Getting to Know Jesus #31

As we continue on in Luke 8, Jesus is going to town after town, preaching the Good News and healing those who were brought to Him, when apparently he came to a town not far from his hometown:

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Ouch. Family is one of the greatest institutions God has created; it can also be one with lots of hurts. It is almost like Jesus "could not be bothered" with His family.  But realistically, was not Jesus' family a lot like that of Joseph in the Old Testament. They could not believe that someday He would be their Savior. Sure, Jesus was the oldest, but He was "different" than the rest of them.  The Jews, like many peoples, put a lot of stock in their ancestry, and their descent from Abraham - a little too much. The thought it got them an automatic "pass" from God.  Jesus was not denying his family relationships as much as contrasting them with His Father's side of the family, the family of faith.  He was also indicating that his earthly family needed salvation just as much as their neighbors and even the Gentiles. None of us are saved by our heritage or human relationships, only by the bloodline of Christ. 

Getting to Know Jesus #30

So, we are in Luke 8, where Jesus had just explained on of His simplest and most well-known parables: that of the seed, the sower and the soil.  He then says: 

16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus gives another short, everyday, easy to understand story. No one lights a lamp only to stick it under the bed - not only is it a fire hazard - they want to use that light to do something and to avoid accidents in the dark. The light changes everything, including things that take place in the darkness that people try to hide.  Jesus then makes another statement about hearing. He is talking about the same thing he was talking about in the parable of the sower above: what kind of soil are you? What kind of lamplighter are you? Are you listening to what He has to say with a heart ready to change, to do what He wants you to do?  Once you receive the light and look around your life, and everything that needs to change, you have a choice: start to ready up the room, or turn out the light so you don't have to think about it.  But it's not going away. Someday room inspection will come; the Light will shine on it, and God will really clean house. Judgment will come.  Are you living in the light, or trying to hide from it?

Getting to Know Jesus #29

Yesterday we saw in Luke 8 that Jesus had given this plain, simple parable about the sower, the seed and the soil.  Luke tells us today how his followers responded: 

9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Jesus had concluded the parable with this exhortation: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Do you get what I'm saying? Do you understand me? "Well", they said, "we're not sure we do, but we want to."  Exactly.  They were receptive soil.  Their hearts had been moved to repentance. They wanted to hear what He had to say and allow it to penetrate their lives and produce the fruit of righteousness.  They were not looking for a quick fix easy believism . They wanted to follow Him. What kind of soil are you? 

Getting to Know Jesus #28

We have made our way to Luke 8, where the final baton has been passed from John the Baptist to Jesus:

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Often in the Gospels we have people referring to Jesus as Rabbi, but His ministry was rather unique. Not only did he have this odd assortment of apostles, He also had a core group of women who travelled with them and helped support the ministry.  Most rabbis of His day had little to do with women. He also spoke in parables. This one is one of His better known ones: the seed, the sower, and the soil.  The picture was a very common one, easy for all to imagine, until you get to Jesus' last statement, or punchline if you will: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” What does hearing have to do with seed? Well, we will let Jesus explain that tomorrow, but simply put, Jesus went around proclaiming the Good News, plain and simple; the question was: were people ready to really listen and respond? Are we?

Getting to Know Jesus #27

We left off our study yesterday in Luke 7, with Jesus having dinner in the home of a Pharisee. The man was thinking judgmental thoughts both about Jesus, and this woman of ill repute who was anointing and Kissing Jesus' feet. Jesus had gotten permission to speak and tell this story:

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Since the Pharisee was bent on comparing himself to others, Jesus plays that game. As a host he was a total fail: he did not have Jesus' feet washed or His head anointed, while this woman went overboard. This woman had been willing to humbly show that she was a repentant sinner; the Pharisee was not. As a result of her faith, proven by her actions, she would be forgiven. Since the Pharisee did not, he would not. One final comparison we could make is that Jesus had the power to judge and to forgive; the Pharisee did not, even though he lived like he did.  The woman got what she came for: peace with God; the Pharisee would not. 

