Day 31 Wednesday Luke 15
In reference to Luke 15 it is in my estimation an absolute necessity that we refer to the parable of the Prodigal Son. It is certainly one of Jesus’ best known parables and surely dearly beloved. It only appears in Luke’s Gospel so this is our only chance in this Lent series to examine it.
There are a number of ways that we could look at this parable. We could look at it from the father’s gracious love. We could look at it from the younger son who learned a valuable lesson about fair weathered friends, and had his mind and heart mature in a splendid moment of finally recognizing his father’s love. Almost everyone likes a comeback story full of reconciliation, growth and happy endings.
I however want to also look at the parable from the viewpoint of the older brother. The good boy, the responsible one. The one who witnessed his younger brother breaking his father’s heart. The one who probably had to do double duty because of the Prodigal’s absence. The one who was still working out in the fields when the party started and only discovers it when he comes home from work (see vv. 25-27). The party seems to have been so important to dad that he forgot to send somebody to get big brother. Ouch! No wonder he is angry.
I wonder why Jesus provided so much detail in this parable? Was it because He wanted to emphasize the reality that the brother’s feelings were justifiable – but still not what God wants?
This parable after all is a story about grace. Grace is only required where grace is needed. It can’t be earned if it is grace. Grace can only be given by the One able to give it. The parable cries out that those who do good things are still not perfect. They also still need significant grace. That grace is inexpressibly wonderful, even for the pretty good ones.
How much more wonderful then is grace when it is granted to one who has been totally lost. One who has learned the most difficult lessons of life first hand. One who at the point of finding themselves in the stink of the pigpen (think about what that image meant to a Jewish person), comes to the realization of the fair nature of the Father and then before a word can be said, receives grace!
This also is the grace that the Father wants the older son to know. For both himself and his brother. In fact, it is in love that the Father leaves the party now searching for the brooding older son to offer him grace over his lack of joy for the now restored brother.
This is not a parable that denies that with sin there are some very real consequences. Remember the pig pen experience. This is a parable about God’s grace that meets us while we still stink from the consequences of our own messes. It is a parable that reminds us even when we are the older brother, that we also need redemption. It calls us as Christians to rejoice with the Father whenever a lost soul is welcomed home.
Day 32 Thursday Luke 16
In Luke 16 there is another parable that Jesus tells called “Lazarus and the Rich Man.” This is a much different Lazarus than the one that Jesus’ raises from the dead in the Gospel of John. (See John 11). Lazarus in this case is a very poor man who lived a life of misery.
In contrast to Lazarus we hear the description of the rich man. He lived a lavish life. Splendidly dressed, abundantly fed, the rich man lived a life of opulence. And now here is the rub, despite all this he had no notice or concern for Lazarus who camped near his gate hoping for the crumbs from the rich man’s table. We get no other details except the implication that the rich man did not respond appropriately to Lazarus’ needs.
As will always happen, life eventually ends for both men. The socio-economic slate is dissolved, and now only the eternal soul stands before God. The One from Whom nothing is hidden. The story immediately places Lazarus at the bosom of Abraham, this being the “good place”. The rich man on the other hand is in Hades in anguish, eternally! In misery the rich man has the nerve to demand that Lazarus be sent to get him water to cool his burning parched tongue. Abraham denies the request and makes clear that the rich man had a life full of comfort and certainly seems to have selfishly misused it all on himself. His eternity is now horrible and hopeless.
The rich man begs now for his brothers who appear to be just like him. He says send Lazarus back as a messenger to warn them that hell is real and that they must change. Abraham speaking with great wisdom, states they already have the guidance of Moses and the prophets. If they are ignoring them, how could a man risen from the grave change their minds?
What a question for our world today! Jesus is on His way to the cross at this point. Good Friday is coming quickly, followed by Easter Sunday – His resurrection. What a heart piercing point! WOULD A MAN RISEN FROM THE DEAD CONVINCE AND TRANSFORM LIVES? What will we do with this Jesus and His calling on our lives? All of eternity hangs in the balance regarding this question and the clock is clearing ticking!
Day 33 Friday Luke 17
As we keep moving forward in Luke we find Jesus moving toward Jerusalem and the cross. Every word, act, lesson finds an urgency to not be focused on this world while occasionally considering the next. Instead we are to be focused on the next even as we still must live in this one.
Today we find a threefold cord being taught. The three cords involved are temptation, forgiveness and focus. They seem to be as intertwined as they are illusive in this world of flesh, blood and time (chronos).
