John 12:1-11

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” A few days ago we saw the “Passover Plot” being hatched – the chief priests and the Pharisees plotting together to kill Jesus. The argument put forth was that one man could die instead of the whole nation. Well, today that plot has expanded, adding Lazarus to the chief priests’ hit list. However, Lazarus was not added to the list to “save a nation”, but only for the chief priests to “save face” since many Jews were believing in Jesus because of Lazarus. Various traditions have Lazarus living some thirty years after his resurrection. There was one interesting bit of information I found online: “According to tradition, <with one exception> Lazarus never smiled during the thirty years after his resurrection, worried by the sight of unredeemed souls he had seen during his four-day stay in Hades.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_of_Bethany Interesting.

There was one other peculiar item that I saw much earlier this year, that I reported on May 26 – that Judas Iscariot was the only non-Galilean of Jesus’ twelve apostles. That is interesting in and of itself, but for this lone non-Galilean to be the keeper of the moneybag is even stranger! Were Galileans not to be trusted? Recall, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Finally, during my undergraduate years I wrote a paper based on verse 8: For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me. Written for a course on the Economics of Poverty, my paper was titled “Him, His Work, His Church, and His Poor”. The thesis of the paper was to rebut the notion that there will always be poor people, so why bother trying to help them or eliminate poverty. I remember getting very positive comments on the paper from my professor!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 19:10-27

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Two items come to mind today. First, I was wondering in Jesus’ parable what would have happened if one or more of the ten servants had invested the minas and come up short of the ten – or maybe even lost it all. After all there is always some risk with investing; really good plans can go sour when the economy goes south. (NOTE: So long as the servant(s) could explain their investment(s) and did not “gamble” it away…) My guess is that the nobleman would have accepted the loss and advised on future investing, but not upbraided the servant. That is, (my guess again, is that) we can fail and fail again in our efforts, but to the extent that we are seeking the Lord He would still commend us.

Second, the “handkerchief” servant showed no effort and no gain, but the nobleman simply took the ten minas from him and gave them to the ten-return servant, with no punishment meted out to this “lazy” servant. However, having referred to him as a “wicked” servant, my guess is that, at a minimum, he would have been dismissed or been reduced to some dreadful chores on the nobleman’s land. This servant’s situation sounds a lot like Jesus’ words to the Church at Laodicea, I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) Be HOT for the Lord, folks. It’s the only way!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 19:1-10

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Parallels between the blind man/men and Zacchaeus…

1. They heard that Jesus was coming their way. Apparently the crowd following Jesus was large and loud.
2. They made the effort to see Jesus – the blind men verbally and Zacchaeus visually.
3. The crowd was displeased – they tried to shut up the blind men and they berated Jesus for being a guest in a sinner’s house.
4. When He became aware of them Jesus called them to Him.
5. They came hastily!
6. They made their requests known to Jesus – the blind men seeking sight and Zacchaeus seeking forgiveness.
7. Jesus granted “salvation” in each case.

Yet with all the similarities there was one big difference between the blind men and Zacchaeus: the blind men were dirt-poor beggars and Zacchaeus was a very rich chief tax collector. Yet they both called to Jesus and He answered their prayers and made them whole. It doesn’t matter who we are or where we are in life, Jesus is always there to hear our call and heal us at our deepest needs. What a Mighty God we serve…!!!

Slava Bohu!

Luke 18:35-42

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Consistencies and inconsistencies…

1. Two blind men, unnamed; one blind man, unnamed; one blind man named Bartimaeus.
2. …as they went out of Jericho (twice); …as He was coming near Jericho.
3. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. (twice); “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David.
4. “What do you want me to do for you?” (thrice)
5. The multitude warned him (them) to be quiet. (thrice)
6. “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” (twice); “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”
7. “…your faith has made you well (twice).
8. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus (twice); And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
9. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. (one time)

Surprisingly consistent across all three Gospels, even though each writer has his own spin on a few items. It’s not carbon-copy material. My one lingering question – why did Matthew leave out “Your faith has made you well.” To me, that is the denouement for this narrative, the climax that says it all. Glory!!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 10:46-52

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” I love Bartimaeus’ reaction to Jesus’ invitation: Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. (v. 50) I’m sure it’s been said by dozens of preachers, “That’s how we need to respond to Jesus. When He calls us, we need to throw aside whatever else we are doing and come to Him.” It sounds so simple, but others responded to Jesus’ wedding invitation parable with “I have married a wife…” and “I have bought a piece of land…” and “I have bought five yoke of oxen…”. (Luke 14:18-20) Unfortunately we each can probably identify with one of those excuses (or one of our own making) for not “jumping up” to follow Jesus. Or how about, “Here I am <Lord>, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8) Can anyone identify with Isaiah?

Note the crowd’s reaction to Jesus’ call to Bartimaeus – from admonishing him and telling him to be quiet to calling him and saying to him, “Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you.” (v. 49b) I wonder at our Lord’s reaction to their reversal. Does He chastise them for being fickle, from rebuke to encouragement? Or does He rejoice that the crowd has had that change of heart? I presume that He is happy that the crowd got it right in the end. But does He sometimes get exasperated at our own hesitation to do what is right? What is Paul’s answer to our hesitation? “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 6:2) Let your yes be yes and your no be no. (Matthew 5:37) Let’s be YES, folks!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 20:29-34

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more… (v. 31) Why were the onlookers so harsh to the two blind men, sternly telling them to be quiet? Was this behavior typical? Was this part of the Jewish moral code, as in …who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:2) An immediate stereotype of someone born blind…? Seems harsh! But a good contrast to Jesus’ compassion!

