Seeking The Life in Christ

Luke 22:39-62

2012-02-10T07:35:00.002-05:00

Facing the Eastern Gates of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives, a hill 2,600 feet high. The Mount slopes gently down to the Kidron Valley. Mount Moriah, or the Temple Mount, rises on the other side of the valley. There is a pathway from the Upper Room, passing near the Courtyard of the High Priest and down through the valley to the Mount of Olives. Jesus and his disciples walked this pathway to an olive grove where Jesus went to pray.

Just as the evil one tempted Job in the Old Testament and Jesus in the wilderness after his baptism, so also the evil one seeks opportunities to tempt the people of God. No rational person volunteers for such an assignment which is why Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” This is why Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, prayed three times for the disciples to be saved from temptation, v. 31, 40, and 46.

Typically when a rebel leader was arrested his followers were also arrested and imprisoned or executed along with the leader. Jesus wanted his disciples preserved so that when the history of the world changed three days later the disciples could proclaim, “He is Risen.”

Ultimately, Jesus had to take this journey alone as two months later Peter boldly proclaimed to the Rulers and elders,

“For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,

‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’

There is salvation in no one else!

God has given no other name under heaven

by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:11-12

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

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What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

11-Feb-12 Luke 22:63-23:12

Luke 22:21-38

2012-02-09T08:02:00.002-05:00

It is time for the Super Bowl. The coach is going over the game plan one last time. He assures his team they have a worthy opponent and it is going to be a very tough game; but if they will stay focused on their goal and play as a team he believes they will prevail. As soon as he pauses the team begins to squabble among themselves. Several players assert that they are in top form and aren’t intimidated by the opponent. The coach again tries to give the team a reality check; this is going to be a very tough game. Again, the team misunderstands and goes off on a tangent. Finally the coach says, “Enough!” He’s done all he can to prepare the team.

That is pretty much the way it was in the Upper Room with Coach Jesus. When the disciples took literally his obvious metaphor about swords all he could say was, “That’s enough.”

As Jesus prepared to lead his team out of the Upper Room he was clothed only in his humanity. The divine powers he used to calm storms, raise the dead and heal the sick are left on the table. He’ll go before his adversaries armed only with his trust in God and thus will model for his followers the leadership of a Suffering Servant of God. The prophecies about the Servant Messiah in Isaiah 52-53 will be fulfilled in the next few days. The disciples are also very vulnerable to the adversary of God and will scatter in all directions after Jesus’ arrest.

Yet, in the midst of such human failure around the table Jesus grants the disciples entry into the Kingdom of God. All people who accept God’s call for Christian leadership will at some point in their journey follow Jesus on a very lonely path. Just when you need your people to grasp your vision, to see God’s hands at work, they’ll turn away. Even so, God’s sheer grace is bestowed upon His church and the Kingdom is destined to move forward, in spite of our failures.

The Tax Collector’s prayer seems appropriate here;

‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’

Luke 18:13

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10-Feb-12 Luke 22:39-62

Luke 22: 1-20

2012-02-08T08:14:00.000-05:00

The stage for the final scene has been set. The forces of evil have recruited Judas to betray Jesus which will allow Satan to unleash false allegations against him. When the charges of blasphemy, heresy, and false messiah are leveled against Jesus, Satan’s plan will all come together with the crucifixion of Jesus. But, God isn’t finished. Just as God turned the Pharaoh’s oppressive tyranny against him to set the Israelites free, so God will turn Satan’s fury against him to set the whole world free from slavery to sin and death. Soon the headlines will read, “Satan snatches defeat out of the jaws of victory.”

Books of atonement theology have been written trying to understand and explain exactly what God was doing through the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Generally there are four main theories for understanding atonement: the ransom theory or Christ the Victor, the satisfaction theory, the penal substitution theory and the moral influence theory. All of these theologies have one thing in common: Christ died.