Getting to Know Jesus #26

In Luke 7, Jesus had just confronted those who were unresponsive, like the Pharisees, with their refusal to listen either John the Baptist or Himself, even though their lifestyles were very different. Then in verse:
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

For whatever reason, this Pharisee invited Jesus to his home for dinner. We don't know if he was trying to impress Jesus with his food, home and friends, or if he was looking for some way to trap Jesus in what he said or did, but it was not because he wanted to hear more from Jesus, because he did not ask Jesus to speak during dinner; Jesus had to ask permission of his host. How about us? Are we asking to hear from Jesus or Does Jesus have to get our attention? One more thing we note for today: This man was into the comparison game; it was all about what kind of woman this was and how ignorant Jesus was compared to how wise he was. It is never a wise thing to start that game - especially to try to play it with Jesus; it will come back to bite you, as we will see tomorrow. 

Getting to Know Jesus #25

After His encounter with the disciples of John the Baptist, then explaining the place of John in the plan of God, the real issue, Jesus said, was the lack of response on the part of the hearers:

31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
    we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

Jesus said: "You're treating this all like a child's game, as if it doesn't matter if you participate or not." That's not true.  The message of God to man is serious business, whether it is bad news: "You need to repent", or good news: "you are being offered the free gift of salvation."  Whether it was John or Jesus, many who heard responded with either silence or rejection; there was spiritual apathy. The last statement means: "just because you do not accept and receive the message does not make it untrue." The "children of wisdom" receive and embrace God's revealed truth, showing Him to be righteous, while those who reject it prove nothing but their hardness to the truth.  

Getting to Know Jesus #24

As we continue on in Luke 7:

24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

Times really have not changed that much. People are curious, but for various reasons. That's what has people on Facebook, reading tabloids, and watching reality TV: they want to know what is going on. Some are sincerely interested in people and in finding good new; many are not. To help them do some self-examination, Jesus asks over and over: "What did you expect? What were you hoping to find, when you went out to hear John the Baptist? After listing popular ideas that fell short, He asked: "Did you go to hear a message from God? If so, you got it, and you heard about Me, so you could hear the whole message about the Kingdom of God.  If you rejected John's call to repent, you've missed out on My Kingdom as well. 

Getting to Know Jesus #23

In the beginning of His report, Luke kept going back and forth between John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ.  After a few chapters with no reference to John, He brings him back in for a cameo appearance:

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

What things were John's disciples reporting to Him? Jesus' preaching on the plateau, His healing the servant of the centurion, and raising the widow's son - all the things large crowds had witnessed and were talking about. John himself had proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God, but he made one last check, sending two disciples to check it out. When they ask Jesus "Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”, notice that Jesus does not answer at first. Instead, He let's them observe miracle after miracle, and then tells them to take John their eyewitness report.  His last statement says it all: blessed is the one who is not offended by me. John was not to see Jesus as competition, but a fulfillment of what God had sent Him to do. John would be blessed, truly content, have his life in order, if he responded that way. Jesus was sure he would.  Do you view Jesus as an intrusion on your life and happiness, or is He just what you need to make your life all it can be?

Getting to Know Jesus #22

Yesterday, we saw that Jesus had been requested to heal the servant of a Centurion.  But not all of His miracles were done by request. Luke 7:

11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

The Centurion had wanted Jesus to heal his servant because the man was so useful to him; this woman had an ever greater loss in that she was a widow whose only son had died; she had no hope of support and protection now that he was gone.  But Jesus saw her, He stopped, He spoke,  and He showed her how much God cared for her. What a perfect balance we find in the responses of people. They said “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”  First, they recognized that Jesus was a man who had been raised in Galilee; He was one of them.  They then see Him as Immanuel; God with us. We need to always see both: Jesus knows what it is to be human, with all our struggles, hurts, and fears, yet at the same time He is God the Son, able to do something about them. 

Getting to know Jesus #21

We have just listened to Jesus say what is important to Him to see from His followers: a humble heart that repents, a willingness to forgive, resisting our tendency to judge, and total trust in His plan and provision. In Luke 7 he shows us an example in an unexpected place:

7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

"This", says Jesus, "is what faith looks like." This powerful man knows his place; he recognizes the power and authority of God. He is willing to humbly ask for help. He believes that God is good and able to help. One of the greatest parts of this account is something I think we often miss: the messengers the centurion used - the elders of the Jews. Many of these men were among those resistant to the Gospel. They did not really believe in or trust Jesus; they just wanted a political favor to stay in the centurion's good graces, so they were willing to be the middlemen. They were able to witness firsthand the power of Jesus and the faith of this leader who probably never darkened the door of the synagogue he helped them build.  It was an "in your face" witness to them from God: "Are you going to believe in My Son, or not?"

