Luke 13-14; Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15

When one of those who reclined at table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ … ”

Luke 14:15-20

So, what is your excuse? What might be keeping you from the banquet today? Do you really think that, somehow, your excuse is better than these?

See also:

• April 8 (2021) / Luke 13:1-17
• April 9 (2021) / Luke 13:22-35
• April 10 (2021) / Luke 14:1-14
• April 11 (2021) / Luke 14:15-35
• April 12 (2021) / Matt. 18:10-14, Luke 15:1-10
• April 13 (2021) / Luke 15:11-32

Matthew 11:20-30; Luke 10:1-24;
Luke 10:25-42, 11:37-12:21, 12:35-59

Then He began to denounce the cities where most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Matthew 11:20-24 (cf., Luke 10:13-15)

I suspect that Jesus might well say much the same thing to our good ol’ U.S.A. Maybe we have not had the privilege of having Jesus walk our streets “in the flesh”, working miracles, healing the sick, feeding the multitudes, but this country has certainly experienced an abundance of God’s blessings, both materially and spiritually. Yet over the past several decades this nation has thrown away its Christian heritage. It tramples on God’s Word and proudly embraces sin. Woe to you, U.S.A.!

But even closer to home, what about ourselves? Surely we have all seen the Lord at work. Surely we have seen Him do marvelous things in our lives. Surely we have tasted that the Lord is good! But do we still keep Him at arm’s length? Do we still refuse to fully repent?

See also:

• April 2 (2021) / Matt. 8:18-22,11:20-30
• April 4 (2021) / Luke 10:13-42
• April 5 (2021) / Luke 11:37-54
• April 6 (2021) / Luke 12:1-21
• April 7 (2021) / Luke 12:35-59

John 9:1-10:21; Matthew 8:18-22; Luke 9:51-62

How is our eyesight? Are we blind? Do we need Jesus to anoint our eyes? Are we willing to follow His instructions to “go and wash”? Do we perceive the Light of the world? Or are we so sure that we see that we think we have no need of His healing touch? Do we, then, confidently remain in darkness?

Or how about our hearing? Do we perceive the voice of the Good Shepherd? Do we follow His voice? Or do we listen to all the other voices clamoring for our attention? To whom do we listen?

Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear?

See also:

• March 30 (2021) / John 9:1-23
• March 31 (2021) / John 9:24-41
• April 1 (2021) / John 10:1-21
• July 2 (2019) / Matt. 8:18-22
• April 3 (2021) / Luke 9:51-62, 10:1-12

John 7-8

Do you want to know whether Jesus speaks Truth with a capital “T”?

You could study His words intently. (And you should.) You could compare what He says with what is written in the Old Testament. (And you should.) You could learn Hebrew and Aramaic and Koine Greek. (Interesting!) You could delve into Biblical archeology. (Fascinating!) You could learn all about customs and beliefs of the ancient Near East and compare what you learn to what Jesus says. (Informative!) You could learn all sorts of facts about Jesus, His heritage, His geographical environment, His political environment, His religious environment, His friends and family. (Illuminating!) In short, you could become a true Biblical scholar. (Bravo!)

And you could still be missing the key to unlocking true knowledge and understanding.

If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on My own authority.

John 7:17

Volition is that key — specifically, the willingness to do God’s will. In other words, if we truly want to know Truth, we must first surrender to God’s will and choose obedience.

So if you find yourself to be skeptical of Jesus’ claims, if you feel a bit of cynicism creeping in, then ask yourself: Are you willing to do God’s will?

See also:

• March 25 (2021) / John 7:1-24
• March 26 (2021) / John 7:25-52
• March 27 (2021) / John 7:53-8:11
• March 28 (2021) / John 8:12-36
• March 29 (2021) / John 8:37-59

Matthew 17:14-23; Mark 9:14-32; Luke 9:37-45;
Matthew 17:24-18:9; Mark 9:33-50; Luke 9:46-50

And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to Him and, kneeling before Him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.

Matthew 17:14-18

So, despite the fact that the Lord previously gave the disciples the power and authority to heal and to cast out demons (Mt. 10:8; Mark 6:7; Luke 9:1) the disciples cannot quite manage it with this case. And when Jesus arrives, we get to the heart of the problem.

“Bring him here to Me.”

It seems evident from everything else that Jesus says here that the disciples’ problem is one of unbelief. (Mt. 17:20) I expect that the disciples’ prior experiences on their mission trip(s) gave them a good deal of confidence, so I don’t think we can equate “unbelief” with a lack of confidence. But there is every chance that the unbelief amounts to misplaced confidence, relying perhaps too much on themselves, and not on Jesus.

“Bring him here to Me.”

This, of course, is essentially what Jesus said about the loaves in feeding the 5,000. Perhaps we should listen.

“Bring him here to Me.”