When Jesus shared the Passover Meal with his disciples he announced God’s New Covenant with all people. To help us hold tight to our new freedom Jesus used a simple meal to illustrate the value of his suffering and death. It is no wonder that many Christians choose to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion weekly, if not daily. Through the sacrament we are remembering we have been set free by the death of Christ, or as Paul put it:

We have been made right in God’s sight by faith,

We have peace with God because of what

Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Because of our faith,

Christ has brought us into this place of

Undeserved privilege where we now stand,

(Romans 5:1-2)

What word or phrase in these verses

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9-Feb-12 Luke 22:21-38

Luke 21:20-38

2012-02-07T08:01:00.000-05:00

In 2011-12 the Middle East and parts of Europe have seen great turmoil through civil wars, political upheavals and economic failures. The Roman Empire in the first century was facing a similar crisis. The highly vaulted Peace of Rome was crumbling through a fast succession of Emperors. Changes in the Roman Governors in Israel increased the rebellious spirit across Israel. Virtually all that Jesus foresaw was fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Because there are so many similarities in our world today, Jesus’ words of wisdom are as vital to us today as they were when his disciples first heard them. Jesus calls us to continually affirm our allegiance to the Kingdom of God not the political and economic systems of the world. Remember, patience is a fruit of the Spirit. God is at work and we are called to remain vigilant in our witness for Christ. And, even though it may seem we are all alone in a world obsessed with self-promotion and self-preservation, the haunting words of Paul are still the way of the disciples of Jesus:

“Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:4

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8-Feb-12 Luke 22:1-20

Luke 20:41-21:19

2012-02-06T16:56:00.000-05:00

Jesus’s question reveals the great difficulty we all have in trying to grasp the truth of God in Christ. The truth is so much more than we can imagine. The Jews, in trying to grasp the idea of God’s Messiah, reduced the Messiah to concepts they could readily understand; he would be a King fighting battles for the people of Israel. Jesus is helping us open our minds, and hearts, to accept by faith, that the Messiah is God. Not ‘like’ God; not a lesser version of God; but very God of very God. This is the one who will be rejected and die on the cross.

Jesus uses the Pharisee’s ways of measuring their worth by the validations of others and the illustration of the widow’s mite to demonstrate that God’s ways are so much different than the ways of mankind.

Stunning natural events such as meteors or earthquakes were thought of as sings of great change in first century Israel. The Jews were asking Jesus for signs when the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. Jesus’ answer helped prepare his followers for God’s judgment of Israel for rejecting Jesus and choosing violence over peace. Israel had perverted her role as God’s people and the Temple was her greatest symbol. The time of the Temple’s destruction would be accompanied by war and violence during which the followers of Jesus would be singled out and blamed for Israel’s fall. All of this was fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the following years.

As tragic as the times were, Jesus made them redemptive as he encouraged his followers to take every opportunity to witness to their faith in the Living God. We see this counsel fulfilled in the life of Paul as well as hundreds of other first century Christians. The call to be faithful to our witness for Christ, even in the face of adversity, is still God’s call on our lives.

What word or phrase in these verses

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7-Feb-12 Luke 21:20-38

Luke 20:20-40

2012-02-05T06:30:00.001-05:00

The Roman coin had an inscription of the Roman Emperor with text affirming him as divine and high priest. Because the Jews were forbidden to make an image of their God, just to hold a Roman coin was completely offensive to a devout Jew. (Interestingly, the Jewish leaders had no trouble producing the Roman coin when Jesus asked for one)

The Jewish leaders thought Jesus had no choice but to anger either the Romans or the Jews by his response. However, Jesus’ response went in an expected direction. Jesus asked the Pharisees whose image was on the coin. Because Caesar’s image was on the coin Jesus said “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” The image of God is not on a coin, it is within human beings. We are created in the image of God. When Jesus says “give to God what belongs to God” Jesus is teaching us to give ourselves to God.

Could it be that the leading Jews were so blind? Not only would they give back to Caesar what was his; a coin with Caesar’ likeness and the inscription ‘son of God’; they would turn over to Caesar the actual person who is the Son of God.

If we humans are not totally blind to the ways of God we are certainly nearsighted. We keep falling into the trap of trying to understand God’s ways by applying human wisdom. That is the pit the Sadducees fell into when they asked Jesus, “Whose wife is she?” Their silly question revealed their ignorance about God and scripture.

Jesus responds by showing how they are limiting God’s power when they presume there cannot be a resurrection. Second, they do not understand God’s purposes when they presume that if there were a resurrection, then life in the ‘after-life’ would simply be an extension of their present culture. (In their question the woman is treated as a piece of property and in the ‘after-life’ they assume she is still someone’s property.) In the bodily resurrection in the coming Kingdom all of the children of God will have been completely transformed into the image of God.