It’s hard to read this selection without noticing Jesus’ question to the men, What do you want Me to do for you? (v. 31b) It’s a simple question with an obvious answer – we want to see. But in sermons or in conversation, others have offered a salient point – Jesus wants us to ask. He can do anything of His own accord, but He wants us to be connected to Him through our perceived needs. Clearly Jesus knew that the men needed more than physical healing. And when they had received their physical healing, they continued forward with Jesus toward their spiritual needs. Possibly those who have been blind are better at seeing than the rest of us…?

Slava Bohu!

Luke 18:31-34

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Jesus had already predicted His death and resurrection at least three times (Luke 9:22-27; Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32), but this time His prediction follows His raising Lazarus from the dead. I would think that, having heard it so many times and now seeing Lazarus’ resurrection, that the twelve would have had more understanding. Yet verse 34 says that …they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. My guess is that inwardly they were denying His death and accordingly could not fathom His resurrection to any comprehensible degree. Even today very few people would deny that Jesus was crucified and died, but are unwilling to accept the compelling evidence that He rose from the dead. Today it’s a matter of faith (or lack thereof); presumably it was the same back in the 1^st century.

Jesus pinpoints details about His death in our readings from the past three days, much more than He had in His prior death predictions. The accuracy of His predictions strengthens the faith of believers, but also provides fodder for His antagonists to suggest that the Gospel writers wrote what they wanted well after the fact, so as to make Jesus’ words and those of the Old Testament prophets coincide with actual outcomes. Same comment I closed with in the first paragraph above – it’s a matter of faith (or lack thereof)!!

Slava Bohu!

Mark 10:32-45

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. (v. 32a) That “…they were amazed…” seems to me a reasonable reaction, especially if they had just witnessed the raising of Lazarus. But what caught my eye was that “those who followed were fearful…”. That struck me as strange, at first. But then, thinking further… The crowd that was following probably included some devoted disciples, but it may also have included some onlookers who were interested in “this Jesus”, but who also knew that to be in favor of Jesus was to be at odds with the Jewish leadership. And if rumors had begun circulating about the chief priests and Sadducees now agreeing together on Jesus as an “enemy of the state”, following along after Jesus could indeed make for a fearful follower.

Following fearfully is not where we are in the USA these days. No further comment, just that…

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 20:17-28

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” It doesn’t seem so strange to me that James and John (in Mark) and their mother (in Matthew) would ask to sit on Jesus’ right hand and left hand. But what makes it really strange is that in doing so they are ignoring Peter! These brothers were possibly in the fishing business with Peter. He was the one who made the dramatic claim of Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi. He was there with them at the Transfiguration. And it was very likely Peter’s house where Jesus stayed when He was in Capernaum. The brothers (or their mother) asking for special favor seems a bit greedy, but it is not so far-fetched. Leaving Peter out, however, seems excessive!

Verse 24 follows naturally from my thoughts in the paragraph above: And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. I seldom think of the disciples quarrelling among themselves. Certainly Jesus offered special treatment to his “top three” – Peter, James, and John. Even that trio is without Peter’s brother, Andrew, our namesake, which seems strange since Andrew was the one who brought Peter to Jesus. And a few others like Philip and Thomas earn more mention than all of the other six (except Judas at the very end). So today’s reading is a strange incident in the Gospel stories. Which makes it all the more authentic, to see these disciples whom we have labelled “saints” behaving like the rest of us. They weren’t always “saintly”!!

I see our congregation as full of “servants”. I have three people in mind right now who serve us weekly at The Gathering. Avanza is coming up and we’ll see another 20-30 people showing up for tutoring, with dozens of others providing snacks and Ellen Backs quietly organizing things. And when those kids line up to go to Children’s Worship, know that there are two or three people there waiting to greet them – not to mention others in the nursery across the hall. Drop by during the week and see how many ladies offer their time to Sharon to lighten her load. Oh yeah, the building doesn’t simply run itself – someone is looking over “its shoulder”. And with this listing I haven’t even covered half of what members of our congregation do to serve one another. Be assured, those who serve are a blessing and are blessed. Be one!!

Slava Bohu!

John 11:45-57

Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.

“Notice what you notice.” Now he <Caiaphas> did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. (vv. 51-52) Caiaphas, the ultimate politician, willing to let an innocent man die so that he could maintain his own power!

It’s strange that the two major political parties, the Sadducees (Caiaphas, the chief priest) and the Pharisees could come together and agree on this one item, that Jesus must die. Verse 53 is telling: So from that day on they planned together to kill Him. Jesus had a long history of doing battle with the Pharisees. Now the other political party, the Sadducees has joined the fray and they have agreed together! All this in spite of the fact that many of the Jewish leaders were now believing in Him (v. 45)! And killing Him didn’t end their problems. The Romans sacked Jerusalem some forty years later!

Slava Bohu!