Luke 23:32-43

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus’ Crucifixion. Yesterday we saw Pilate hand Jesus over to crucifixion and He began His Golgotha walk, assisted by Simon of Cyrene. It is helpful to read the Good Friday account in the Chronological Study Bible. The other writers include a number of items left out by Luke, in particular the scourging by the Roman soldiers and the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Luke only has Herod dressing Jesus in “splendid clothing” (Luke 23:11) As horrible as crucifixion was back then, I’ve always been equally troubled in my spirit by the brutality of the Roman soldiers and accounts that I’ve read of scourging. I understand that Jesus died on our behalf, for our sins – for all humanity for all time. But why the additional suffering…?? Deeply troubling…!

And He [Jesus] said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (v. 43) Occasionally we play these stupid games of who’s in Heaven, who’s in Hell? There’s a spectrum we could name. Mother Theresa? Gandhi? Hitler? But, in fact, the only person that we know with absolute certainty is the “good” thief on the cross. Jesus forgave him personally and brought him alongside into Paradise. “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”

Blessings!

Luke 23:13-31

Dear RTB’ers,

Carol and I have been ill – me for the past week+ and Carol for almost two weeks. Coughing, sneezing, congestion – the works! We got it from our grandkids who came to visit during Holy Week. It’s a linger-er!! Won’t go away. Please pray for us (and Rachel and Christian and Audra) to recover.

Today in our readings, early Friday morning. I seem to be focusing on Pilate a lot this time through. Luke’s gospel has Pilate proclaiming Jesus’ innocence three times (Luke 23:4, 14, 22). Despite those proclamations, Pilate yielded to the crowd and delivered Jesus over to be crucified: But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that He should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. (vv. 23-24) What a sad, weak leader! But, Jesus’ horrible death is our glorious salvation. Still, how can we not be touched by these events…!!??

Blessings!

Luke 22:63-23:12

Dear RTB’ers,

Today Carol and I and Rachel and Christian and family have traveled 2.5 hours west to Ferdinand, Indiana to enjoy 2 minutes, 20 seconds of total eclipse and 3+ hours of partial eclipse. So a bit delayed…

So now in our readings we have clearly hit Friday morning and the Jewish leaders have used the darkness of the middle of the night and a mob of rabble-rousers to arrest Jesus. Now they go throughout the city to gather enough elders to put together a quorum for their Council so that they can carry out their devious business. Sad.

Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” (Luke 23:4) This is the first of three times in Luke where Pilate tries to free Jesus. It’s pretty much a half-hearted effort, just his trying to stay neutral in the middle of a messy situation. It was all in his power to do whatever, so let’s not free him from any guilt in Jesus’ Crucifixion! Also, sad.

Blessings!

Luke 22:47-62

Dear RTB’ers,

Sorry for the late posting – we have out-of-town visitors.

Finally today we near the end of Maundy (Holy) Thursday in our readings. I keep mentioning this because the days seem to run together in Jesus’ Holy Week life if we’re not careful to distinguish the days and the hours. So all of tonight is still Thursday evening, possibly Friday early morning. A few of Peter’s denials could have been late Thursday or early Friday. It’s only when the rooster crows in verse 60 that we know we’ve hit Friday morning, and it will be tomorrow in verse 66 when we read, “When day came…” that we clearly see Friday morning.

My verse for today: And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. (v. 61a) It’s one thing for us to acknowledge our sin; it’s quite another for us (ME!) to look Jesus in the face and see the hurt and the love expressed in one facial emotion. I need to print that verse out and paste it on a mirror.

Blessings!

Luke 22:31-46

Dear RTB’ers,

We are still at Maundy (Holy) Thursday in our readings, terminating the meal and then leaving for the Garden of Gethsemane, where tomorrow’s reading will have soldiers arresting Jesus. Think of all that we have on this Thursday of Holy Week, putting together information from all four gospels: Jesus foot-washing; the Last Supper; His institution of the Eucharist; His many teachings, especially in John’s gospel and in particular about the Holy Spirit in John 14-16 and His High Priestly prayer in John 17; Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denial; Judas’ intended betrayal and departure; Gethsemane and Jesus’ prayer, “Not My will, but Your will be done…”; the apostles sleeping; and finally, His arrest. I like how our Anglican tradition celebrates this holy day, especially the stripping of the altar. Carol and I have vivid memories of different priests undertaking this one task. Memories that are THICK with reflection…

And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. (v. 43) This information is found only in Luke’s gospel. We have angels “ministering” to Jesus after His forty days in the wilderness in Matthew and Mark (Mt. 4:11, Mk. 1:13), but I don’t recall any other time in the gospels where we have angels alongside Jesus. So the “ministering” angels and the “strengthening” angel lead me to wonder whether Jesus regularly had guardian angels. I daresay that most of us, if questioned, would agree that we have guardian angels watching over us. So Jesus having guardian angels should not be a stretch for us. I wonder what they did for Him. Presumably He was filled with the Holy Spirit from His baptism on. Were the angels also special envoys from His Father? Jesus had said the He had twelve legions of angels at His disposal (Matthew 26:53). So what did Jesus’ guardian angels do? Thoughts…?

Question #2 in STS is intriguing… STS also notes that the “you” in Luke 22:31 is plural, referring to all the apostles at the Last Supper, while in Luke 22:32 it is singular, referring only to Peter.

Blessings!

Luke 22:14-30

Dear RTB’ers,

Here at the Last Supper, Jesus is instituting for us the Eucharist that we celebrate each Sunday: simple bread and wine for which we remember His suffering – His body and His blood. The words in today’s reading may not sound completely familiar to us, because the words that we use at our Eucharistic celebration come from the apostle Paul:

… the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

I Corinthians 11:23b-26

Thankfully we are in a tradition in which this is a weekly reminder. We are indeed blessed to be in this together!

