A Day of Salvation, not Judgment

Christ has a dramatic moment in Luke 4.18-21. He takes up the scroll of Isaiah and reads Isaiah 61.1-2a, then sits down. He tells his listeners, "Today is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing." Since both Christ and his listeners understood that the passage was about Messiah, what a moment it must have been when one-by-one the men in the synagogue must have realized, "He is claiming to be Messiah!"

When Christ reads Isaiah 61.1-2a, he ends at "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." He does not continue with the next phrase "and the day of vengeance of our God." Why not? I assume because Christ did not come for judgment he came for salvation. The day of vengeance of our God will come, but this was not that day. Christ came for the cross. He came for salvation.

Your Redemption Draweth Nigh

And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, And when these things shall begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth night (Luke 21.27,28 KJV).

Christ is speaking of his second coming here. This statement encompasses our hope and the promise of the gospel. We hope that this life is not all there is; that there is ultimate meaning and purpose to our existence; that there is a God who created all things and who is working all of history to a conclusion and summation in Christ; and that he loves us intimately and has gone to prepare a place for us, "That where I am there you may also be" (John 14.3, ESV).

The key sign that the end is here will be when we see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. This is the fulfillment of the promise. Lift up your heads, O followers of Jesus Christ, stir in your graves, O Christian who has died before the coming of the promise, for as surely as God's promises are true, your redemption draweth nigh.

No Partial Disciples

This is the choice that Christ gives us in Luke 14.33. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (KJV). Christ will have all, or he will have nothing. There is no in between; there are no partial disciples.

Go and Do Thou Likewise

Jesus tells a story to a young expert in Jewish law when the expert asks who his neighbor is. It is a familiar story, the story of the Good Samaritan. At the end, Christ asks the lawyer, in light of the story, which one of the three people who passed by was acting like a neighbor. The lawyer answers correctly, "The one who showed the wounded man mercy." Christ doesn't leave the lesson at that point, however. He means for the young lawyer to make an application to his own life. "Go, and do thou likewise" (KJV), he tells the lawyer.

Of course both Christ and the author (Luke) mean for us to be the lawyer in the story. Neighbors show people mercy. Go and be a neighbor, wherever you are.

Why We Must Be Good Loggers

Christ calls a certain class of person "thou hypocrite" in Luke 6.42(KJV). A hypocrite back then was an actor, like a theatre actor. According to Christ a hypocrite was a person who claimed to follow and honor God, but could clearly see the small imperfections in the people around him, and was blind to the humongous imperfections (the logs) in his own life. This kind of person was an actor. They pretended to serve God, but someone who is not interested in seeing his own large flaws is not a true servant of God; he is nothing but an actor.

This is why we must be good loggers. If we truly serve Christ, then we will remove the logs in our own eyes, before we go about clearing specks out of other peoples' eyes. If we do this we will not be hypocrites. We will be faithful servants. Hypocrites are hypervigilant, except with themselves. True Christians are grace-filled loggers.

Watch

Christ sums up his discussion of the end times and his return by repeating to his disciples what he wants them (and all the rest of his followers) to do: "And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13.37).

We notice that Christ's summary is clearly not directed only at the disciples to whom he is speaking. He speaks these words to all. I am tempted to say that by all, he meant every person, because, even those who were not his followers, and who did not believe in him would be affected by Christ's return. Most likely it was a comment directed at all of his followers.

Watch means "to stay awake or be watchful," or "to be on the alert." It's pretty clear that here Christ means for his followers to be on the alert for his coming. They ought not to be taken by surprise. For we who follow Christ two thousand years later, the application is no different. We ought to be on the alert for, pray for, be expectant for, Christ's return.

They Ceased not to Teach and Preach

The last verse of Acts 5 (Acts 5.42). The pattern of the apostles in the days and months after Christ's ascension was to teach and preach daily. Luke says that they taught in the temple as well as in every house, meaning I think that they were happy to preach and teach wherever there were people willing to listen to them.

It is a good standard and a good pattern for we believers who follow the apostles 2000 years later. The gospel is not meant to be confined to the limits of a church building; it is to be proclaimed wherever and whenever we can gather a crowd who will listen.

But Not Here!

Reading in Luke 22.27, this morning in the NLT. It does a nice job of this verse: Who is more important? The one who sits at the table, or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table of course, but not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

But not here. This is a good summation of the approach to greatness in the kingdom of God. In the world at large important people sit. In Christ's kingdom, important people serve.

Prayer: O Lord God, may I be a willing servant to people.

