Monthly Archives: November 2019

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – IT HAD TO COME OUT!

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IT HAD TO COME OUT!

“About eight days after saying this, He climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John and James along. While He was in prayer, the appearance of His face changed and His clothes became blazing white. At once two men were there talking with Him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah – and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over His exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem.” Luke 9:28-31.

Exodus – a strange and unusual word to describe what Jesus was soon to accomplish in Jerusalem. This was obviously a reference to His death and resurrection, but why “exodus”? Luke is the only one of the gospel writers who used this word. Did he understand something the others hadn’t grasped?

This was a highly significant event. Why did it happen? Of what value would it have been had Jesus been alone on the mountain?

Let’s answer the second question first. Did Jesus need the affirmation of His Father? He had received the Father’s blessing at His baptism and, on the strength of that, He had launched into His public ministry, having passed the test of true son-ship during His forty days in the wilderness. He had lived in close union with the Father and learned the lessons of obedience by obeying Him in every detail of His life. He knew He was loved and He lived out of that assurance. No, He did not need another affirmation of his identity as the Son.

It would seem that this was about the disciples; they needed this revelation of Jesus to cement two things in their minds, His identity and His mission. The appearance of Moses and Elijah and Peter’s reaction would help to put Him in perspective. Two of Israel’s most important and revered historical figures in company with Jesus?

It is clear that the disciples overheard the conversation – His exodus in Jerusalem. The exodus from Egypt, of course, was inseparably linked to Moses. Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt and into a covenant relationship with God. Elijah’s ministry was a powerful attempt to lead the people of the northern kingdom of Israel back to God out of their slavery to idols.

What was the meaning of Jesus’ exodus? Did it refer only to His departure from the world of humans back to the Father? The exodus from Egypt was a type of a greater deliverance – from slavery to sin and into a new covenant, sealed in His own blood, that was be a better covenant, based on better promises and sealed with a better sacrifice, guaranteeing a better hope.

This was an experience Peter and John never forgot and which helped to shape their conviction that Jesus was God’s Son and the promised Messiah. Peter wrote of this revelation: “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. He received honour and glory from the Father when the voice came from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.” 2 Peter 1:16-18 (NIV).

John’s testimony is similar: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NIV).

It was imperative that these men, who were to testify to the world that Jesus was God’s Son, be so convinced in their hearts that they would be willing to give their lives for the truth they would proclaim. And they became eyewitnesses of something that no one else had ever seen.

We may not see the glory of Jesus in His visible form but with the eye of faith we have seen and believed. Have you?

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – HUG IT, DON’T SHRUG IT

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HUG IT, DON’T SHRUG IT

“Then He told them what they could expect for themselves: ‘Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You are not in the driver’s seat – I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Believe me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?

“‘If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I’m leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when He arrives in all His splendour in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn’t, you realise, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their very own eyes the kingdom of God.'” Luke 9:23-27.

In the context of His own impending suffering, Jesus laid out clearly before the Twelve the way of a disciple. Once again it’s all about letting Him lead. What does that mean? How do we interpret the circumstances of our everyday lives, especially when things are tough or uncomfortable or even tragic? Is He leading only when the days are sunny and the way smooth? That’s what we tend to think, and we give the credit to the devil when things go wrong.

Could it be that Jesus is leading, even when we don’t like what’s happening? It’s really all about trusting Him, isn’t it? My journey with Him had been a long one, over 57 years to date, and it has taken me a long time to realise that He was leading every step of the way, through success and failure, through financial struggles, the loss of a child, a stormy marriage, divorce, homelessness, starting a new business, and having to pick myself up and carry on on my own.

Jesus gives us the key to using our difficult times to our advantage, not wasting them blaming the devil and becoming angry and disillusioned with God. He said, ‘Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.’ That’s it! Our attitude to our hard times will make all the difference between wasting them and having to go through them over and over again, or embracing then and being refined like gold in the fire.

The writer to the Hebrews recognised hardship as God’s way of disciplining His beloved children. “My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child He loves that He disciplines; the child He embraces He also corrects.” Hebrews 12:5b, 6.

Does that mean that God deliberately makes life difficult for us? No. We live in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people as well as bad people. Our troubles are sometimes the result of our own bad choices and sometimes the result of other people’s bad decisions, but God brings good out of the worst of circumstances if we trust Him.

Why does He allow stuff to happen? Why does He not cushion us from trouble and suffering? I think that one of the big reasons is that, when we are bumped, what’s inside of us comes out. God’s plan is to “bring many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10); and He does it in the same way as He prepared Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin; through suffering.

