Messiah, Son of David
Continuing his verbal assault on the religious leaders, Jesus asks a question about the Messiah. The question reveals something the religious leaders of the day never considered, and makes an obscure reference to near future they wouldn’t understand. What is this question? The Messiah is supposed to be a “Son of David”, but if so how is it that David calls him “Lord” (something a king would never do to a son)? The answer the religious leaders may have come up with, though it would have run contrary to their understanding of the nature of God, is that the Messiah is divine.
Parable of the 10 Minas
This is the finale of Jesus’ teaching regarding the coming Kingdom. Closing in on Jerusalem and the fulfilment of his mission the Messiah knew that many, including the 12, still misunderstood what the Kingdom is, how it will be ushered in, and whom will enter it. While teaching about attitude and responsibility over the last few parables, this one gives the disciples (and us) insight into the Kingdom of God and its people. To understand these nuances, we must first understand who the characters in this story represent.
End of the Samarian Ministry
Today we find ourselves at a crossroads, the closing of the Samarian ministry and the beginning of the Judean. Jesus is approaching Jerusalem and his final battle. Somewhere in a region between Samaria and Galilee Jesus comes across 10 lepers, some of whom are Jewish and some Samaritan. Together they called out to the Messiah from a distance (lepers were not permitted to mix with healthy society), calling him “Master” and asked for mercy. Jesus did not approach the group, there was no laying on of hands, nor did he speak his now famous line, “your sins are forgiven.”
The Shrewd Manager
I have a confession to make: I strongly dislike this parable. I can’t say I hate it, per se, because it is part of God’s word and even the very words of our Lord. But I don’t like it because to the modern reader it is so easy to misunderstand. It’s not an illustration I would every use in teaching, and I wonder why Jesus did. I don’t think I’m alone, either as I rarely hear this passage preached on. Because it is part of God’s Word we are responsible for understanding it properly and – more importantly – doing what it says.
Jesus Versus the Religious Authorities
Sometime after clearing the temple we find Jesus teaching in its courts and proclaiming the gospel. From this point forward events are going to happen quickly leading up to the climax. This encounter with the Pharisees of the temple is the first event that leads them down the path to a place where plotting Jesus’ demise is the only end. The religious authorities appear before Jesus to challenge him. They have not given their blessing to his teachings so they want to know, “By what authority are you doing these things?” Thinking they could trap him, Jesus proves more shrewd than they.
The Impossible
As one gets closer to death, it begins to become a natural part of conversation. I have a friend with cancer who is counting every day a blessing. I am grateful for her faithfulness and outlook on both the remainder of her days and her eternal destiny. Another friend, facing a different disease entirely, talks about being afraid of dying. Others, who aren’t suffering from anything besides old age, do the same; it’s a natural part of the human condition. So there is nothing morbid about Jesus telling his disciples about his eminent fate in Luke chapter 18.
Obligations
Yesterday we learned of a teaching that dumbfounded the people of Jesus’ day, and today we come to one that will astonish modern readers. Just as Jesus challenged the assumed notions of the people of his day, so he continues to challenge the misconceptions of his modern children. Just like the disciples, there is always something we need to learn. While still in Samaria and on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the disciples aside to teach them about their commitments toward others and God.
Parables of the Lost
This section of Luke contains the three most popular parables of Jesus: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Prodigal Son. All three make the same point, but with increasing detail, and the point was anything but music to the ears of the religious authorities. When those authorities saw the kind of people who were coming to hear Jesus, people Hillary Clinton might refer to as “deplorables” – sinners and tax collectors – they complained that Jesus welcomed them. They themselves shunned such people, preferring to live in ivory towers among the cities power players. Jesus was about to give them an attitude adjustment.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
Jesus makes it to Jerusalem! After years of traveling around the country, teaching and performing miracles around Galilee, Samaria and then Judah to prove he is the savior and rightful king of all humanity, he comes to the nation’s capital to complete his mission. Of course, even as his ministry has aligned with prophecy so to must this significant event. As written in Zechariah 9.9: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey – on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.”
The Judean Ministry Begins
Growing up, my mother was fond of telling my sister and I, “When God tells us to do something it is very important. When he tells us to do something more than one it is very, very important.” At the beginning of chapter 18, Jesus tells another parable that teaches a truth he had revealed back in chapter 11 (you may want to revisit that teaching which may be found here: http://www.think-biblically.com/10-lucubrations/487-teach-us-to-pray). While it still seems inconsistent to me, Jesus tells us a second time to repeatedly go before God with our concern until he answers us.
Lazarus and the Rich Man
We’ve all heard stories of people dying and coming back to life with stories of a darkness and a single point of light. Some of the stories we’ve heard of the afterlife have been confessed as just that, stories. Others have had experiences that have turned their life around. One friend of mine had just such an experience, and his seconds in what he firmly identifies as Hell was enough to drive him into the arms of our loving savior. Whatever you think of these accounts they are always of interest, for we all want to know what is on the other side.
The Cost of Discipleship
Last weekend I spoke to a woman, a therapist by profession, about Proposition 106, the “assisted suicide” bill before Colorado voters this November. She remarked that until we have experienced their pain and suffering we cannot say with certainty what we ourselves would do or if it is moral or immoral. I told her she was thinking about the issue the wrong way around. We determine the morality of an action before we are in the situation so that should such experiences occur we may stand firm in our conviction. In other words, we need to count the cost first.