Getting to Know Jesus #20

In the last paragraph of Luke 6, Jesus gets to the foundation of what it means to follow after Him:

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

The story of The Three Little Pigs pales in comparison to the picture Jesus paints here: Life is full of storms; the judgment of God is the biggest one there is. Someday our lives will give an account to Him. The foundation of our lives is to be our faith in Christ - trusting Him and living the way He instructs us. When we trust and obey, our lives will be able to withstand not only the trials of this life, but the testing that comes afterward.  Many claim to be followers of Christ, to believe in Him, but doing is a different story.  Their end will be a sad story of not "living happily ever after" in someone else's safe, secure home, but alone, without fellowship with Christ and His fellow followers.  This makes all the more important the challenges we have seen the last couple of days, of self-examination and focusing on forgiveness. 

Getting to Know Jesus #19

In Luke 6, Jesus has just talked about not judging others so harshly, and instead doing some self-examination of our actions and our attitudes. He then goes on to say:

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

We need to examine our words - what we say and how we say it. This will help us evaluate what is in our hearts and minds, so we can go deeper in our search for good and evil.  Most of us have heard a clueless person turn to ask those around "What did I say?" after offending someone else with their words; maybe you were the one who said this.  The problem here is that the speaker has often predetermined that he/she has said nothing wrong, and the offended party is the problem.  We need to ask ourselves that question, not others, and hopefully, if we do, others around us will have the courage and love to answer us honestly, and we will have the grace to accept their observation.  Search your words for evil, and pull them out at the root. 

Getting to Know Jesus #18

We are in Luke 6, where Jesus is challenging His followers with a higher standard than they were used to:

 37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

The tendency to judge is strong in all of us. We tend to both find ways that someone else struggles that we do not, and also to criticize those with the same weaknesses that we have.  This critical spirit was strong in the religious context of the scribes and Pharisees, but we also find it having a great revival in our day as well. We even accuse others of being judgmental and hypocritical, not recognizing that we are doing the same thing by doing so.  We are blind to our own sins and struggles, trying to make ourselves feel better by comparison.  But Christ offs something much better than comparison and competition: He offers full forgiveness. We need to give it, as He does to us.  To forgive is something we should give generously. 

Getting to Know Jesus #17

We have seen in the last couple of paragraphs in Luke 6 that Jesus talked about how His followers would be treated, as determined by how they chose to love. The faithful could anticipate opposition and persecution. 

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Put together, Jesus says: you will be mistreated, But... I don't want you to react in revenge. Rather, He uses proactive verbs: love, do good, bless, pray for, be prepared to respond in a way that will blow them away.  Such actions require a mind set beforehand to do so. Why live that way? How will we ever come out on top? Keep in mind the goal: We're talking the Kingdom of God here. He wants our actions and reactions to reflect His character, so people will see beyond us to Him, so they will recognize where they are: in His world.  Jesus is telling us that life will seem like we're going against the flow, on the wrong side of they freeway, when in fact, it's the other traffic heading the wrong way, in danger of a fiery crash ahead. They will be yelling at us, making gestures, and giving us nasty looks, while we are to be waving at them and smiling, helping them change flat tires, giving them picnic lunches along the road. Then we may have a chance to tell them where we're heading and why we can't wait to get there.

Getting to Know Jesus #16

We are in Luke 6, where Jesus is speaking to a large crowd of followers from all around Israel and beyond. He has just listed four ways in which His followers are blessed, followed by these four contrasting statements:

24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

We need to keep in mind here that Jesus is not speaking to those who had outwardly opposed Him; He is talking to those who wanted to be with Him and listen to Him.  When He announces these woes, they are not mean and heartless proclamations of damnation; rather, there is a mixture of anger and sincere sympathy in His voice. When we settle for the stuff of this world; when we seek our own comfort above all else; when we pursue happiness and pleasure above the needs of others; when we care for what others think above what God things, we are sadly misguided and misdirected and will be miserable.  There is a sting with each of the results in these four statements: ultimate loneliness, hunger, sorrow, and vanity. At the end of the list we rightfully need to go back to the four statements and before and ask ourselves: "What did Jesus say was most important?", and change our attitudes and lifestyles accordingly.