First there is a calling to an awareness of temptation to sin. It is pointed out that temptation is real and its consequences deadly. The calling is for awareness and resistance. The calling is to know the damage of temptation allowed to become sin.
Next is the calling for forgiveness of one who has sinned against us. Even if up to seven times, if there is repentance there must be forgiveness. In the echo of this request one hears again that part of the Lord’s Prayer … “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”.
Lastly comes the illustrations that call us to focus on God and the eternal. We are reminded of the spiritual battle that goes on all around us. God vs. evil. The kingdom of God is not just at “some time in the future”, it is now in the midst of us in this very real way. We are to be an active part of it for there are no fence riders. The invitation to be a part of that which is good and eternal is given.
The great mystery is revealed once more. It is the focus upon the third (Christ and His Kingdom) that the other two, overcoming temptation and forgiveness are birthed. In this the Kingdom of God becomes visible, prevalent and persuasive.
Day 34 Saturday Luke 18
We are introduced in this chapter to a bunch of people. Some that we assume are outside the Kingdom of God or at least not very important to it. Then we find two others that by all external appearances would seem to surely be in. Once again our assumptions are proven unreliable and the concept of God’s mercy as being linked to Jesus and His grace are presented again.
The humility of a tax collector, the innocence of children and the faith of a blind are presented as the way to God. At the same time the self-dependence of two pious men are seen as falling short. The disciples are particularly confused by the failure of the rich young man who is by all likelihood a very good man. He is probably very sincere about his desire to “inherit eternal life”. The fact that he goes away empty is deeply troubling for the disciples.
Jesus summarizes the lesson in v. 27, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” The rich young man simply needed to understand that despite his goodness he was still imperfect before God and would always be. He needed to depend on what God was doing for the world through His one and only Son. He needed true humility to see that he could not earn his merit before God. He needed to see that his good acts could please God but they could not earn his redemption. He also needed to see that while he saw himself as quite holy, his love of money and the lifestyle that it created was an impediment between him and God.
If only he had been willing to cry out in utter humility and surrender as the tax collector had. If only he had stuck around and admitted he needed help letting go of his love and dependence on the money, he surely would have found in Jesus his answer. I have always hoped that this good young man sought out Jesus again in the future, confessed his struggle and in time placed his faith in Him.
This is an example for any who struggle with something that they love or value more than God. All of us are invited to come as we are. To seek Him with our imperfections and stick around as He helps us to do the impossible, find both our redemption and in time our transformation in Him. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!
Day 35 Monday Luke 19
Many of us remember at some point in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School singing the song about a little tax collector named Zacchaeus. He was a “wee little man” who climbed up in a tree to see Jesus. To everyone’s surprise and delight Jesus tells that man to come down out of the tree because He was going to go to his house. What a great children’s story! What a great song to be sung while eating cookies and sipping grape Kool aid in a friendly setting.
Yet this story is not just a story for elementary children watching a flannel board. This is a story that really happened. This is a story with an unbelievable ending, unimagined by everyone until Jesus came on the scene.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. That probably means he had been at it for a while and was good at his job. He had grown rich not only by being a traitor to his people but also by almost certainly ripping his people off by collecting more taxes than what was owed. He may even have had a network of kickbacks since he was a supervisor.
In his role he would have rejected his family, his heritage and his religion. They in turn would have also rejected him. He likely may have tried to drown the pain of such a situation with all of the worldly pleasures that money could buy. I suspect that his journey to the tree was wonderfully symbolic of his position of being “out on a limb” due to the life decisions that he had made up to that point.
Whatever exactly his reasoning, Zacchaeus took a chance on Jesus. To his surprise as well as everyone else who heard it, Jesus called him by name and did the unthinkable, He went to the house of this notorious sinner. In that moment of extravagant grace Zacchaeus repented, repaid and restored for many years of sin. He had come to the point where he realized his decisions had cost him even more than the people he cheated and he wanted to change.
Jesus response to this repentance was to say, “Today salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man has come to seek and save the lost.” The reality of this story changes everything forever! For anyone who finds themselves out on a limb, who can allow themselves to be saved by Jesus, can come down out of their tree to a brand new life. ANYONE!!!
Day 36 Tuesday Luke 20
Today Jesus is asked a question about paying taxes to Caesar. The point of the question is to trap Him. If He says that they should pay taxes to Caesar He will be accused of being a traitor. This would give an excuse for the Jews to reject His message. If He says that they should not pay taxes, then He will be accused of preaching revolution and this could be cause for the Romans to crack down on the Jesus movement.
