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.