – but I just don’t see it in our congregation. Avanza ended this past week and even through the pandemic Kelly and Abigail and a dozen or more parishioners and outsiders were serving (and loving!) these Hispanic kids. I see a staff that rarely complains about what they are asked to do. I see people stepping up whenever there is some particular need. You can always find a dozen or more people helping to clean up after a potluck. (I trust you can remember potlucks, pre-pandemic!) But still, in our own lives, are we seeking the best seats? Again, wanting to be recognized for what we do…? But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be servant of all. (vv. 43b-44)

See also:

• August 18 (2019) / Matt. 20:17-28
• August 19 (2019) / Mark 10:32-45
• August 20 (2019) / Luke 18:31-34

John 11:38-57

Many of the Jews therefore … believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. (vv. 45a,46) In my posts two days ago my comments from 2019 had included a discussion of who “the Jews” were. All along I’ve suggested that when John refers to “the Jews” he is speaking of the Jewish leaders, not the overall Jewish population. In the case of Lazarus, these Jews could have been local Jewish leaders in Bethany (Lazarus’ home), but they could also have included Jewish leaders from Jerusalem and even some of those more active in the temple worship.

Either way, some of these Jews returned to Jerusalem to tell the Pharisee leaders of this miracle – and I’m wondering, for some of them, at the extent of their new belief in Jesus. Some of them, especially those from Jerusalem, would probably have remained skeptical – though I can’t imagine how! But others, especially those from Bethany could have been overtaken by this latest miracle and asked the Pharisees genuinely if this Jesus could be the Messiah? So there could have been a healthy discussion about Jesus – until Caiaphas interrupted with his proclamation and death sentence. Then any of those Jewish leaders who may have been prone to believe in Jesus would have been shouted down! But my sense is that those new “believers” would have been strengthened in their faith. That is, if these “lesser” Jewish leaders had been shut down for what they were now believing, my sense is that human nature would lead them to be more firm in their belief, that their resolve would have been strengthened, that they would have gone back to Bethany, met up with Lazarus and his family and become active believers. Or is my natural optimism misguided?

See also:

• August 16 (2019) / John 11:38-44
• August 17 (2019) / John 11:45-57

John 11:17-37

So now I can’t see the name “Lazarus” without thinking about John S.’s argument that Lazarus may have written the Gospel of John. Further support for that argument has to do with the amount of time that John’s Gospel has Jesus in Judea and the fact that Lazarus was from Bethany, only two miles from Jerusalem. In fact, it’s easier to mention how little time John’s Gospel has Jesus in Galilee. The first half of chapter 2 has Him at the wedding in Cana, then in Jerusalem for a cleansing of the temple. Then chapter 4 has Him in Samaria with the woman at the well, followed by nine verses of Him in Galilee, then back to Jerusalem in chapter 5. Chapter 6 has Him in the region of the Sea of Galilee before He returns for a feast in Jerusalem in chapter 7. An argument could then be made that, except for a few verses and incidents, everything from chapter 7 to the end of the Gospel has Jesus in Judea. So John is on solid ground in arguing for Lazarus as the author of the Gospel of John. Interesting …!!

So today… I’m intrigued by Martha and Mary and their interactions with Jesus. They have been with Jesus before, probably on many occasions; it’s likely that He often stayed with them when He visited Jerusalem. But in today’s reading both of them go to meet Jesus quietly before He even enters the village. They both have witnessed Jesus’ power in the past, so much so that in verses 21 and 32 each of them says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Then when Jesus saw Mary weeping, …He was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled…, to the point of weeping Himself (vv. 33, 35). Finally, there is an interesting item from verse 28 where Martha says to Mary, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” My Study Bible mentioned that women were not taught by the Jewish rabbis, but that Jesus’ special relationship with Martha and Mary led them to be able to call Him “the Teacher”. All in all, Jesus has a special relationship with this entire family!

See also:

• August 14 (2019) / John 11:17-27
• August 15 (2019) / John 11:28-37

John 11:1-16

I’ve always seen Jesus’ raising of Lazarus as the beginning of the end. After this miracle we’ll only have a few more days’ readings before Palm Sunday.