Jesus considers their question and then carefully answers. Using a coin as an example He shows that there are things that are of the world and must be dealt with from that practical aspect in mind. After that He makes it clear that there are things that are God’s alone and that even as we live in a physical and practical world God is still the focus of our devotion. He says, “Render unto Caesar the things that Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”
How true this is for us today. Sometimes though folks can be tempted to think that there are norms for Sunday and norms for every other day. Sometimes folks can think that the guidance that Christ gives to us is a nice religious theory that doesn’t work in the real world. After all, if you don’t live as the world lives, the world will gobble you up and spit you out. So, get cynical and get real.
While it is true that some people feel that way, that line of reasoning isn’t truth in itself. That type of reasoning is toxic and is the seed that assures that the world sinks further into corruption and dysfunction. As a matter of fact, take a quick survey of what the world is producing now and ask yourself how long can this continue before something really awful happens. Maybe upon further review, we conclude that something can change, that something has to change.
2000 years ago, Jesus radically changed the world for the much better. Perhaps Jesus living in you and me could begin a chain reaction that changes the world again – for the much better? That love God and neighbor stuff could really change the present and the future.
One of my favorite movies of is one called The Mission. In essence it is a sad movie based on a terrible but true story. It displays many shades of faith and corruption. At the conclusion of a terrible, violent event, one Bishop tells another “not to be too hard on himself”, even though they had sold out their principles and Christ’s expectations for political peace. He implies this with a casual statement, “The world is thus”. The second Bishop then looks into the camera with great shame and replies, “No! Thus we have made it!”
Everyone makes a choice, to be part of the problem or part of the solution. Everybody makes a choice every day! What choice will we make today?
Day 37 Wednesday Luke 21
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, entering into the Temple area every day and teaching. His life is in grave danger. His mission is ready to reach its final points of completion (instituting the Lord’s Supper as the new covenant, torture and redemptive death on the cross as the Lamb of God, and finally His glorious resurrection as His stamp of authority over sin and death).
Yet with all of this huge stuff going on He still notices something amazing and calls a time out as a teaching moment. It is wise to note that when Jesus points something out, IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE NOTICED!
In vv. 1-4 Jesus is watching people give their offering at the Temple. It is noted that He sees a number of wealthy people giving their gifts to the treasury. Then in v. 2 Luke notes that He saw a poor / needy widow giving two copper coins. It is noted that she gave from her poverty / her lacking, and that it was all that she had. He is floored by such faith!
The wonderful thing about this is the pure trust of God that this woman displays. She understands that God is bigger than any circumstances and she is so devoted that she simply gives her best to God. What a beautiful lesson of faith.
Many of us may feel that we are not to this point. Our faith continues to be an ongoing development. That is ok! It is like air coming into a pop bottle. As the air edges in, the liquid vacates. As faith keeps growing in Christ, the doubts begin to be eradicated. As His goodness and love keep coming in, the bad stuff and hatred begin to drain out. It all is dependent on our closeness to Christ that His richness flows in so that our spiritual poverty drains out.
Perhaps it also took some time for this woman to become rich in the things of God. May Christ help us all this Holy Week to discover such wonderful riches! May our goals and treasures be examined and adjusted accordingly through Him!
Day 38 Thursday Luke 22
We now enter into the most significant part of the season of Lent, Holy Week and for that matter history. The day would be a day full of betrayal, denial, mystery, sadness and incredible sacrificial surrender. Judas would betray Him, Peter would deny Him, the Lord’s Supper would be established, He would pray all alone and wait until they came to arrest Him.
On this night bread and wine would come to symbolize His body and blood. That which would literally take away the sin of the world. His body, “take in remembrance.” The CUP is the “NEW COVENANT in His blood.”
After this He heads to a predictable place, a place of quiet, a place of prayer. An odd thing to do if One believes their life is in danger, to leave the security of the public and go to a quiet lonely place. He moves to a place of solitude to pray for strength for what He knew was coming. What He knew had to happen if redemption was to be born. A grain must be buried in the ground to rise to life and bring forth fruit. This was His purpose for us.
As He prays He offers what seems a strange phrase. “Father if You are willing, remove this CUP form Me, nevertheless not my will but Your will.” The preservation of this prayer relays the horrible difficulty that both Father and Son faced that night for the sake of humanity. The term cup may mean that which is very difficult and now stands before Jesus, but some scholars see something even more symbolic that creates deep imagery.
