Tag Archives: betrayed

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – A COMMON PHENOMENON

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A COMMON PHENOMENON

“While they continued to stand around exclaiming over all the things He was doing, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Treasure and ponder each of these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human hands.” They didn’t get what He was saying. It was like He was speaking a foreign language and they couldn’t make heads or tails of it. But they were embarrassed to ask Him what He meant.” Luke 9:43-45.

This was the second time Jesus told His disciples about His impending suffering and death. The first was in the context of His identity. He had questioned them, in the environment of Caesarea Philippi, the “red light” district of Israel, who they thought He was. Peter’s reply indicated that they were at least a little farther along in understanding than the people who constantly thronged Him.

At the same time it was clear that both Peter and probably the rest of the disciples along with him, had no idea what “Messiah” meant. To them He was no more than a political figure sent to deliver them from Roman oppression. All His teaching and demonstration of the nature of the kingdom of God ran off them like water off a duck’s back.

Why did He repeatedly inform them of His coming ordeal in Jerusalem, even exposing them to what they had just seen and heard on the Mount of Transfiguration, involving two of their greatest historical figures? Was it to inform, to warn, to prepare them for what lay ahead? Was it to expand their understanding of who the Messiah was and what He had come to do?

Jesus was up against something in the disciples that is common in human nature. We all seem to be able to block our ability to understand what we refuse to believe. They refused to believe that suffering and violent death was included in the purpose of His coming. It was not on their agenda for Him because salvation from sin and reconciliation to the Father was not on their agenda. Their tunnel vision prevented them from accepting anything outside of their expectation.

Was there something in the words Jesus used that they could not understand? And yet they did not grasp what He was telling them! We know, from hindsight, exactly what He was saying because we have the benefit of everything that followed.

In the context of our own experience, there are many things in God’s Word that we don’t understand, not because the words are difficult, but because our brains block out our ability to understand those parts that do not fit our expectation.

Take for example, the way we perceive and experience God’s love. The Bible is a continuous story of the way God treats people because of His love for them. His mercy and compassion overshadow the story of His stubborn, rebellious and wayward people. He had every right to take them out and start all over again. And yet, time and again, He forgave them and rescued them from the consequences of their wickedness, Why? Because He loved them.

His Word assures us that He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to redeem all mankind. However, when we go through hard times, what do we do? We blame God and doubt His love! We cannot translate the love that provided a Saviour into a love that cares about us in our troubles and problems.

What is the solution? We find in His Word what our expectation of Him should be. He tells us what He wants to do and is capable of doing in our lives. We will only be transformed when we renew our minds with His Word instead of stubbornly holding on to our inadequate and misinformed ideas of who He is and what He had promised He will do.

What’s on your agenda for God that does not come from Him? Let His Word shape your thoughts and your understanding of who He is, what He says and what your expectation of Him should be, and you will come closer to the truth of what He has in mind for you.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – MURDER MEADOW

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MURDER MEADOW

“During this time Peter stood up in the company — there were about one hundred and twenty in the room at that time — and said, “Friends, long ago the Holy Spirit spoke through David regarding Judas, who became the guide of those arresting Jesus. That Scripture had to be fulfilled and now has been. Judas was one of us and had his assigned place in this ministry. 

“As you know, he took the evil bribe money and bought a small farm. There he came to a bad end…Everybody in Jerusalem knows this by now; they call the place Murder Meadow. It’s exactly what we find written in the Psalms:

“Let his farm become haunted so no one can ever live there…”

“And also what was written later:

“Let someone else take over his post…” Act 1:15-20 (The Message).

Peter was at it again! We must remember that this was before Pentecost. He was spot on in his application of prophecy to Judas but one has to question his so-called ‘leading’ to replace him. There is no mention here that the Holy Spirit had anything to do with what happened next.

Peter was a man of impulse and of action. They were no longer the Twelve but the Eleven and that didn’t sit well with him. He recognised that the psalm he quoted was talking about Judas and, as their natural leader, decided that Judas must be replaced. All very commendable but not in God’s scheme of things!

Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem — that’s all! No reference to doing anything else, including replacing Judas by drawing straws. That method was redundant. In a few days’ time they would have the very presence of Jesus within them as He had promised, and then there would be no need to make these kinds of decisions. God already had His replacement man waiting in the wings, but he didn’t know it and neither did Peter!

Why is this little interlude included in Luke’s story? There is no mention that Peter did the wrong thing — just the bare facts and yet, if one reads between the lines, the replacement they chose plays no part in the rest of the story. That says something! Is it a quiet little reminder that we also make decisions that make sense in the natural but are irrelevant to God’s purpose for us?

Before He left them, His very last words to them were about His replacement, the Holy Spirit, who would be in them what He was to them when He was with them. They had to learn to discern and follow His leading when He came, and in the mean time they were instructed to wait for Him.

It amazes me how eager we humans are to ‘help’ God! When things don’t happen quickly enough for us or in the way we anticipate, we add our bit, reasonable, logical, but not what God has planned. In this case it seems there was no harm done except that when God brought them His man, Paul, they had trouble accepting him because of his history.

This may seem like an irrelevant bit of information in Luke’s story but it can be a valuable lesson if we take heed. God is not out of options when we mess up. If we wait for Him, He will reveal His solution at the right time and with far greater impact than we can ever imagine. Compare Judas and Paul. Judas blew it! God replaced him with Paul, not Matthias. Now wasn’t that a good plan! 6

A Common Phenomenon

Bible Study, , ,

A COMMON PHENOMENON

 “While they continued to stand around exclaiming over all the things He was doing, Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Treasure and ponder each of these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human hands.” They didn’t get what He was saying. It was like He was speaking a foreign language and they couldn’t make heads or tails of it. But they were embarrassed to ask Him what He meant.” Luke 9:43-45 (The Message).

This was the second time Jesus told His disciples about His impending suffering and death. The first was in the context of His identity. He had questioned them, in the environment of Caesarea Philippi, the “red light” district of Israel, who they thought He was. Peter’s reply indicated that they were at least a little farther along in understanding than the people who constantly thronged Him.

At the same time it was clear that both Peter and probably the rest of the disciples along with him, had no idea what “Messiah” meant. To them He was no more than a political figure sent to deliver them from Roman oppression. All His teaching and demonstration of the nature of the kingdom of God fell off them like water off a duck’s back.

Why did He repeatedly inform them of His coming ordeal in Jerusalem, even exposing them to what they had just seen and heard on the Mount of Transfiguration, involving two of their greatest historical figures? Was it to inform, to warn, to prepare them for what lay ahead? Was it to expand their understanding of who the Messiah was and what He had come to do?

Jesus was up against something in the disciples that is common in human nature. We all seem to be able to block our ability to understand what we refuse to believe. They refused to believe that suffering and violent death was included in the purpose of His coming. It was not on their agenda for Him because salvation from sin and reconciliation to the Father was not on their agenda. Their tunnel vision prevented them from accepting anything outside of their expectation.

Was there something in the words Jesus used that they could not understand? And yet they did not grasp what He was telling them! We know, from hindsight, exactly what He was saying because we have the benefit of everything that followed.

In the context of our own experience, there are many things in God’s Word that we don’t understand, not because the words are difficult, but because our brains block out our ability to understand those parts that do not fit our expectation.

Take for example, the way we perceive and experience God’s love. The Bible is a continuous story of the way God treats people because of His love for them. His mercy and compassion overshadow the story of His stubborn, rebellious and wayward people. He had every right to take them out and start all over again. And yet, time and again, He forgave them and rescued them from the consequences of their wickedness, Why? Because He loved them.

His Word assures us that He loved the world so much that He sent His Son to redeem all mankind. However, when we go through hard times, what do we do? We blame God and doubt His love! We cannot translate the love that provided a Saviour into a love that cares about us in our troubles and problems.

What is the solution? We find in His Word what our expectation of Him should be. He tells us what He wants to do and is capable of doing in our lives. We will only be transformed when we renew our minds with His Word instead of stubbornly holding on to our inadequate and misinformed ideas of who He is and what He had promised He will do.

What’s on your agenda for God that does not come from Him? Let His Word shape your thoughts and your understanding of who He is, what He says and what your expectation of Him should be, and you will come closer to the truth of what He has in mind for you.