Geography: Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” (v. 7) Yesterday we had Jesus in Jerusalem arguing with the Jewish leaders; then He went away “beyond the Jordan” (John 10:40). Bethany is near Jerusalem, basically a valley/ravine between the two cities. So when Jesus gets the news of Lazarus He is across the Jordan, basically a day’s journey away. In tomorrow’s reading Jesus will make that trip back to Bethany.

So, when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. (v. 6) So why did Jesus stay two days longer? We know that Lazarus died while Jesus stayed those two days and Jesus explains to the disciples that He already knew of Lazarus’ death: Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe…” (v. 14) So the question – what did Jesus do during those two days? – is less important than that He knew of Lazarus’ death. That is, we see Jesus clearly in touch with His Father. My conclusion is that Jesus spent a good part of those two days in prayer, communing with His Father. His cross was now just weeks away and He needed His Father’s guidance, love, and support to prepare for this ordeal. Jesus sets a good example for us as we seek to move forward in whatever is His will for us.

See also: August 13 (2019) / John 11:1-16

John 10:22-42

I’ve never understood this verse: Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?” (v. 34) So I went back and read Psalm 82; its verse 6 contains the line that Jesus is quoting. After an opening verse, God is the One speaking in this entire Psalm. He is looking down and castigating the leaders and judges of Israel, beginning with His first words: How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? (v. 2) He continues that charge in the next two verses. Then He describes the “mental/ethical condition” of these judges: They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness… (v. 5) It is at this point that God speaks the words that Jesus quotes: I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” (vv. 6-7) He is speaking to these judges and calling them gods, a not uncommon claim by political and religious rulers in these Old Testament times, even though they are clearly human beings. So Jesus applies these words from the Psalm to Himself, but He claims that His calling (as a Son, v. 36) is at a much higher level than were the judges in old Israel. It’s still a bit confusing to me how Jesus makes the leap from the human gods to Himself being the Son of God, but at least I understand the quote a bit better.

See also: August 12 (2019) / John 10:22-42

Matthew 20:1-16

The owner of the vineyard speaking: Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? (v. 15) I’m not sure why this verse struck me, but I made it personal, as if I were the person asking the question. And immediately I came up with the answer, “No!”. I am not … allowed to do what I choose …! First, the key phrase is …what belongs to me. Because none of what we have “belongs” to us. We are stewards of what God has given us. Many Sundays at the offering we say: “All things come of Thee, O LORD, and of Thine own have we given Thee.” (quoting I Chronicles 29:11) And that needs to be our perspective. Second, no, we should not take the position that “we are allowed to do what we choose”. I daresay that much of what is difficult in our lives is the result of bad choices that we have made. We cannot on our own know what’s best for us – Adam and Eve proved that in the Garden. In addition, as stewards we have a responsibility for what has been given to us. We should engage in serious prayer as to how we choose to spend our $$. So even though this verse 15 is the owner of the vineyard (God) speaking, out of context it also speaks to us.

See also: August 11 (2019) / Matt. 20:1-16

Luke 18:18-30

The “rich, young ruler”, the finale! Comparing the three accounts… First, Matthew and Mark each list six “commandments”, but for each of them their sixth is not one of the original Mt. Sinai commandments. Matthew has …love your neighbor as yourself (v. 19), while Mark’s sixth is “Do not defraud…” (v. 19). Neither of them mentions “Do not covet…”, which seems to be the young man’s main problem, his love for his wealth. Luke mentions only five commandments. Second, when Jesus mentions the rewards that will come to those who follow Him, only Mark adds “…with persecutions” (v. 30). On that item, I think of converts in Muslim countries who become outcasts from their families and communities. Bethany Tennent has talked about this outcome as one of the major difficulties the Alagwa people have in following Jesus. Third, I already mentioned two days ago about Matthew’s inclusion of the disciples’ sitting on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel; only Matthew includes this item. Fourth, none of these gospels specifically mentions a “rich, young ruler”. Both Matthew and Mark speak of “a man” or “someone”, and Matthew calls the man “young” in verses 20 and 22; only Luke calls him “a ruler”. Finally, all three Synoptic writers include the line, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, a clear warning to those of us in our wealthy USA environment to be careful for the extent to which we are “coveting” (think, serving), our wealth.

I’m sure there are other differences between the three Synoptic gospels. Please feel free to mention some that I have not included.

All in all, this story of the “rich, young ruler” is worthy of our three days’ study!

See also: August 10 (2019) / Luke 18:18-30