Luke 9:51-62

“Notice what you notice.” When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. (v. 51) The Chronological Study Bible points to this verse as the beginning of Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem, whether in fact it was His second or third (with His early Judean ministry being His first). Notes in my Study Bible, however, point to this verse as the beginning of His second trip to Jerusalem. They argue that Luke 9:51-13:21 and sections we just read in John 7:10-10:39 constitute His second journey to Judea and Jerusalem, with a third beginning at Luke 13:22 and John 10:40. I tend to believe the former, that all that we will read from now to the end of the year is part of Jesus’ final journey. To me, … He set His face to go to Jerusalem is pretty strong!

Two reflection items on the following verse: Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. (v. 58) First, I’ve always felt sorry for Jesus, not having His own home or a place to stay. But we have learned in our first few months of this study that Jesus was a regular at Peter’s house (or “the house”). So in Capernaum He did have a place to stay. Still, when He was traveling in Galilee or Judea or wherever, His lodging was at the mercy of the townspeople. And if He had quite a band of followers, housing all of them would have been a challenge.

Second, I mentioned yesterday that I had looked at The Message for Eugene Peterson’s “take” on Matthew’s verses. Since some of the same verses are repeated here, it’s worth looking at his “translation” of verse 58: Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.” Yes, it’s a bit over the top, but still worthy of a note! Time for a nap in my comfortable recliner…!

Slava Bohu!

Matthew 8:18-22

“Notice what you notice.” As is my wont, I often look at other translations when I want to get some sense of how others have interpreted Jesus’ words. The Message is particularly good for that, but Eugene Peterson often goes to extreme lengths with some of his wording. Today I also looked at the Good News Translation. While the more traditional translations titled this passage “The Cost of Following Jesus” (ESV) and “Discipleship Tested” (NASB), the GNT titled it “The Would-Be Followers of Jesus”. That, I thought, is a very good title!

The “would-be followers”… None of the translations tell us of the final decisions of the scribe or the disciple in this passage, as to whether they followed Jesus or not. On another occasion we know the outcome of the “rich young ruler”, how …he went away grieving (Mark 10:22). The scribe and the disciple started from opposite paths, one already a follower, the other one of the Jewish leaders. By approaching Jesus with his “I will follow you wherever you go” comment, the scribe had “laid his cards on the table”; he would have had a hard time going back to his scribe and Pharisee colleagues. The disciple, however, had already been one of the many who had been following Jesus. He could easily have simply drifted away, thinking he would catch back up with Jesus later. (Did that ever happen…?) So I tend to think that the scribe continued to follow Jesus, but that the disciple went back to his family.

It makes me wonder about the people in my life with whom I have shared Jesus. Are they “would-be followers” who found the demands of following Jesus too great, given where they were in life? Or would they follow along a bit with a “wait and see” attitude? Bottom line: it doesn’t matter. My responsibility is sharing the Gospel; the rest is up to the Holy Spirit. End of story.

Slava Bohu!

John 10:1-21

“Notice what you notice.” These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind? (v. 21) The previous two verses pointed to a division among the Jews (the Jewish leaders) in their reaction to Jesus’ parable of the Good Shepherd. What’s interesting about the quote above is Jesus’ two-fold witness to those who might believe – His words and His actions.

First, Jesus’ words were not the same words being spoken by the Jewish leaders. My guess is that their focus was on preaching the Law and maintaining their adherence to the Law – and castigating others whom they might suspect of breaking their rules. Jesus’ words, however, were based in love, in protecting His own and in calling others to Himself. In His words He was not breaking the Law, but He was certainly putting a new twist on it, or speaking words completely outside any Law discussion, and the Jews had no answer for Him.

Second, Jesus’ actions — in this case healing a man born blind… I have already commented extensively on my own perspective on this miracle. Clearly some of the Jewish leaders and crowd followers were equally astonished at this outcome, with a beginning and an ending (“I was blind, but now I see”) that they could not refute. Powerful!

We also have the same two-fold witness, our words and our actions – our walk and our talk. I am proud to be connected with you folks for whom I see Jesus within.

Slava Bohu!

John 9:35-41

“Notice what you notice.” Jesus makes two statements that were confusing to me: First, he says …so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. (v. 39b) Then, he adds If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. (v. 41). Confusing! So I looked up the passage in The Message. Here’s verse 41: If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure. In verse 39 The Message makes the point of people …who have made a great pretense of seeing. The verses are much clearer (obviously) in this modern adaptation.

I have said in the past that I have never doubted Jesus and His love for us and His substitutionary death on our behalf. But if my faith is that firm, if I have never doubted, am I “seeing everything so well” that I am really blind? I feel that my faith is firmly rooted, but could it be that, in reality I have some level of “blind faith”? I don’t think so, but all too often I identify with the Pharisees in their mistrust of this “new prophet” who sees everything so differently than the norm. If I had been a Pharisee, I would have had a hard time in my confrontations with Jesus. But as I said a couple of days ago, I think this miracle of Jesus’ healing a man born blind could have won me over. It truly is a great miracle – and a great story throughout.

Slava Bohu!

John 9:24-34

“Notice what you notice.” Except for the Resurrection and raising Lazarus from the dead, I believe Jesus’ healing a man born blind is His greatest miracle. And I’m even arguing with myself about Lazarus, since Jesus had brought others back to life. I rate Lazarus higher because he had been three days in the tomb. So, this incident is #3.