The church has continued to tell this story of Jesus encounter with the Sadducees because Jesus’ resurrection proved that all things are possible with God; even the reversal of a death sentence.

What word or phrase in these verses

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6-Feb-12 Luke 20:41-21:19

Luke 20:1-19

2012-02-04T06:34:00.001-05:00

The Pharisees were hoping Jesus would say something that they could use against him; they were not really looking for truth. Jesus exposed their hypocrisy both in refusing to answer their question directly, and in the parable of the vineyard that follows. Jesus’ reference to John the Baptist wasn’t just a simple question. If John the Baptist was indeed a Prophet of God then his baptism of Jesus was the anointing of God’s Messiah as evidenced by the voice from Heaven proclaiming Jesus as God’s son. The Pharisees were trapped. If they affirmed John how could they deny Jesus? If they deny John they lose all credibility with the people.

The Pharisees didn’t have difficulty understanding Jesus’ parable. In Isaiah chapter 5 Israel is presented as a vineyard planted by God. The farmers in the parable represent Israel and the messengers are the prophets of God. Instead of producing good fruit the vineyard produces only wild grapes. Everybody present knew Jesus was talking about the rebellious nature of Israel and the judgment of God against Israel’s sins.

Israel will reject Jesus but then God will make Jesus the cornerstone in His new Kingdom.

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5-Feb-12 Luke 20:20-40

Luke 19:28-48

2012-02-03T06:33:00.002-05:00

Both Matthew and Mark include Jesus’ cursing a fig tree with his entry into Jerusalem and his cleansing of the Temple. Only Luke reveals that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. This was not just a prophet weeping, this was not just the Messiah of God weeping; this was God weeping.

Imagine with me that Jesus is coming to our town. Recall that Jesus has been warning the people that their rebellious attitudes, their desire to seek retribution and vengeance, their bent on meeting violence with violence, all of this is leading to their own destruction. The people were trying to address their problems with their wisdom, with the ways of the world. They were not looking to to the ways of God and His Kingdom to inform them how to live with their neighbors, within their communities.

Recall with me that God had a covenant relationship with God. The failure of Israel to fulfill her side of the covenant did not just mean she wouldn’t be blessed by God, it meant she would be cut off from God.

So, Jesus is coming to our town and we are the people of God’s New Covenant. Do you think Jesus would weep over the coming judgment?

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4-Feb-12 Luke 20:1-19

Luke 19:11-27

2012-02-02T06:30:00.001-05:00

This is a troubling parable because it graphically portrays judgment, and none of us wants to be judged. Jesus was not speaking about the future judgment of God at the end of this present age, at the coming again of Christ. He was speaking to the people about their here and now, what was about to happen in Jerusalem when the Messiah of God comes to claim His throne.

The Jews had three expectations of their Messiah: He would end the oppression of the Romans; He would re-establish God’s presence in the Temple; He would rule the world as the true King. Those listening to Jesus on the dusty road from Jericho to Jerusalem would have understood the parable to affirm to them that God’s Kingdom was in fact coming in their here and now and it was coming with judgment and mercy against Israel. Given the increasing hostility directed at Jesus by the establishment I think those listening to Jesus also began to understand that Jesus would be rejected in Jerusalem. What they clearly did not understand is that Jesus was not just telling them about God and the coming Kingdom of God; Jesus was the incarnation of God. It is Israel’s God that will soon make a triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

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3-Feb-12 Luke 19:28-48

Luke 19:11-27

2012-02-01T01:38:00.001-05:00

I do not think it is a coincidence that Luke placed his story of Jesus healing the blind beggar immediately following Jesus telling his disciples what will happen to him in Jerusalem: “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.”

The disciples were still blind to the bigger vision of what God was doing through Jesus. The beggar now could see and began following Jesus to Jerusalem. Luke has been very consistent in connecting faith to healing. But, here again, it was not that the beggar had great faith; rather he had faith in a GREAT God.

Luke is the only one of the Gospel writers that tells us about Zacchaeus, who makes an interesting contrast to the rich young man we read about in the last chapter. Tax collectors like Zacchaeus were despicable, immoral and hated in their communities. Did you notice that Luke does not say he followed Jesus out of Jericho? The inference is that he stayed in his community to work out the meaning of his new life in Christ.

