Monthly Archives: January 2020

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – FURIOUS

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FURIOUS

“The meeting-place president, furious because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, “Six days have been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but not on the seventh, the Sabbath.'” Luke 13:14,

Strange, isn’t it, how reason, logic and even basic human kindness, leave the brain when a good deed is done that violates a religious scruple! According to this synagogue ruler, Jesus had done work on the Sabbath. First it was the Pharisees and now the synagogue ruler who was infected with the same ‘brain-damaged’ thinking.

On a previous occasion, when Jesus was attacked for healing on the Sabbath, (when in fact He had only spoken a word, and the man with a withered hand had been healed), He challenged their twisted logic by asking, “Which is right, to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath?” To Jesus, doing evil meant doing nothing, when someone was in need, because it was the Sabbath.  He hated it when rules cancelled out mercy.

But there was something far deeper than a religious rule that aroused this man’s anger. There was a fundamental flaw in his character which reflects the whole human race. It rears its ugly head more vehemently in those who are driven by religion rather than a restored relationship with God as Father.

Because God’s essential nature is love, He is lavishly generous to everyone, even to those who refuse to acknowledge Him. “…The Most High…is kind to the ungrateful and wicked…” Luke 6:35 (NIV). This kind of treatment to undeserving people sticks in the throat of those who hate God because it is so contrary to their own nature.

Jesus told a story about a farmer who went to the market place early in the morning to hire labourers. He negotiated their wages with them to which they agreed. During the day he hired more men and finally engaged the last few stragglers an hour before knock-off time. Those who had worked from early morning were furious with him when he paid the latecomers the same wage as they had agreed to received for a day’s labour.

The farmer’s response was, “Are you envious because I am generous?” The farmer’s generosity towards the men who had only worked for one hour brought out the true nature of the other labourers – envy. What is envy? Envy is not interchangeable with jealousy. It is the attitude that wants to destroy the one who, by acting contrary to their nature, shows them up for who they really are. It murders the one who does not bow to their command. It is the worst form of control. “Do what I tell you or die.”

Surprisingly, it was Pilate who accurately diagnosed the true motive of the religious leaders who delivered Jesus to him to be condemned and crucified. “‘Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?’ asked Pilate, knowing that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to them.” Mark 15:10 (NIV).

Envy is a powerfully destructive force that drives religious people to what is contrary to the image of God. It cancels out sane thinking, defies logic and motivates to murder rather than to submit to the truth.

Jesus chose to remain true to His own nature rather than bow to the scruples of religious people because He had come to put His Father’s glory on display. Being true to oneself is a risky business because it incurs a cost when it crosses the demands of religion.

We have to decide what will direct our lives – rigid adherence to rules because that’s what controls our lives, or the flexibility that comes with a heart of mercy. Living God’s way is not about trying to gain His approval but about living out of who we are, sons of God who have the nature of God and are free to live according to His love, mercy and compassion.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – TWISTED AND BENT OVER

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TWISTED AND BENT OVER

“He was teaching in one of the meeting places on the Sabbath. There was a woman present, so twisted and bent over with arthritis that she couldn’t even look up. She had been afflicted with this for eighteen years. When Jesus saw her He called her over. ‘Woman, you’re free!’ He laid hands on her and suddenly she was standing straight and tall, giving glory to God.” Luke 13:10-13.

Luke had a special interest in Jesus’ ministry to women in keeping with his purpose of presenting Jesus as the ‘Son of Man’. Women were disrespected in Hebrew culture, treated as inferior to men, and even as a husband’s ‘possession’ to be retained or disposed of at will. By His compassion and care for women which Luke recorded so tenderly, Jesus gave women the dignity and respect accorded them by their Creator.

Knowing full well that healing on the Sabbath would create a furore among the religious leaders, He persistently ignored their scruples and healed whoever was afflicted whenever He had opportunity. This woman was so twisted in body by her disease that she could not even lift her head to look into His face. Perhaps she was not aware of Jesus but He was aware of her, and with His awareness came His spontaneous response to her plight.

His words to her are also surprising. ‘Woman, you are free!’ not ‘Woman, you are healed!’ Was Jesus aware of a deeper reason for her affliction? Of course, all human imperfections are the result of Adam’s original sin, behind which lay the deceiver’s subtle enticement to disobedience, but in this woman’s case, was there something in her life that directly resulted in her enslavement to the physical condition that held her bound for eighteen years?