Getting to Know Jesus #15

We have seen in the middle of Luke 6 that Jesus is in the middle of this large plain, where people from all over Israel, end even outside of Israel, have gathered together to listen to what He has to say:

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

We might refer to this as the Reader's Digest version of the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes: Blessed are you... you really have your act together, when you are content in this life and focused on what is eternal, when hunger for God's truth exceeds physical hunger, when life is about more than being happy.  All of those things were present tense, but notice the last one: Jesus says: Blessed are you when... there is another way they would get to prove their devotion to things eternal: opposition and persecution for following after Him.  This is where the path of following Jesus leads: it's not always easy and often is lonely and hard, but just like feeling blessed for the other conditions, it is a cause of rejoicing to be counted worth of such treatment for the name of Christ. He was preparing them to go back into their world.

Getting to Know Jesus #14

We are in the middle of Luke 6, where Jesus has just called twelve of His disciples to be His apostles: 

17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

Jesus came down from being up in the mountain to pray, and people from all around came to Him. Luke does not say where it was exactly; it did not matter, because wherever Jesus went people came to Him.  They came, as we have seen over and over again, to hear and be healed.  Things really are building here. Before we saw that Jesus was able to heal, then that He was almost impelled to heal - he could not hold back from doing so. Now healing just kind of flows out from Him; it goes wherever He goes.  We can see why people wanted to be with Him so badly.  We need to want to be with Him that much, and to want to hear what He has to say even more, because as we will see, Jesus has a lot we need to hear.

Getting to Know Jesus#13

In our survey of getting to know Jesus, we have seen Him become more and more popular with people, and at the same time becoming more of a problem for the religious leaders. In the middle of Luke 6 we find Him doing what Luke points out often: getting away to pray:
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

How did Jesus narrow down the crowd of people to a strange assortment of twelve men? He and the Father talked about it. It was not a matter of Him choosing followers; it was a matter of choosing apostles: those He would send out as His ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. We have gotten glimpses of how some of them became followers, like Simon's experiences with his mother-in-law being healed, Jesus using his boat to preach from, and the big catch of fish, or Jesus just walking up to Levi's tax table. But as to why these twelve - that's something only the Father and Son knew.  The important thing for Luke, and Theophilus to whom he was writing, is that these were real men, with real lives, whom Jesus used to get the world asking questions and turning the world upside down. 

Getting to Know Jesus #12

As we watch with Luke what Jesus did, one of the places there were lots of eyewitnesses was a synagogue on the Sabbath: 

6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus, just waiting for Him to do something they could use as evidence against Him in their court of the Law of Moses.  Jesus knew that, but He was not afraid. In fact, the miracles He did on the Sabbath were really an "in your face" questioning of their authority. He knew their hearts and motives, and they were Not Good. He would rather do something He knew they disapproved of than do what they were doing: nothing.  Would you rather complain and criticize how others do things, or actually do something good yourself? 

Getting to Know Jesus #11

In Luke 6 we find more interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees:

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”ot 

Jesus was out walking with His disciples in the fields, and His disciples pluck the grain. Actually, this was not a violation of Mosaic law, but the Pharisees had piled up all these rules for every ceremony. But before we go on, what were they Pharisees doing out there in the first place? On the Sabbath? They were spying on Jesus, trying to find something wrong.  David was not perfect, but he was every Jewish man's hero. So Jesus pointed to his action in caring for his men when they were weak and hungry; he even resorted to taking what was holy, and stretched the truth when he did so. But Jesus goes even further: as the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath, He had every right to do so for His followers. Notice Jesus was not doing this; it was His disciples. Jesus was going to bat on their behalf, and He's  still doing so for His followers today. 