In this little story Luke combines three themes that have consistently been presented by Jesus. First there is the issue of wealth and money and how they should be understood in the Kingdom of God. Second, there is the company Jesus keeps. He continually goes to the least, the last and the lost. Third there is the faith that affirms Jesus as Messiah and that leads to new life.

Jesus turns west and begins the final leg of his journey to Jerusalem. The distance is about fifteen miles with an elevation increase of about 3,400 feet. Today, on well paved roads, the walk would take seven or eight hours. I suspect it took Jesus much longer and I suspect that by the time he made his entry into Jerusalem he was exhausted.

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2-Feb-12 Luke 19:11-27

Luke 18:18-34

2012-01-31T06:35:00.001-05:00

Some translation have the rich man asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life and others render the phrase, ‘the age to come.’ I prefer the latter because I believe it captures more of what the rich man wanted. The Jews believe God would usher in a new age and in that new age life would be full of possibilities. There would be absolutely no barriers or obstacles from you fulfilling every Godly dream and ambition you have. Whether you longed to create beautiful music or art, experience deep, fulfilling relationships, or any other noble pursuit, in the age to come your dreams come true.

The rich man’s problem was his underlying assumption that the culture in the age to come would operate the same as his present culture. Jesus is trying to help him see that where this present age is wedded to materialism and performance based acceptance, the age to come will be wedded to the magnificent grace of God. When you are resting in your assurance as God’s beloved you do not need any outside validation of your identity and thus the use of wealth and possession are seen in an altogether new light.

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1-Feb-12 Luke 18:35-19:10

Luke 18:1-17

2012-01-30T06:33:00.000-05:00

Luke begins chapter 18 with two parables which if taken out of context can be quite confusing. Remember, Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. The closer he got to the city the more resistance he encountered. Jesus knows that in Jerusalem through his death and resurrection he will be vindicated at God’s Messiah. Jesus is affirming that God is at work bringing about the fulfillment of his plan. He is encouraging his flock to stay faithful. They can trust God to vindicate their faith in Jesus.

To emphasize his point Jesus presented the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. Which one went away vindicated by God? This parable is an excellent illustration of justification by faith. The tax collector had little or no faith in himself; but he had great faith in a great God of mercy. Jesus wants his followers, then and now, to rest their faith on the sure knowledge of God’s love for them.

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31-Jan-12 Luke 18:18-34

Luke 17:11-37

2012-01-29T06:31:00.000-05:00

Luke does not give us much information about the ten lepers. At least one was a Samaritan. All ten moved away from Jesus as Jesus instructed them. All ten were healed in the process of their obedience. Only one, the Samaritan, turned, and went back to Jesus. I suspect we can draw all sorts of inferences from this episode, but at the very least we can affirm that as followers of Jesus we “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20)

The Pharisees were trying to pin Jesus down to a specific timetable for the coming of God’s Kingdom. Jesus says if you are looking for signposts you will miss the Kingdom. Jesus is trying to get the people to look around and grasp what was happening in their own time. Jesus’ response is not about what is going to happen in the far distant future. Jesus was talking about what was happening in their lifetime. The rebellious attitudes of the people, against God and the Romans, would only end one way. Badly. Jesus is trying to help the people understand that God is giving them an invitation. Come, take hold of the Kingdom and become a co-laborer with Christ in the building for God’s Kingdom on earth.

Jesus extends that same invitation to you and me today.

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30-Jan-12 Luke 18:1-17

Luke 16:19-17:10

2012-01-28T06:28:00.001-05:00

Jesus told parables to help the people understand what God was doing in their present moment. This parable of the Rich man and Lazarus is not about life and life after death. It is not a moral tale about riches and poverty; although there are clearly some inferences we can take and apply to our lives.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son we read about the son who was lost and found, dead and alive. We read about the older son who had forgotten about his lost brother and who had no interest in acknowledging, much less caring for his destitute younger brother. Even seeing his long lost brother coming home in humility and repentance did not open the older brother’s eyes.