It is medically attested that 95% of physical conditions are the outcome of stress which is the body’s response to sustained high levels of adrenaline, the ‘fright, flight, fight’ hormone which prepares our bodies in times of crisis. There is one condition that plays havoc and does untold damage to our physical systems, unforgiveness. Every prolonged emotion that flows from our refusal to let go of a real or perceived offense does damage to us and not to the person against whom we hold our grievances.

Jesus often warned of the consequences of unforgiveness, the most drastic and unthinkable being cut off from the Father’s forgiveness. Is this not one of the main reasons why doctors wrestle with physical problems that defy diagnosis, why hospitals and psychiatric facilities are filled with sick people and why our world is overrun with cruelty and violence? The world is full of angry people who do not realise that forgiving those who have hurt them would set them free.

There is powerful symbolic significance in Luke’s descriptive words of her condition – she was twisted and bent over and could not look up. This is what happens to us inside when we refuse to forgive. We cannot look up and see the face of God when we are twisted and bent over by bitterness and hate. Only the presence and words of Jesus can set us free so that we can stand up and look up.

Jesus changed this woman’s life with a few words, ‘Woman, you are free!’ In them, she found forgiveness for her own sin and release from the anger and bitterness with which unforgiveness had poisoned her body and her life. She stood upright and gave glory to God. What a moment!

Is it possible that you can also experience spiritual and physical healing when you become aware of His presence, hear the words of Jesus in your heart, feel His touch and receive the forgiveness which will free you to forgive others? This may be the key to your healing.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – GIVE IT ANOTHER YEAR

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GIVE IT ANOTHER YEAR

“Then He told them a story: ‘A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it, expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple I have found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’ The gardener said, ‘ Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.'” Luke 13:6-9.

Lest we are left thinking that God is harsh and unjust, Jesus slips in one of His little gardening stories to reassure His hearers that He does not make arbitrary decisions. He always acts within His own character, giving us the benefit of the doubt as long as He can without contradicting His ways.

When a man plants a fruit tree in his garden, he does it for one purpose – to enjoy its fruit when it has matured. Fruit trees are not meant to be decorative but productive. If it does not bear fruit after years of cultivation, why would he leave it in his garden? It is nothing but a parasite, using up the moisture and nutrients in the soil and giving nothing back.

Unlike religion which is parasitic in nature, our relationship as sons to our heavenly Father ought to produce fruit. God created us for one supreme purpose – to put His glory on display. He gave us the capacity to be like Him in many ways, in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Sound familiar?

God continually ‘fertilizes’ us with His mercy and grace, not treating us as our sins deserve but showering on us His favour every day. We have been planted in the soil of His goodness and fed and watered by His word. Is it not reasonable to expect fruit in our lives in keeping with what He has lavished on us? Should we not be broadcasting Him to the world by the fruit that grows in soil that is nourished by such lavish care and provision?

When we persistently produce nothing but selfishness and greed, sucking up God’s goodness, living on His generosity and giving nothing in return, does He not have every right to chop the tree down and throw it on the rubbish dump? And yet He is merciful. ‘Let’s give it another year,’ He says, ‘just in case it does bear an apple or two to prove its worth.’

If it still does not come up to His expectation, He has no option but to chop it down to make room for trees that will give Him the satisfaction of bearing luscious fruit. God does not enjoy throwing people on the ‘rubbish dump’ of wasted potential but, once again, He leaves the choice to us. “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV).

Both the news item that people brought to Jesus about Pilate’s brutality and His response, show us that He was more concerned about what we do than what we think of others. ‘Don’t point fingers, look inside,’ He insists because we cannot answer for others but we have to take responsibility for ourselves.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – TURN TO GOD OR DIE

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TURN TO GOD OR DIE

“About that time some people came up and told Him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, ‘Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans. Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you too will die.”

“And those eighteen In Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God you, too will die.” Luke 13:1-5.

Can you catch the atmosphere of this conversation? Perhaps those who were reporting the incident expected an outburst of outrage from Jesus against Pilate’s bloodthirsty cruelty. They would have revelled in seeing His reaction and felt justified for bringing Him the news. They thought that He would have joined with them in condemning Pilate’s action.