He has to get rid of the thoughts and beliefs and attitudes that belong to our old sinful, selfish natures. Difficult times, issues with people, physical and emotional suffering expose what’s in our hearts. If we turn these things over to Jesus, He will cleanse and heal us and move us towards being mature sons and daughters instead of immature brats who are always needing diapers changed and noses wiped, always demanding, and always throwing temper tantrums when we don’t get our own way.

“Don’t run from suffering; embrace it.” Treat it as a friend, not an intruder. You will be on the way to being released from your old selfish self to becoming “a chip off the old block”, following and imitating your Master

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

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WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

“One time when Jesus was off praying by Himself, His disciples nearby, He asked them, ‘What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?’ They said, ‘John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back.’ He then asked, ‘And you – what are you saying about me? Who am I?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God.’ Jesus warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had said. Luke 9:18-21.

Luke said nothing about the circumstances and environment of this event – which happened at Caesarea Philippi, the “red light” district of Israel – or Jesus’ altercation with Peter because of his misunderstanding of what He, as God’s Messiah, had come to do.

Jesus, it seems, wanted His disciples to be clear in their minds about His identity. They needed to distance themselves from the opinion of the people around them because, without the absolute conviction that He was the Messiah, they would not have the strength or perseverance to stay with Him when the going got tough.

The crowds who thronged Jesus were dazzled and enamoured by His personality and His miracles but they still fell short of their understanding of who He was. He was a prophet, yes, even one of the great prophets of history come back from the dead – if that were a possibility – but not the Messiah. They could not rise to that, especially as their spiritual leaders repudiated His claims and were bent on annihilating Him because He was a threat to them.

It was imperative that His disciples get it. It must have encouraged Him to know that they, probably through discussion among themselves, had at least recognised that He was more than just a prophet. Whatever their understanding of Messiah was, was yet to be revealed. It turns out that they were set on believing that He would deliver them from Roman occupation and restore the glory of David’s kingdom and nothing more than that.

Although He repeatedly tried to get them to understand what His messianic role was, it was only after all the horror of His crucifixion and the miracle of His resurrection that they came any closer to understanding that the deliverance of which He spoke was more than political and that God’s kingdom was broader than Israel.

It’s a great pity that there are large parts of the church today that have just as narrow a concept of who Jesus is as the disciples and the people of Jesus’ day had. Many denominations narrow God’s kingdom down to their particular theology or way of doing things. Some preachers insist that it’s all about “faith and prosperity”, while others go so far as to declare categorically that there is no salvation outside the boundaries of their “church”. They have removed Him from the throne and put themselves in charge.

But Jesus refuses to fit into anyone’s mould or to be anyone’s servant. He does not belong to anyone’s denomination or subscribe to anyone’s theology. His criterion for participation in the kingdom of God is far simpler and less regulatory than that.  He said, ‘Believe in me.’ Those who don’t do that, immediately disqualify themselves from being His disciples.

As simple as that instruction is, it will take a lifetime to understand and carry out His command. Following Jesus implies watching, listening, learning, practising, falling, getting up, starting again, going on, imitating, obeying, repenting, relearning, over and over again, like an infant learning to become a responsible adult.

Anything less than, or other than that, is just not Christian. As He said, ‘If you don’t do that, you are disqualified.’ It’s time for us, who call ourselves believers to get back to the Word of God and stop inventing our own brand of Christianity. The measure I use, which helps me to stay on course, and especially when I see and hear what goes on in the name of Jesus, is to ask the question, “Is that why Jesus came?”

It is the Bible, not popular preachers, that gives us the answer.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – GOD’S BANQUET

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GOD’S BANQUET

“The apostles returned and reported on what they had done. Jesus took them away, off by themselves, near the town called Bethsaida. But the crowds got wind of it and followed. Jesus graciously welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God. Those who needed healing, He healed.” Luke 9:10-11.

Now this was a cause for irritation, if ever there was one! Jesus must have been eager to hear from His disciples how their first preaching tour had gone and they, no doubt, were just as eager to tell Him. At the first opportunity He spirited them away, perhaps even under cover of darkness, to a remote place where they could be together without the ever-present clamouring crowd.

But what happened? Someone noticed and split. They had hardly settled down for a chat when the people began to arrive. The disciples must have groaned when they saw them coming. Not again! If ever there was an opportunity for Jesus to show His true colours, this was it. But what did He do? He welcomed them, taught them and healed their sick. His nature shone through, the ever-loving, compassionate Jesus!

“As the day declined, the Twelve said, ‘Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the farms or villages around here and get a room for the night and a bite to eat. We’re out in the middle of nowhere.’