Getting to Know Jesus #10

When Jesus came, those who thought they knew how to please God struggled to figure Him out. He chose disciples from a strange lot; He associated with people they detested; He did not do the things they required. 

33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

With their typical judgmental spirit, these religious leaders press Jesus about His lack of fasting. To try to make Him feel guilty, the even bring up John the Baptist, whose lead at first He was following.  Fasting was only required in the Old Testament on a limited number of cases for certain reasons; they had made it a favorite pastime to show their "spirituality". Jesus said: "Now is not the appropriate time." He also adds these little parables about change: Everyone loves their comfy jeans, but eventually you have to buy new ones. Putting new wine into old wineskins does not work; the chemistry going on inside makes them unable to handle it. But some people kept trying anyway. Why? The stuff always seemed better. Change is hard, but that's what repentance leads to, and repentance is what they were having a hard time doing. How about you?

Getting to Know Jesus #9

We are in Luke 5, listening to what Jesus had to say, to which people kept asking: What kind of word is this? Our next account is in verse

 27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

When Jesus had called a group of fishermen to be His first followers, there was not any recorded public outcry. But now there is.  Just like with Simon Peter and his comrades, Jesus came to Levi where He worked. He was doing what he did every day.  No other prelude is given here: Jesus simply said: "Follow me" and Levi did. He left behind a very lucrative career.  He then gives this feast for his friends, inviting Jesus as the guest of honor, and then the grumbling begins: the judgmental religionists question Jesus' choice of companions.  Then come the words.  Jesus makes a statement intended to make them ask themselves questions: Who is it that need a doctor? The ones who are sick and willing to admit they need one and come seeking help.  In the same way, I need to be spending time with those who are willing to say they are sin-sick and need spiritual healing; they need to repent and have me change their lives forever.  As we look around us today, who do you see that Jesus would choose to spend time with? Go and do likewise. 

Getting to Know Jesus #8

We are in Luke 5, looking at what Jesus said and did as He travelled around the cities of Galilee:

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Once again, before He does something, Jesus says something; He says: your sins are forgiven you. That did not sit well with these other religious teachers. Why not? Because they saw themselves as the ones with the authority to judge who was a sinner and who was not, and whether or not the person was good enough or had done enough good to be forgiven.  They exercised that self-given authority when they criticized Jesus' words and accused Him of sin against God.  They chose to disbelieve what Jesus said. We then have another phrase we will see again: Jesus perceived their thoughts. He knew what they were thinking, as well as the motivation behind it. In a sense He asked: "Which do you find easier to do: heal or forgive?" Of course, they could not do either one, but He could, and He proved it how? With His words. He spoke forgiveness: then He spoke healing without any observable action. The proof that what Jesus was doing was good and not blasphemy is seen in the response of the man and the crowd: They glorified God.  The question for us is: Will we choose to believe or disbelieve? To be forgiven or be self-righteous?

Getting to Know Jesus #7

We've been looking in Luke's Gospel at how the word has been spreading about the Power of Jesus' word. The next recorded event is in Luke 5:

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Once again we see Jesus "doing everything by the book", telling the healed leper to go to the priest so he would be proclaimed ceremonially clean and be allowed to go back to the temple for worship.  Once again, the order is preserved, as Luke notes and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. Jesus was doing everything He could to make sure what He said was not overshadowed by what He did.  Then, Luke gives us a glimpse of a theme that is a thread throughout his account: Jesus would try to get away to pray. Talking with the Father was never ignored, no matter how busy or popular He became.  What a reminder to us of what is really important: talking with God, hearing what He has to tell us, then living that out to bring glory to Him.  May those things mark our lives today. 

Getting to Know Jesus #6

Luke has just shown us that the best response Jesus' early followers had to Him were those that were more impressed by His word than His wow.  This is not to day that Jesus' actions were not impressive. Luke 5:

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Notice that the reason Jesus was in the boat in the first place was people were pressing Him to hear the word of God, and He needed a little distance from the audience so they could see Him and He could speak for them all to hear.  Then, when He had finished speaking, He wasn't done talking, He gave Simon instructions, and how does Simon respond? But at your word I will let down the nets.” He had seen Jesus heal his mother-in-law with His word; He trusted Jesus' words. At this point, Simon shows us another way we should respond to Jesus: awe and worship. Peter is so convinced of Jesus' holiness, and his own sin, that he knows how unworthy he is to be around Him. But Jesus wants to be around him, and us, so after the initial shock, our next step, like Simon and his crew, is to follow the One Whose words change everything. 