What they did not expect was Jesus’ sober and non-theatrical response, turning the tables on them by putting them right in the picture. It was not about Pilate, or those he had murdered, but it was about them. They were in no position to condemn Pilate when they were equally guilty of a life of sin that would kill them if they did not repent.

Jesus made it clear that God does not grade sin when it comes to our eternal destiny. There are no such things as big sins and small sins. Everything that falls short of God’s perfection is sin. God even sees the imperfections of our physical bodies as ‘sin’ because that is not what He created in the beginning – hence the laws in the Old Testament that made provision for diseases, deformities and the shedding of blood. Anything imperfect was called ‘unclean’ – tamai – and required a sacrifice once cleansing had been established.       

The fact that people died an unnatural death at the hands of a tyrant was no proof that they were worse sinners than anyone else. It only revealed the decision of an evil person in an evil world. God is so often blamed for the bad things that happen to us as though He were responsible for the choices we make and the consequences of those choices.

“The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to man.” Psalm 115:16 (NIV).

God gave us human beings the task of governing the earth from the beginning, with the understanding that He would set the standards by which to rule since it is His world. Adam chose to reject God’s authority and set up his own standards under the devil’s influence. God did not withdraw His mandate but He does hold us responsible for what we do with it. Hence responsibility brings with it accountability to our Creator and irresponsibility, punishment.

There are no degrees of falling short; we can miss God’s perfection by an inch or a mile; it’s all the same. Missing the mark will bring retribution – that’s what Jesus was getting at. Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, the Galileans who died at the hands of Pilate, they were all guilty. They all fell short and did not avail themselves of the mercy God invited them to receive through the death of His Son.

Comparing ourselves with those we consider worse than us does not absolve us of our guilt. It only reveals our foolishness in believing that we can somehow get past God’s perfect justice. God does not act arbitrarily. His justice is perfectly just because He leaves us to choose.

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11, 12 (NIV).

God commands everyone everywhere to repent, turn to Him from their sins (Acts 17:30) and receive His life based on His mercy. If we receive it, we have eternal life. If we reject it, we will experience the eternal hell He warned us about.

The choice is ours.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – USE YOUR COMMON SENSE

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USE YOUR COMMON SENSE

“You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge, you’d probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the kind of decision I’m asking you to make.” Luke 12:57-59.

Who would be fool enough to risk going to jail just because you neglected to settle your issue with your accuser out of court? No-one wants a jail sentence as well as the criminal record that goes with it if it can be avoided.

Why is it, then, that people neglect to secure their eternal destiny before the final curtain comes down? How foolish is the idea that we can live as we like and then repent at the last minute before we die? Do we really think that we can trifle with God’s mercy like that? How much common sense do we need to secure our future before we are no longer able to do so?

Of course, Jesus was not dealing here with motive but with outcome. It would be bottom of the list to accept His offer of forgiveness and the hope of eternal life just to escape the punishment of hell but, unfortunately, the gospel is often presented as an escape route from hell nowadays. Bumper stickers on cars say it all – “Hell has no fire escape,” to quote just one of them.

This is not the most important reason to return to the most precious and wonderful of relationships that God intended for us – sonship. Imagine dutifully doing everything your earthly father required of you just to escape punishment! What a heartless and loveless experience that would be! Jesus calls us to return to Him because His passion is to take us to the Father who loves us with an everlasting love. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John14:6 (NIV).

Why did Jesus encourage His hearers to use their common sense? Was He aware that we are so self-centred that we will do anything to ensure our own comfort and convenience? Returning to the Father to save our own skin could be the beginning of a walk that would eventually take us deeper into a love relationship with Him.

Perhaps Jesus is not as concerned about how we get started as He is about getting on to the road so that we can learn to walk with Him on this journey toward freedom and wholeness. Perhaps the problem is not so much getting started as it is persuading us that He is the truth and that His way is the only way to experience the fullness of life that God has promised those who put their trust in Jesus.

How difficult it is for people to abandon their false belief system which holds them captive through fear, to embrace the Father’s love and mercy revealed in Jesus, His Son. They would rather hold onto something that has no foundation in fact and no historical or experiential proof of its reality than entrust themselves to one who predicted that He would be crucified and would rise again, and did it just as He said. Is the fanciful imagination of some human being that creates a religion based on human nature or man’s wisdom more reliable than the infallible word of the eternal God who came in person to tell us the truth? The proof that this life is real is God’s peace in the heart that has no human explanation.

Once again, you choose!