“‘You feed them,’ Jesus said. They said, ‘We wouldn’t scrape up more than five loaves of bread and a couple of fish – unless, of course, you want us to go to town ourselves and buy food for everybody.’ (There were more than five thousand in the crowd.) Luke 9: 12-13.

Did the disciples really care whether the people were hungry or not? Did they really think that more than five thousand people would find accommodation and food in the area? Wasn’t it just a ploy to get rid of them so that they could be alone with Jesus again? Their attitude was heartless and faithless.

Jesus’ response was to challenge the disciples to take responsibility for the people in their need. Most of them had probably left home in too much of a hurry to make provision for the day. This was a golden opportunity for the disciples to learn to partner with God to meet the needs of other people. It was a lesson they were going to have to learn if they were to be followers and imitators of Jesus.

“But He went ahead and directed His disciples, ‘Sit them down in groups of about fifty.’ They did what He said, and soon had everyone seated.

“He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted His face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke and gave the bread and fish to the disciples to hand out to the crowd. After the people had all eaten their fill, twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered up.” Luke 9:14-17.

Seeing that His disciples had not yet caught on to God’s way of bringing heaven to earth, Jesus went ahead and put His own plan into action. First, He needed some order in the crowd. He instructed the disciples to gather them into small groups to ensure that everyone had a share in the banquet.

Then He used the available resources, five loaves and two fish, to feed the people instead of doing what the devil had tempted Him to do in the wilderness, perform magic by turning stones into bread. God is not a magician although we sometimes pray as though we think He is.

Why did Jesus insist on feeding the people? To have sent them away hungry would have been a message to them that God was not interested in their physical need and that they would have to go elsewhere for help.

We must never forget that He is our Father and loves to take responsibility for us, His children. Don’t turn away from Him; turn to Him!

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – PROPHET-KILLER

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PROPHET-KILLER

“Herod, the ruler, heard of these goings on and didn’t know what to think. There were people saying John had come back from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, still others that some prophet of long ago had shown up. Herod said, ‘But I killed John – took off his head. So who is this that I keep hearing about?’ Curious, he looked for a chance to see Him in action.” Luke 9:7-9.

Who was this “ruler”, this Herod who admitted to being the murderer of the prophet John whom Jesus stated to be the greatest of all the prophets?

He was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, the one who both rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem and was so afraid of a rival that he had all the baby boys in Bethlehem less than two years old put to death after Jesus was born. Herod Antipas was appointed tetrarch of Galilee and Perea and was prominent in the lives of both John and Jesus.

He divorced his Nabatean wife to marry the ex-wife of his brother Philip, and came under the scathing condemnation of John the Baptist for transgressing the marriage law of Leviticus 20:21. “If a man marries his brother’s wife, it is an act of impurity. They will be childless.”

At the instigation of his wife, Herodias, Herod imprisoned John and later had him beheaded after a drunken promise to Herodias’ daughter who had danced at his birthday party. No doubt his conscience bothered him when that he thought that Jesus was John returned from the dead. At the same time he knew this could not be true because he had been responsible for John’s death and had been handed John’s head on a platter.

Herod had an insatiable curiosity to see Jesus in action. It was not because he had any desire to follow him but because he was intrigued by the whole idea of a “miracle worker”. Probably, like many ancient rulers, he needed some form of entertainment to keep him amused – like the kings of mediaeval times who had minstrels and jesters to entertain them.

Herod was a thoroughly secular man. He appeared to have no interest in anything to do with his inner life. He was an opportunist – marrying only for political gain and divorcing when it suited him to make a better match. He was also spineless and very much under the thumb of Herodias, choosing to kill John to satisfy her thirst for revenge because of John’s accusation rather than doing the right thing.

During Jesus’ trial before Pilate, Pilate heard that Herod was in Jerusalem and sent Jesus to him rather than condemn Him himself, since Jesus was a Galilean and under Herod’s jurisdiction. Herod was not interested in Jesus’ guilt or innocence. He wanted Him to entertain him with miracles and, when Jesus refused, he abused Him and treated Him with contempt.

Jesus stated that He had come to bring division, even splitting families right down the middle. No one could be left indifferent to Him. It all depended on what was in their hearts. Those who thirsted to know God would recognise His true identity while others would be offended by His claims and His yoke.

It’s still the same today. God has promised: “‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV), but there is a condition. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV).

Herod has no desire to know who Jesus was except to satisfy his curiosity and to his dying day he would never know. To the sincere seeker, Jesus is the Son of God, the one to whom had been given the highest name and the highest position in the universe. He is Lord, and to Him every knee shall bow!