Blessings!

Luke 22:1-13

Dear RTB’ers,

Satan entered into Judas… (Luke 22:3). Luke is the only synoptic gospel writer who makes this point. I typically think of Luke as an historian, not a theologian. But here he is making a statement none of the others are making. John makes the same point in John 13:27, at the Last Supper as Judas departs.

What struck me most today was the following verse: He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. (Luke 22:4) I was struck with “He went away…” because it shows Judas taking the initiative. The Jewish leaders gladly accepted. The next verse says, And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. (Luke 22:5) So it seems that Judas sought out the Jewish leaders looking for a deal. Evidently greed had overwhelmed him! What a sad state of affairs. I’ve always wondered about Judas’ reversal. Matthew is the only gospel that actually deals with Judas hanging himself. Luke covers it in Acts 1:18, so we’ll see that in a few weeks.

It’s always intrigued me (Jesus speaking), “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him…” (Luke 22:10b). How did Jesus know that? Jerusalem was a large city and women were typically the ones carrying water. How did He know that? How did He know that Peter could go catch a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay the temple tax? (Matthew 27:17) How did Jesus know these exact things? His relationship with His Father must have been amazing! And can we, likewise, have anything close to that relationship? I wonder…

Blessings!

Luke 21:25-38

Dear RTB’ers,

Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mountain that is called Olivet. And all the people would get up very early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.

Luke 21:37-38

I’m reminding myself that in our readings we are at Wednesday of Holy Week. A few days ago we had Palm Sunday. (Luke 19:28, ff.) Then the next day Jesus was being questioned by the Pharisees and scribes and Sadducees. (Luke 20:1-40) Finally, yesterday (Tuesday of Holy Week) we saw Him (presumably) speaking with His own disciples. (Luke 20:40 tells us that his challengers had nothing more to say.) So what struck me today was that Jesus knew that His time was coming, but He still went to the temple every day to teach, with people getting up early in the morning to hear Him. He knew His ministry, but I’m thinking that He was also setting an example for His followers. Later on we’ll see the apostles going to the temple and to synagogues to teach and preach, because that’s where the people gathered.

So, what of us? Wherever we go, do we carry Jesus’ message with us? It’s easy enough for us to be in a conversation with a stranger, a conversation that has moved along sufficiently enough that we can ask, “Are you part of a local church?” It’s a yes-or-no response, with some obvious follow-up questions to ask. David used to say, “You bring the people and I’ll preach the Gospel.” I’m sure that Ben feels the same way. It’s not that difficult, folks! Just reach out – have that question at the tip of your tongue. Jesus set the example. Follow Him.

Blessings!

Luke 21:5-24

Dear RTB’ers,

It seems in today’s reading that the Pharisees, scribes and Sadducees are no longer troubling Jesus, but that He is speaking to a smaller group of His followers. As they praise the Temple building, He warns them of the future destruction, nearly four decades later. I’ve gone back and forth on this “destruction of Jerusalem” vs. “end of the age” issue, but my Study Bible helped out this morning. It suggested that much of Luke 21:8-18 in today’s reading could easily apply to both of these events. That is, we may not be choosing between an either/or position. So that’s helpful. Typically, back in those days, when an invading army was approaching, the citizens would flock to the safety of the city and its city walls. Not so this time, Jesus says, with three warnings: if you are in Judea, flee to the mountains; if you are in the city, you must leave; and if you are in the country, do not enter the city (Luke 21:21). He saw in the future that Jerusalem would be trampled, as it was in 70 A.D.!

What struck me today was a New Testament – New Testament connection. Jesus speaking:

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Luke 21:12-15

Some three weeks down the road we will begin reading the Book of Acts. In Acts 4 we will see Jesus’ words played out, as Peter and John are testifying before the Council: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13) They had been with Jesus. That was enough!

Blessings!

Luke 20:27-21:4

Dear RTB’ers,

It’s always nice to connect the New Testament with the Old Testament. We get an opportunity to do that today, with the Sadducees asking Jesus about the resurrection (trying to trip him up, actually). Their question of seven brothers all dying and all having the same one wife calls to mind Genesis 38. In Gen. 38:6-11 we see Judah’s son, Er having a wife, Tamar, and dying. Then Judah asked Er’s brother Onan to go in to Tamar and raise up children for Er. But he also died. Then Judah withheld his third son, Shelah. So while we don’t have the Sadducees’ seven brothers as in today’s reading, we do see the pattern of one brother raising up children for a deceased brother. God later established this as law in Israel. See Deuteronomy 25:5-6.

I have always had trouble understanding the quotation in verse 44: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet.” (I have added the bold for further clarification.) Here Jesus is quoting Psalm 110:1, a psalm written by David. My Study Bible clarified the first six words at the beginning of that quotation by substituting “God” for “The Lord” and “David’s Lord” for “my Lord”, so it now would read, “God said to David’s Lord…”. That is, David’s Lord would be David’s superior – ultimately the Messiah…”. That helps me see how Jesus was confounding the Pharisees and challenging them that David’s descendent (the Messiah) was also his Lord. I hope this helps others.

There have been times when I have spoken in churches about giving. At St. Andrew’s we see tithing as the Biblical standard. But I’ve pointed out that three other Biblical references are quite a bit more demanding than the tithe – “first fruits”; the rich, young ruler; and the widow’s mite. These three all make tithing less challenging!

Blessings!