Luke follows this parable with Jesus teaching about faith, forgiveness and obedience. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews captures the point of Jesus’ teaching here when he wrote, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12: 1-2) When we keep our eyes on Jesus the virtue of humility arises in our lives. When we take our eyes off of Jesus the sin of pride arises.

Pride can be insidious as revealed by the disciples asking Jesus for great faith. They didn’t need great faith; they needed faith in a GREAT God. When you have faith in a great God you are no longer concerned about ‘what’s in it for me.’

What word or phrase in these verses

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29-Jan-12 Luke 17:11-37

Luke 16: 1-18

2012-01-27T06:30:00.001-05:00

Jesus’ parable is about how Israel, the manager in the parable, had not been a good steward of her calling to be a light to the world. Jesus’ teachings made it clear that Israel’s days were numbered; she was in danger of losing God’s favor. The Pharisees responded to this problem by trying to become even more strenuous in their keeping of every dot and tittle of the law. Jesus’ response was that if you keep doing what you're doing you'll keep getting what you're getting. Jesus’ story suggests that perhaps it is time to throw caution to the wind and try something else.

The face of the Christian church has changed considerably in the last fifty years. Like the Pharisees in Jesus’ parable the mainline denominations have become so self-centered and caught up in their own traditionalism they are keeping out of their churches the very people Jesus called them to seek and find. As a result the work of growing the Kingdom has been taken up by newer, independent churches, which have thrown off the traditional ways and have found new ways to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to a lost and dying world.

But by his teaching on faithfulness which follows this parable Jesus makes clear he is not throwing the baby out with the bath water. Jesus affirms the teachings of the Old Testament and shows that with the coming Kingdom of God, which was announced by John the Baptist, there is a new way of incorporating God’s ways into our lives. Jesus was speaking to a culture that was caught up in performance based acceptance. Your worth was determined by what you did and how well you did it. Ultimately your worth was determined by your wealth, which came primarily through the ownership of land. Jesus was announcing a new Kingdom where a person’s worth was determined by God’s unconditional acceptance. Thus, material wealth is no longer needed to validate the value of our lives. Material wealth can now be used to share God’s blessings with others. God’s unconditional love and acceptance creates within us the desire for our lives to be marked by fidelity to God in all of our relationships.

What word or phrase in these verses

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28-Jan-12 Luke 16:19-17:10

Luke 15: 11-32

2012-01-26T09:04:00.000-05:00

The young son’s homecoming is a compelling vision of the Exchanged Life. The young son came to his father with all that he had: dirt, filth, sinfulness, brokenness. Immediately, the father gives the young son all that he has: His love, blessing, and affirmation of the young son’s truest identity as the beloved child of the father.

The older son’s confrontation with his father is also a compelling vision of the Exchanged Life. The father, when he divided his estate between his sons, has already given to the older son all that was his. The older son is now sinning against his father by refusing to celebrate his brother’s return, and by denying his own kinship with his brother. But, the father goes out to him. The father continues to affirm the older son’s identity as his beloved child and affirms that “everything I have is yours.”

Jesus told this parable because the Pharisees objected to Jesus keeping company with tax collectors and sinners. When Jesus said “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” Jesus hoped the Pharisees would recall Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37). In that vision Israel, which was lost, is made alive again by the power of God. This is how Jesus saw the people accepting his invitation to come into the Kingdom of God: These children of God were dead but are now alive again. That, Jesus believes, is cause for exuberant celebration. After all, all of heaven is rejoicing, shouldn’t we join the party?

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27-Jan-12 Luke 16:1-18

Luke 14: 25 - 15:10

2012-01-25T08:12:00.000-05:00

NOTE: The next two readings include three of Jesus’ most well know parables: A lost sheep, coin and son. Parables often find their power in the ways we are surprised, either by the ending, or the focus of the story. Since these parables are so familiar, take a few extra minutes in reading them. Then stand back and see if Jesus has any surprises hidden in them for you.

John Wesley loved the word holiness. He talked about scriptural holiness, holiness of the heart and holiness of life. Many people mistakenly think holiness has to do with rigid laws or rules which through obedience make a person holy. Not so, Holiness is the state of being. As Christians we know that our state of being accepted by God comes as a gift of God’s grace, through faith in Jesus. The definition that best fits John Wesley’s use of the word holiness is a state of being in harmony with God.

