Luke 12:1-21

In the meantime, when so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, He began to say to His disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (v. 1) Luke seems to be writing his gospel in chronological fashion. The NASB has “Under these circumstances…” The immediate precedent at the end of chapter 11 has Jesus pronouncing woes upon the Pharisees – this activity seems to have gathered a crowd! I wonder… Could it be that the crowd (…thousands of people…) sensed the Pharisees’ hypocrisy all along and were fully attracted to Jesus’ attacks on them? At the end of the previous chapter we saw the Pharisees looking for a way to trap Jesus in whatever He said. Maybe this surge in crowd support for Jesus could be part of the Pharisees’ hatred of Him! As we’ve said so often, their hatred blinded them to His teaching. So sad…!

At St. Andrew’s we recently finished a Lenten series on the “Three Streams” (Sacrament, Scripture, Spirit). Brian and I shared at that closing session, bringing all three streams together. In my comments I mentioned how much I had learned of the Holy Spirit’s activity when I did a Creative Arts Camp on Jesus’ references to the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel, chapters 14-16. My comments on today’s reading two years ago highlighted those Holy Spirit activities. I encourage you to look at them in that first link below and to imagine how much the Holy Spirit is active in your lives.

See also:

• July 11 (2019) / Luke 12:1-12
• July 12 (2019) / Luke 12:13-21

Luke 11:37-54

Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. (v. 43) I have so often identified with the Pharisees, especially with them being suspicious of Jesus teachings, which were outside the Pharisees’ “mainstream” teachings. I also would have doubted His miracles, where I would have suspected Him of some fraud on His “healings”. But unfortunately I also identify with the Pharisees in their seeking honor unto themselves. Mine was a troubled childhood, especially in our “yours, mine and ours” family. I was ridiculed and diminished at home, so I was guilty of “tooting my own horn” at school and among friends. That pattern, unfortunately, continued into adulthood and remains a problem with me today – constantly appreciating (if not actively seeking) honor from others. So what would it have taken for me to follow Jesus back then? Would His pointing out my sin so clearly have forced me to re-think my own predispositions? Apparently not with these Pharisees, who continued …lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say. (v. 54) As I’ve said so many times, we are so fortunate to be living on this side of Jesus’ cross and resurrection!!

See also:

• July 9 (2019) / Luke 11:37-44
• July 10 (2019) / Luke 11:45-54

Luke 10:13-42

RTNT 2021. HAPPY EASTER!! Hallelujah, He is Risen!! Blessings from our Risen Lord on you and yours!! GLORY!!

A mix of four topics in today’s reading – woes, the 70 returning, the Good Samaritan, and Martha and Mary – just so we could get to the end of the chapter. Not a good reading plan! But pick what you want to comment on.

I was struck by Jesus’ “woes” on the Jewish cities almost immediately followed by His Good Samaritan parable – the contrast between the Jews’ rejection of Jesus and the Samaritan’s behavior toward his “enemy”. I’m sure that I’m guilty of similar behavior, that I confess Jesus as Lord, but so often I turn a blind eye to the world’s hurt and fail to do the right thing. But there’s also a “non-contrast” in tying these two stories together – the consistency in the Jews’ rejection of Jesus together with their priest’s and Levite’s refusal to help their fellow countryman. In telling the Good Samaritan parable, Jesus was replying to a lawyer’s (scribe’s) question, so clearly His parable was targeted to the Jewish leaders. But we should really take a good look and ask ourselves the scribe’s question, “And who is my neighbor?” I’ve said before that I fear for our country’s wealth and prosperity up against our lack of concern for the world’s problems – our “neighbors”, if you will…

See also:

• July 6 (2019) / Luke 10:13-24
• July 7 (2019) / Luke 10:25-37
• July 8 (2019) / Luke 10:38-42

Luke 9:51-62, 10:1-12

And He sent messengers ahead of Him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for Him. But the people did not receive Him, because His face was set toward Jerusalem. (Luke 9:52-53) I commented on this verse two years ago, but it was about Jesus’ “setting His face” toward Jerusalem – a real turning point in Luke’s gospel. Two other items to note here, both with information from my Study Bibles. The first has to do with the Samaritans rejecting Jesus. One Study Bible suggested that Samaritans could normally tolerate Jews, except when they were headed to Jerusalem to observe a holy feast. That’s when their theologies particularly conflicted, with Samaritans pointing to Mt. Gerizim as the proper place to worship (John 4:20) and Jews pointing to Jerusalem. Second, my other Study Bible noted that a large section in Luke is known as his “travel narrative” (vv. 9:51-18:14) and it is not covered in the other Synoptic gospels. So this section in Luke will occupy most of our readings for the next two weeks. That’s good news for me, since Luke is my favorite gospel!