Observations on the Parable of Ten Servants

Reading in Luke 19.11-26 this morning, the parable of ten servants. Here are some observations not grouped in any particular order:

1. It is a parable of ten servants, but only the first three are referenced. I wonder if "ten" had any significance.

2. Luke says that the purpose of the parable was to dispel the notion that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. This is nice of Luke because we know what Christ's purpose was, which helps us interpret the parable correctly.

3. There is no difference between the servant who made ten times the original amount or five times the original amount. They get the same reception: Well done! However, their reward is different and appears to be based upon their output. The point is that the king tells them both, "Well done!"

4. The worst thing that one can do is nothing. The servant who did nothing with the money entrusted to him is given the harshest punishment. He loses everything.

5. While the punishment for those who did not want the king to rule may seem harsh to our modern ears, to Christ's hearers this would have seemed perfectly just and normal. A king was sovereign ruler, deciding on matters of life and death within his realm. He had certain subjects who were rebellious; who did not want his rule and reign. They were rebellious subjects and worthy of death. Christ's hearers would have agreed with him. This is what rebellious subjects deserved.

Dead Men Walking...and Talking...

...are no match for the Word of God. So Christ implies by his parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.31). Every time I read this passage I am stunned anew by the hardness of men's hearts and the power of the Scriptures. Abraham states plainly that if men are not convinced of their need for a Saviour by the words of Scripture; they will not be convinced by dead men walking, and warning them of what lies beyond death.

In light of this truth, how ought we to evangelize? Scripture and more Scripture. Take every opportunity to get it before those to whom we share. Speak it. Teach it. Read it. Proclaim it. If men are saved, they will be saved through the Word of God.

Clean on the Outside; Filthy on the Inside

Christ accuses the Pharisees of being clean on the outside—of having the appearance of being righteous—but filthy on the inside in Luke 7.39-41. They were doing things that made them appear religious, but inside they were doing just the opposite. As Christ points out, they were full of greed and wickedness. Do something, Christ says, to rid yourselves of that greed, "give gifts to the poor," and you will rid yourselves of greed and at the same time you will both understand God's heart and train yourselves in living rightly.

We would like to think that we are not like the Pharisees, but in reality we are. All too often I am motivated by greed rather than generosity, and stinginess rather than freely giving. Christ condemns this attitude very strongly here.

Prayer: O Lord may I not be a Pharisee, but may I have a heart for the poor; a heart for those less fortunate; a heart filled with compassion; may I have your heart.

A Certain Immoral Woman

Christ was such a radical in some ways that his actions seem radical to the casual reader 2000 years after his resurrection. A case in point: The immoral woman. I like the way the NLT puts it: "When a certain immoral woman from the city heard that he was eating there...she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet and she wiped them off with her hair" (Luke 7. 37,38).

Two astounding things about this passage. First, Christ knows what the Pharisee in attendance is thinking about this whole encounter. Christ knows his mind! Wrap your brain around that.

Second, does anyone think that Christ didn't know the woman was immoral? I didn't think so. The woman was plainly immoral and known for it. Indeed, in the whole counter in Luke, she doesn't even say anything! The upshot: Her sins are forgiven. Wow! A truly remarkable encounter.

A Sword Will Pierce Your Own Soul

Simeon's words to Mary at the presentation of the baby Jesus at the Temple as recorded in Luke 2.35: As a result the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul. Simeon's comment is fascinating. Why does he say that a sword will pierce Mary's own soul? Mary's soul would not be unaffected by her own child. How so? She will come to the point where she will understand that her own son will bear her sins in his body at the cross. The baby that she had delivered would himself deliver her from the power of sin and the sting of death.

Amazing.

Reject the Disciples' Message = Reject Christ = Reject God

Yet another outlandish statement from Christ this morning (Luke 10.16). The one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me. Pretty much as clear as it could get. Christ is saying this: The message that you (72 disciples) brought was given by me. Whoever rejects it, rejects me. I brought my message from God the Father, whoever rejects it, rejects him. Christ is therefore claiming to bring a message directly from God. Can you imagine that? Who says stuff like this? No one ever has, not before or since. Except Christ. He says it without hesitation, without shame, without any sense of irony, much like Joseph told his brothers about his dream. We can either believe it is true, or we can reject it (and thereby reject Christ); we are not free to say that Christ was a good man, but nothing more. Good men do not say stuff like this, if it isn't true.

Astonished at His Majesty

Luke uses a curious choice of words at the end of the section in which Christ casts a demon out of an epileptic boy (Luke 9.43). Luke says that Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. Then he follows with his comment about the reaction of the crowd. All were astonished at the majesty of God. Matthew and Mark who record this same incident do not include this comment. I'm wondering why the crowd was astonished at the majesty of God when the boy was healed? It seems like a more natural comment would be to say that the crowd was astonished at the power of God to heal, or maybe the crowd was astonished that God did heal. Why majesty?