The result of being in harmony with God is a change in vision. I recall when a contractor was working on the roof of my church. He invited me to go up in the Snorkel Lift so I could get a bird’s eye view of the roof. It is so amazing what a difference in just a few feet – maybe 30 or 40 – can make in your field of view. I spent more time looking at the vistas before me than looking at the roof. So it is when we are in harmony with God. God raises us up and we can see more and we can see clearly.

Our journey toward walking in harmony with God will call us to sacrifice all allegiances we’ve had before. Jesus’ words here are strong because they need to be to get our attention. Jesus is not saying that I am to disown my family, that I am to sell everything I have and retreat from the world. Jesus is telling me, if I want to be his disciple, to make a list of everything that is important to me: wife, children, pets, friends, work, property etc. Now, at the very top of the list I insert God. My allegiance is to God, period. Then as I walk in harmony with God I have the vision to truly know and love the others in my life. My allegiance to God, my walking in harmony with God informs and defines everything else in my life.

Why would I want to make such a sacrifice or change in my life? Why would I want to give up control of life to God? I think the following three parables will help answer those questions.

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26-Jan-12 Luke 15:11-32

Luke 14: 7-24

2012-01-24T08:20:00.000-05:00

Jesus begins today’s passage with a parable based on his observations of how people were jockeying for position and recognition of their perceived status with God. These are the people Jesus just confronted when they objected to his healing of a man on the Sabbath. These people took great pride in their knowledge of the law and their disciplined manner of keeping the law. You might think they would have taken great joy in the healing the man experienced, but they did not. If Jesus could heal on the Sabbath then it brought into question whether all of their other rules and regulations were appropriate. If they were not, then all they had been doing to promote themselves as being better than others was for naught.

This parable had particular meaning to Luke’s church. The Jewish Christians struggled with the notion that the Gentiles were as welcome at the table of their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as they were. It is very difficult for some people to fully embrace that each and every one of us stands in need of God’s grace. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, we can offer God that makes us any better than any other person. When we lose sight of this truth we will experience pride and arrogance creeping into our lives.

To emphasize his point Jesus gives a parable about the Great Banquet. God had invited his people to come into his Kingdom and they had refused. God sent Jesus to go throughout the land and invite any and all to come and feast at the Lord’s Table.

An inherit characteristic of our humanity is that we are tribal. We gravitate toward people who are just like us. People with the same color skin, similar backgrounds and tastes and similar financial standing. It is pretty easy to welcome people just like we are; it is more difficult to welcome people who are different. But, the man in Jesus parable was doing more than just welcoming all people to his table, he was going into the streets and alleys of the town and bringing in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.

Welcoming all people is just ½ of what Jesus expects of each of us; inviting all people is the other ½.

What word or phrase in these verses

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What insights come to you?

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25-Jan-12 Luke 14:25-5:10

Luke 13: 23 - 14:6

2012-01-23T10:57:00.002-05:00

Jesus’ mission was to save Israel from self-destruction so she could enter into the Kingdom of God. The question put to Jesus about how many would be saved is not a reference to the contemporary understanding of salvation and eternal life. Jesus was calling the people to follow him into the Kingdom way of living so as to avoid the destruction that was coming to Israel at the hands of the Romans. If the people would turn away from their desire to fight the gentiles and turn their hearts to God there was hope for the nation.

When Jesus speaks of people coming from the east and west and north and south he is looking ahead to the building of his Kingdom by the Apostle Paul and others who took the message of God to the gentiles. Jesus knows what awaited him in Jerusalem and He was grieving over those of his own nation that would not seek their salvation in Him. His reference to working two days and accomplishing his purpose on the third day is a thinly veiled reference to his resurrection on the third day.

Although Jesus has his mind on Israel and her rebellious attitudes, two points in his comments are clearly applicable to us today. First, the entrance door to the Kingdom of God is narrow. The pathway through the doorway is not paved by good works. Nevertheless it is difficult to get in because there is no drive through window. The Kingdom is not for the casual observer or for those who want just a piece of the Kingdom to add to their life. The Kingdom demands all or nothing. And, Jesus says, there will come a time when the doors to the Kingdom are closed. There will come a time when all people will be rewarded with the eternal consequences of the choices they have made. Some will choose to be with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and others will not.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

24-Jan-12 Luke 14:7-24