See also:

• July 3 (2019) / Luke 9:51-62
• July 5 (2019) / Luke 10:1-9

Matthew 8:18-22, 11:20-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Mt. 11:28-29) I thought of these verses on Wednesday evening as we had our “Way of the Cross” service at St. Andrew’s. One of the stations has Jesus taking up His cross. So I first thought of the verse where Jesus says “…take up your cross and follow Me.” (Mt. 16:24) And I knew that that cross would be heavy – very heavy for any of us to take it up, but not nearly as heavy as Jesus’ cross, on which he bore the sins of all people for all time. But I also thought of His yoke and our finding rest. That was a more consoling thought. So we’re somewhere in that mix between our cross and His yoke. Life has its ups and downs, its easy times and hard times. Taking up our cross is essentially inviting some challenging times in our lives, but we know that we are not carrying that cross alone. Jesus has already done the heavy lifting. We are there just to walk alongside, to love the Man who loved us so dearly. Let’s find His rest this Good Friday!

See also:

• July 2 (2019) / Matt. 8:18-22
• July 4 (2019) / Matt. 11:20-30

John 10:1-21

And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (v. 16) Earlier we read about the Syrophoenician woman who had asked Jesus to heal her daughter. (Matthew 15:21-28) At that time Jesus had replied to her, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (v. 24) However, Jesus relented based on her reply (the dogs eating the crumbs that fall from the table) and healed her daughter. Now we see Jesus actively speaking of other sheep that are not of this fold, presumably Gentiles who are not His own Israelite kin. We also saw Jesus earlier traveling through Samaria instead of taking the Jordan River road around Samaria. He had also traveled north as far as Tyre, Sidon, and Caesarea Philippi and gone east across the Sea of Galilee to other Gentile lands. So His first reply to the Syrophoenician woman seems to have been an “outlier” statement. And when He went to the cross, He no doubt died for us all – Jews and Gentiles alike. Each of us is one of those other sheep that are not of this fold. Rejoice!

See also: July 1 (2019) / John 10:1-21

John 9:24-41

The formerly blind man speaking to the Pharisees: “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (v. 25) The last half of that verse is a strong statement. Essentially the man is saying, “I may not know everything, but there is one thing that I do know…”. My first thought was that this statement belongs in our testimony to unbelievers. But frankly, that’s a cop-out! An unbeliever would just shrug his/her shoulders and walk away. But that statement really does belong in our hearts! We may have questions, we may have doubts, we may have fears, but ONE THING THAT WE DO KNOW…!!! We know Jesus.

See also:

• June 29 (2019) / John 9:24-34
• June 30 (2019) / John 9:35-41

John 9:1-23

…those who had seen him before as a beggar… (v.8b) Small point, maybe… This blind man was a beggar, not surprisingly in this 1^st-century world. But it struck me that his parents were still alive (vv. 18, ff.) – why were they not responsible for his upkeep? Maybe it depends on the man’s age. If the blind man were older (40’ish), then his parents would have been old and dependent on others for their own upkeep. The question becomes more confusing if the blind man were younger. Why was he not supported by his parents? Had they thrown him out? Or was a blind man consigned to be a beggar all his adult life? No great insights here – just wondering…

But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. (v. 16b) I noted this division among the Pharisees two years ago (see the second link below) but did not comment on those who were cited as the “others”. Clearly Jesus was turning heads (and hearts?) as He worked these signs and wonders. We already know about Nicodemus’ courage in his (gentle) opposition to the Pharisaic leadership (John 7:50-51). Now presumably there are others who are more actively wondering about Jesus. It could be that Nicodemus’ own pondering about Jesus is having an impact on his Sanhedrin colleagues, especially to the extent that he is musing about Jesus’ activities in his conversations with his friends. Which brings me to our own Holy Week… Could we make it a point to insert into our conversations with our friends that we are going to church on Wednesday evening or Thursday evening or Friday evening? We need to be speaking out, folks! We never know when a small comment can have a large impact. And it will strengthen your own soul – speaking out will be easier the next time!

See also:

• June 27 (2019) / John 9:1-12
• June 28 (2019) / John 9:13-23

John 8:37-59

I have said before that I regularly try to insert myself into these Bible incidents. Today (as a bystander) I find myself consistently sympathetic to the Jewish leaders. Jesus is speaking words that they’ve never heard before. He is making claims about His Father, God, that sound outrageous – even blasphemous to them. I understand that their real concern may be political, either a concern for someone inciting an insurrection against Rome or of someone establishing Himself as a new Jewish leader. Either way, He is a threat to their way of life.

Setting that aside and forgetting what the 1^st-century Jewish leaders heard from Jesus’ words, now I put myself as a 21^st-century believer reading and hearing Jesus’ words – knowing that I have a responsibility to hear Him and act on whatever He is saying. And He is saying a lot!! Jesus is warning us against our pride and stubbornness and our self-satisfaction for who we are and where we’ve come from. He is warning us about the devil and his murderous ways, his seeking to kill our body and soul with his deceitful tricks. He is telling us about His relationship with the Father and (knowing what we know about His death and resurrection) how His relationship with the Father can be ours also! And He is telling us who He is, who He was from time eternal, the great “I AM”! Jesus may have left the Jewish leaders confused and angry, but He leaves us with clear Truth and begs our humility and our worship. Love Him!!

See also:

• June 25 (2019) / John 8:37-47
• June 26 (2019) / John 8:48-59