Getting to Know Jesus #5

We are in Luke 4, where Jesus has just preached in the synagogue at Capernaum, during which a demon-driven man disrupted the service and Jesus healed him. The response of the people was "What is this word?"  What kind of authority does Jesus have behind Him to be able to command such obedience? 

38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Jesus Preaches in Synagogues
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

When you're doing things like Jesus did, word spreads quickly, and people show up on your doorstep. But notice what Jesus says and does: He does not want His miracles to overshadow His message so He moves on. He does not want us to come for the show; He wants us to keep on asking: "What is this word?"

Getting to Know Jesus #4

After reporting about the rejection Jesus faced in His hometown of Nazareth, Luke proceeds to show a sharp contrast in Capernaum.

4:31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

At both places people were astonished at Jesus' powerful words, but there was a sharp contrast in how they responded to those words practically. At Nazareth, they responded with disbelief. Jesus knew that even if He did great signs and miracles there, they would be taken for granted and not associated with His words.  Here we find that people were focused on His word. Even in the miracle itself they asked each other "What is this word?" They recognized the authority and power of His word.  Do we live more for the Wow, or do we hang on His words? 

Getting to Know Jesus #3

Yesterday we left off in Luke 4, where Jesus was in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth and had just read the prophecy from Isaiah about One whom God had appointed to proclaim His Good News:

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. 

It was tradition in the synagogue that the Rabbi would stand in honor of God's Word when reading it, then sit down to comment on it. Jesus sat down, and the people waited for Him to say something. Finally, He simply says: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” - in other words, "I am the One Who is bringing this Good News." They couldn't believe it, and He began to respond to their disbelief. Isn't that just like us? Always skeptical of the promises of God.  Jesus knew His own townsfolk would expect special treatment, but if they would not believe the simplest, shortest statement, they would not receive the same blessings even foreigners, Gentiles did.  He told them what they did not want to, but needed to hear. And the response was dramatic: They wanted to get rid of Him: He was too convicting. Again, that is often our response to the truth: "Kill the messenger. Don't tell us we need to change." But we do.

Getting to Know Jesus #2

After Jesus had successfully defeated Satan with all his temptations, Luke tells us in Luke 4:14:

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Jesus talked, and people talked about Him. And He went to one of the hardest places to go: back home.  Remember, Luke shows us the hard places Jesus went through: at 12, when He seemingly had to choose between obeying His Heavenly Father and His earthy parents: at 30, when He confronts Satan, and now, as He begins His ministry, when He goes back home.  Home is a real test of how true our testimony is. How will we defend our faith there? How will we accept rejection there?  Jesus goes to Him hometown synagogue, as was His custom, - Remember He came to fulfill the Law, not abandon it - but this time He is the speaker, the Rabbi, and He chooses His text from Isaiah, which speaks of the One who will bring the Good News from God. We'll see tomorrow what He does with that. 

Getting to Know Jesus #1

 We've been focusing on Luke's Gospel and the questions he has been answering for Theophilus about Jesus. When we come to chapter 4, when Jesus is ready to begin His ministry, we really begin to get to know what Jesus is all about:
 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God,
    and him only shall you serve.’”
9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to guard you,’
11 and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Why did Jesus, the Christ, come down from heaven to live on earth? To fight sin and the tempter on our behalf.  This is Jesus' first activity after His baptism: to confront Satan and take back turf. This was no brief walk in the park - in fact, the last verse tells us it did not end there: it continued throughout His time on earth. But Jesus successfully said no to every temptation and lie of Satan: all the attacks on our identity and purpose, and God's sovereignty and love: Jesus took down every lie with truth, in our place, forcing Satan to leave Him alone so He could take back territory: the souls of people who desperately needed Him. It will help us understand more about Who Jesus is and what He says and does if we will view Him in Luke's eyes as the One who came to bat and do battle on our behalf.