The man’s words are powerful: Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. (v. 32) The man’s words are powerful, but the Pharisees’ opposition was so strong that they could not hear him. They could dismiss him because of their “belief” that his blindness was because he “was born entirely in sins”. They were so locked in with their judgment against Jesus that nothing was going to change their mind. I feel sorry for them. Up to this point I have had some sympathy for them – Jesus was certainly a challenge to them as He was turning their world upside down. But now, this miracle… Never in history…!! How could their opposition remain??!!

Listen to the Pharisees: …we know that this man is a sinner. (v. 24); …we are disciples of Moses. (v. 28b); …as for this man, we do not know where He is from. (v. 29b); You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us? (v. 34) I just feel sorry for them. Their prejudice and their pride – their vision is so completely blocked…! We are blessed to live on this other side of history!!

Slava Bohu!

John 9:13-23

“Notice what you notice.” …the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. (v. 22b) How could the Jewish leaders have been so hard-headed that they would completely pre-judge Jesus in spite of the works/miracles that they had seen him perform? Yes, the Pharisees were divided (see v. 16), but clearly the leadership held Jesus in contempt. Was it because of His being able to dominate them in their disagreements, to weaken them in the eyes of the onlookers? Was it their perception of His “arrogance” (…before Abraham was, I am.) that blinded their eyes? Or was it simply a power move on the part of the leaders, not wanting to admit (or SUBMIT!!) to a Messiah for fear of losing their own positions?

That last question above hits home with me. What am I not willing to admit (to Jesus)? Or maybe even more importantly, what am I not willing to SUBMIT to His leadership? And if I, a follower, am not able to admit to my faults or submit to His love, how difficult it must be for non-believers to take either of these two steps? So maybe non-believers’ unwillingness to follow Jesus hinges on their perceptions of my own unwillingness to follow Him completely? Ouch.

Slava Bohu!

John 9:1-12

“Notice what you notice.” It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (v. 3) This verse intrigued me, but not in the sense in which it was written. That is, the following verse seems to explain that the man was blind so that Jesus could heal him – We must work the works of Him who sent Me… (v. 4) That never made sense to me, that a man could be blind from birth until adulthood just so Jesus’ works could be displayed. So there must be some confusion there.

However, as I read that verse this time, what I saw was that each of us is created exactly as we are so that the works of God might be displayed… in US! We know that we all have gifts that are to be used to God’s glory, so it must be the case that we also have handicaps or limitations that are to reflect His glory. None of us is perfect – not in our physical, mental, or emotional makeup. But we move on in spite of those shortcomings. Isn’t it strange that so often when we see the phrase “in spite of”, it is used to reflect something that someone has done “in spite of” his or her physical limitations?! For example, she ran the marathon in spite of wearing a cast on her foot to heal a broken ankle.

But more to the point, to reflect God’s glory… Carol and I once met an old man who had terrible tremors that he had had for many years. As I recall, he may have been a preacher or a missionary. However, in spite of his tremors, the markings in his Bible were perfect – straight underlines, words written perfectly legibly!! This man reflected God’s glory – in spite of his handicap!

We are made just as we are, folks, to reflect God’s glory, in both our gifts and our limitations. GLORY!!

John 8:48-59

“Notice what you notice.” The rise and fall in this chapter is intriguing. It begins with Jesus’ encounter with the adulterous woman. My sense is that His failure to judge the woman or to point specifically to the Jews and their faults led many to honor Him – if only in some small way. Then as He spoke to them over the next twenty verses, many came to believe in Him. Then He challenged them a bit and they got defensive and began to argue more extensively with Him, to become more hostile, again for another twenty verses.

Then in today’s reading Jesus levels two charges at them: (1) … I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you… (v. 55), and (2) Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. (v. 58) He first hits them on a personal level (effectively, “…you are liars…”), then on a higher theological level (“…I am!”). Their fury is now fever-pitch and they are finally ready to do to Him as He had said they were wanting to do – to kill Him.

If I read this entire chapter anew, like I had never really done before, listening to Jesus from the beginning telling about His heavenly origin, then the entire dialogue between Jesus and the Jews makes sense. But it’s only in smaller bites, digested daily, that I have come to appreciate Jesus’ part in the dialogue, especially His responses to their charges and questions.

It’s a good thing (the smaller readings) that we’re doing this year.

Slava Bohu!

John 8:37-47

“Notice what you notice.” Wow! It is becoming more clear to me that when John mentions “the Jews” that he is speaking of the religious leaders. So effectively from yesterday, a few of the Jews had begun to follow Him, but had turned away again when Jesus talked about them being “free indeed”. The Jews only speak two short sentences in today’s passage, but in each of those sentences they are again defending / justifying themselves. Their antagonism toward Jesus will reach a new level tomorrow!

I’m not sure I ever noticed the link between Jesus’ claim that the Jews wanted to kill Him and His claim of the devil being a murderer from the beginning. When He says You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father… (v. 44), He is connecting them directly to (1) the devil being a murderer, (2) the devil being their father, and (3) their desire to kill Him. Interesting.

It’s a late evening – enough for today…

Slava Bohu!