Luke must be trying to tell us something here. BDAG defines μεγαλειότης as quality or state of experiencing high esteem because of awesome performance, impressiveness. Louw-Nida further defines it as: : a manifestation of great power—‘mighty power, mighty act.’ which Luke seems to want to communicate that those who witnessed Christ's actions and words understood that they were not witnessing the ordinary here. They were witnessing the extraordinary. Christ could not be a man with a penchant to heal. He was something beyond that, and his commanding an evil spirit out of the boy demonstrated the fact.

John the Baptist: His Purpose

According to Luke 1.79, his purpose was to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. When I read this in my devotions this morning, I read it as, and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. I suppose the ESV's punctuation is the way that Zechariah intended his remarks to be taken, but I think that may way is equally as true.

We live, all of us do, in the shadow of death all the time. Who knows what the day will bring. Death lurks around constantly and often strikes when we do not expect it. So to say that John the Baptist's purpose was and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace, we speak truthfully, for that is exactly what he did.

May you realize that you live in the shadow of death and may John the Baptist's life and words still today guide your feet into the way of peace—at the foot of the cross.

Radical Leadership

It's hard to properly put into perspective Christ's admonition to his disciples to be servant-leaders in Luke 22.26. Leadership in the culture of 1st century Palestine had no examples of leaders who were servants. Servants served leaders; they did not lead by serving. We have 2000 years of the effects of the gospel, not to mention 2000 years of studying Christ's words so the statement is no longer radical to us. It must have been dumbfounding to the disciples.

ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως is how Christ begins his statement on being a servant leader, and it is a bold statement indeed, which can roughly be translated But you, not so, or But you not thus.

Cyril of Alexandria does a good job of putting this statement into its proper perspective.

When Christ says this, who can be so obstinate and unyielding as not to put away all pride and banish from his mind the love of empty honor? Christ is ministered to by the whole creation of rational and holy beings. He is praised by the seraphim. He is tended by the services of the universe. He is the equal of God the Father in his throne and kingdom. Taking a servant’s place, he washed the holy apostles’ feet.

The Means to (True) Life...

...is endurance in the faith, according to Christ at Luke 21.19. By your endurance you will gain your lives. Simple and to the point. Christ must not mean physical endurance, as if to say, if you endure like a marathon runner endures you will gain your lives, because then the Christian life would be about working out and who could become a contest of the physically fittest. We can rule that out because Paul said bodily exercise profits little. Christ must mean that by endurance in the faith you will gain your lives (or souls, or inner lives).

BDAG defines lives as seat and center of the inner human life in its many and varied aspects, soul and further as, the seat and center of life that transcends the earthly. Christ is then not speaking of physical life, but of eternal life. NET puts it most succinctly: By your endurance is a call to remain faithful, because trusting in Jesus is the means to life.

If the Dead Could Speak...

...we would not listen to them. So says Christ in Luke 16.31. Christ recounts the parable of Dives who dies in his sin and is in torment. He begs Abraham to send someone from the dead to tell his brothers to repent so that they will not end up like him. Abraham tells Dives that they have all they need to repent (Moses and the Prophets). If they do not listen to what the Scriptures are telling them, they will not listen to dead men speaking.

We are no less hard-hearted than the Jews, so we would be foolish to sit back and point the finger at them. What Christ is saying here is that Man (with a capital M) has everything he needs to come to faith—the Scriptures. Whatever else he might hear is not as good as what he already does have. It's an astonishing statement, and yet if one studies the reaction of the people to Christ's resurrection, demonstrably true. When someone DID return from the dead and speak to them, the masses still were not convinced.

Who Is My Neighbor?

The story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.37, this morning. This is the final verse where Christ asks the expert on the law of Moses, which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man. The lawyer correctly responds, the one who showed him mercy. The lawyer answers the question truthfully, even though he understands that it condemns him because he was probably one of the first two people in the parable, not the Samaritan. One hopes that this is a radical encounter for the unnamed lawyer that changed his life. What he needed was a new heart.

As the New Bible Commentary points out: It was not fresh knowledge that the lawyer needed, but a new heart—in plain English, conversion.

Who then is my neighbor? Anyone I encounter who needs mercy. Simple. Not always easy.

Augustine is good here as well: He shows mercy to us because of his own goodness, while we show mercy to one another because of God’s goodness. He has compassion on us so that we may enjoy him completely, while we have compassion on another that we may completely enjoy him.