In multiple places in the Bible, God’s wrath, judgment or anger because of sin is termed as the CUP of God’s anger, judgment or wrath. Some scholars believe that it is significant that the cup of God’s wrath to which Jesus faced for us was dealt with by what became the cup of the new covenant, which was His death upon the cross. This offers a unique reminder that every time that we take Holy Communion we are reminded that the cup of God’s wrath because of human sin, was atoned for by the cup of God’s grace which was Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Regardless of whether the cup meant great difficulty or the cup of God’s wrath, the result of Jesus’s sacrifice remains lovingly true. He died for OUR sins. He remained that night in Gethsemane praying and waiting when everything in His humanness wanted to run away. He remained to allow the process of a horrible sacrifice to begin so that we might receive redemption through the wonderful gift of His love if we will receive it. May the remembrance of His love change us significantly.
Day 39 Good Friday Luke 23
The betrayal, trial, mocking and scourging concluded the bloodied Jesus now had the 70 plus pound crossbeam placed upon His shredded back and shoulders. The accounts of the Gospels agree that He was unable to bear His cross all the way to Golgotha (the place of the skull) for execution. A passerby named Simon of Cyrene is compelled to carry it the rest of the way.
Once there, Jesus is attached to the cross likely through His wrists and ankles. As He arches His back to fill His lungs with air, His mutilated back rubs against the rough wood of the cross. This would be repeated over and over again. This combined with the pain of His head, wrists and ankles would be unimaginable. It is no wonder that the word excruciating was birthed from crucifixion. It literally means from / out of the cross.
Despite all of this Luke’s Gospel gives us four key events that Jesus still accomplishes while on the cross.
# 1 He forgave those who crucified Him and those who still mocked Him. It must have been amazing for the Roman crucifixion team to see this. I am sure they had seen a lot from people on the cross. Never, I suspect had they seen One forgive His tormenters and executioners from the cross.
#2 He forgave a dying criminal of his sins right there on the cross. The man admitted his guilt and asked Jesus to remember him in Jesus’ Kingdom. Jesus said, “This day you shall be with Me in paradise.” V. 43
#3 He chose the exact moment when He would die. Certainly, it was based on when the price of all human sin had been paid. Despite the agony, He was in complete control and He decided when He would commit His Spirit to the Father. The religious leaders and Romans were not in control, Jesus was. He was in control of this act of love which is the most significant moment in human history.
#4 At that moment, He offered you and me forgiveness and an eternal home with God. The greatest GIFT ever, paid for and offered to every human soul … IF THEY WILL RECEIVE IT THROUGH HIM!!!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life. John 3:16.
Day 40 Holy Saturday Re-read Luke 23:50-56
They took Him from the cross. Imagine the heartbreak as the One Who gave so much life now lay motionless and dead. His wounds fresh and visible.
Some brief and loving preparation for the grave. The stone rolled in place, the Sabbath approaching. Silence and Tears.
As Saturday dawned after a restless night, more silence, more tears, where is our hope?
But EASTER IS COMING!
Easter Day Luke 24
As the women approached the grave of Jesus on the first day of the week (Sunday) they found the stone already rolled away. As they entered they were amazed and shocked to see that the body of Jesus was not there.
I imagine there was more tears, more shock, more questions. Had someone stolen His body, had the authorities removed Him in one last act of disrespect? Then suddenly two men, two “shiny men” stood before them. From nowhere two “shiny men”. They asked them a piercing and convincing question, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Then they stated, “He is not here but risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
They went and told the Disciples but it seemed to them an idle tale, wishful thinking. Peter though rose up and ran to the tomb and looking inside He saw Jesus’ burial clothes as they had told him and he marveled at what he saw.
That night as two men travel to Emmaus they are joined by a Stranger Who seems to know nothing about the events of the week. But as the two men talk with the Stranger their hearts burn within them at His words. There is something about Him. They invite Him to stay with them in the safety of an inn for the night. As they sat at table He blessed and broke the bread before them. In that moment their eyes were opened and as they recognized Him. He vanished from their sight.
They quickly left the inn and travelled back to Jerusalem to join His followers and began to proclaim what they saw and suddenly He appeared among them. He showed them His hands and feet. In v. 41 there is a tremendously human statement. It says they struggled to believe even as they marveled with joy at His appearance. They admit that they were seeing a miracle that was difficult to understand and believe.
Jesus then taught them many things and told them to be His witnesses in all the world. He told them to proclaim that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name to all nations. He also told them to wait until they received power from God (the Holy Spirit).
In the days that followed He would appear many more times to them to encourage them before He ascended to heaven. To about 500 He appeared.
Jesus’ resurrection changed the world. The Lord of Life had risen to life despite the forbidding of the grave, the evil one and the Roman Empire. The glory of Jesus’ resurrection changed everything. There is always one great Easter question, … HAS IT CHANGED US?