See also:

• March 23 (2021) / Matt. 17:14-23; Mark 9:14-32; Luke 9:37-45
• March 24 (2021) / Matt. 17:24-18:9; Mark 9:33-50; Luke 9:46-50

Matthew 16:1-12; Mark 8:11-26;
Matthew 16:13-28; Mark 8:27-9:1; Luke 9:18-27;
Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36

And He said to all, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:23-26 (cf., Matthew 16:24-27; Mark 8:34-38)

These are some of Jesus’ most challenging words. They are so challenging that we have a tremendous tendency (and capacity) to immediately water them down. We interpret “denying oneself” to mean “foregoing dessert” occasionally or maybe avoiding chocolate during Lent. Or we think of “taking up one’s cross” as merely putting up with difficult circumstances.

So let’s see if a little paraphrasing can jolt us back to reality: “If anyone would come after Me, let him utterly renounce himself and take up his electric chair and follow Me…”

We all have to die. The only question is whether we die when we draw our last breath on this earth or whether we instead choose to die now, well ahead of that point of physical departure. And yes, it is a daily choice.

See also:

• March 19 (2021) / Matt. 16:1-12; Mark 8:11-26
• March 20 (2021) / Matt. 16:13-28
• March 21 (2021) / Mark 8:27-9:1; Luke 9:18-27
• March 22 (2021) / Matt. 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36

Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23;
Matthew 15:21-31; Mark 7:24-37;
Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” And the disciples said to Him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?”

Matthew 15:32-33

What a dumb question, right?! The disciples previously witnessed Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000, so how can they possibly wonder where they can get enough bread? And so we chuckle to ourselves, thinking what numbskulls the disciples must be. But don’t we act the same way? Don’t we look around at our circumstances, virtually every day, and fail to factor Jesus into the equation?

In defense of the disciples, we do not know how much time has transpired between the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000. It is at least several days, probably weeks, perhaps months. In that time Jesus has presumably given them no hint of a repeat performance. It is not like He opened up a side business of a daily all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, complete with a water-to-wine beverage upgrade option. The disciples are surely instead quite reaccustomed to getting their meals in the usual way, buying their food in the marketplace like the rest of us. And besides, this is all new to them. These guys did not grow up reading the Gospels in Sunday School.

We, on the other hand, know these stories already, or at least we have the opportunity to know them. And we know (or can know) the rest of the story, too. And yet we, like the disciples, grow so used to doing things “the usual way” — the steady, practical, tried-and-true, daily-grind kind of way — that we forget that Jesus is here at hand. OK, maybe you don’t, but I do. So I, for one, have no business laughing at the disciples for their “dumb” questions.

See also:

• March 15 (2021) / Matt. 15:1-20
• March 16 (2021) / Mark 7:1-23
• March 17 (2021) / Matt. 15:21-31; Mark 7:24-37
• March 18 (2021) / Matt. 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10

Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56; John 6:22-71

Once again the Gospel of John overwhelms us with what Jesus has to say:

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal.

John 6:27

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He has sent.”

John 6:29

For the Bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

John 6:33

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.”

John 6:35

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.

John 6:37

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:40

No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:44

I am the bread of life.

John 6:48

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.

John 6:51

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

John 6:53-58

None of this is easy to understand, much less swallow. (Pardon the pun.) If Jesus is not God in the flesh, then His words are more than a little audacious. They are outlandish. Ridiculous. Crazy. And the crowd reacts accordingly, asking, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” (John 6:52) and “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60) As a result, many fall away and stop following Jesus. (John 6:66)

So what about us? Do we believe what Jesus says here? How literal are His words? How are we to understand them? Of course, we have the advantage over the crowd, who at this point knows nothing of the Cross, nor of the Last Supper — what would become Holy Communion or the Eucharist. But do we then try to explain away the Eucharist as poetic metaphor, with no real relation to eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood — simply a sentimental memorial devoid of His Presence? Or does Jesus mean what He says here? Does that offend you?

See also:

• March 13 (2021) / Matt. 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56; John 6:22-40
• March 14 (2021) / John 6:41-71

Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15;
Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21

Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

Matthew 14:15-18

How often do we come to Jesus, all tired and worn out from all our labors, and tell Jesus what to do? We recognize a problem, we size up the situation, we figure out a reasonably practical solution, which we convey to Jesus, giving Him instructions for how to take care of the problem. But then He declines to follow our plan and tells us to try again. But how? We already know we don’t have sufficient resources. How can we possibly handle the problem with the resources we have on hand?

“Bring them here to Me.”

We’re bumfuzzled. We can’t conceive of what the Lord is thinking. Maybe He does not properly understand the situation. Do we persist in pursuing our original plan? Or do we trust Him and offer up what meager resources we have into His hands?

“Bring them here to Me.”

If we trust and obey, we might just find that His plan is better than ours.

“Bring them here to Me.”

See also:

• March 10 (2021) / Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44
• March 11 (2021) / Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15
• March 12 (2021) / Matt. 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21