Public Passage: Luke 12:35-59

Summary

Right after Jesus tells His followers that they are to store up ‘treasures’ in heaven, He launches into a short story designed to encourage His followers to say faithful and watch for His return. In this story, the servants are prepared and ready when their master returns. Only instead of the servants serving the master, the master serves the servants! It is a story of the upside down kingdom in which Jesus loves and serves us. The disciples, though, were not sure who Jesus was talking to – so they ask Jesus if it was for them or for everyone else. Jesus responds with further instructions for His followers to be actively following His instructions while waiting for the fullness of the Kingdom to arrive.

“It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” –Jesus, Luke 12:43-44

The Story

•    Background

o    The last few chapters of Luke has shown Jesus answering various questions from the disciples, legal experts/Pharisee, and random folks in the crowd
o    The beginning of chapter 12 starts with Jesus encouraging the disciples to stand strong and trust him.
o    Then someone in the crowd ask Jesus to settle a legal dispute
o    Jesus turns the question on its head and challenges the heart of greed within the questioner
o    Near the end of Jesus statement about greed, he goes into a short parable…which is where we are going to pick todays message

•    The parable of the serving master

o    Let’s pick up the story in verse 32 as the passage is not broken up via headings

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.35 Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. –Luke 12:32-38

o    We are to be ready

*    Dressed with our boots on and ready to work
*    Lights are to be ready at any moment

o    Servants “eagerly awaiting” their master who “withdraws” from the banquet for a moment

*    The Greek can be read either way….
*    I like this way as it shows the servants in a state of readiness
*    It also shows that the wedding banquet is not over, which means that it can be at anytime

Continue reading Get Caught Working →

Public Reading: Luke 12:1-12

The Story:

•    We are nearing the end of Jesus life

o    You will notice that the writing of St. Luke is shifting slightly.
o    Instead of talking about Jesus’ actions, like he did at the beginning of the book, St. Luke is starting to record more and more of his teachings

•    We are also seeing the religious leaders get more and more upset with Jesus

o    At first they were just curious about this new teacher
o    Now they are mad at him because of two main teachings

*    Jesus is telling the wrong people (sinner, tax collectors, etc.) that they can find salvation without going to the temple
*    Jesus is calling out their secret sins

o    In other words, their jobs and their reputation were being threatened by Jesus.

•    The crowds, on the other hand, were increasing

o    They kept coming and coming and coming
o    So much so that St. Luke says, “they were tramping on each other.” (vs 1, TKNT)

•    In the middle of all this, Jesus turns to his disciples and says:

“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. –Luke 12:1c-3

•    Why? What is Jesus saying?

o    Think about this, the Pharisees and the religious leaders used to be the top dogs in the yard.

*    They had all the best seats in the house
*    They had folks coming to them
*    Now the crowds are going to Jesus

o    As such, I see Jesus cautioning the disciples that if they are not careful, they will become like very religious leaders they warned the people about.

*    Fame is a funny thing in that if you are not careful, you begin to think that you are better than everyone else.
*    Think about the Beatles or any of the famous musicians or movie stars

•    A lot of them start out as good people with a heart of gold
•    Yet the pressures and joys of fame does something to them
•    It turns down the wrong path – as we see in the nightly news

o    Jesus is cautioning the disciples to be careful

*    They are to know that whatever they say in private
*    Whatever back door conversations they have…. one day it will all be made know to the public
*    Think about Watergate….a few of the most powerful men in the world couldn’t keep a secret very long at all…

Continue reading In Whom We Trust →

Public Reading: Luke 11:37-54

The Story:

•    Jesus had just finished warning the people that they needed to hear and obey the word of God when a Pharisee (one of the religious leaders in the community) invited him to dinner
•    When Jesus got there, the Pharisee noticed that Jesus did not wash his hands before sitting down

o    The interesting thing about this is that it was owner of the house’s job to make sure his guest washed up
o    Yet this Pharisee seems to have been “surprised” that Jesus did not wash up
o    While I’m not sure, it could have been that Jesus refused the water and oil and sat down simply to make a point
o    If so, then his actions would have been a lesson just as much as his words

•    Cleaning the inside and outside (vs. 39-42)

o    Jesus uses his actions to point out to the house owner and everyone else that cleaning the outside is not as important as cleaning the inside
o    If our insides are “full of violent robbery and wickedness” then what we do does not matter that much
o    Jesus came not to make us act ok – or to give us a new method of living – Jesus came to radically clean our inside

•    This may sound strange or hard for some of you so I want to dive into this for a moment

o    First off, know this – God the creator created each of us and love each of us

*    We do NOT have to change in order to gain or keep His love
*    He loves each one of us and is pursuing a personal relationship with each of us!
*    This is a fact!!

o    With that said, if we are honest with ourselves, there are things about ourselves that we don’t like

*    I’m not talking about being short, tall, thin or big, loss of hair or any of that

•    That is all outside stuff

*    I’m talking about pieces of us that don’t really belong…

•    Getting angry and snapping at your spouse or kids…only to afterwards think “why did I do that? I’m not like that…that isn’t me!”
•    That piece of us that pulls and drags us into eating that item we wish we wouldn’t….having that last drink of alcoholic that we know we shouldn’t….getting out that item that you know will cause heartache later, but at the time it’s all you can think about..

*    These are the pieces of us that we don’t like to talk about….the pride, the un-forgiveness, the bitterness, the pain, the brokenness of life….
*    These are the things that Jesus came to clean and repair!!!

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. –Titus 3:3-6

Continue reading Freely You Have Received; Freely Give →

Public Reading: Luke 11:16-34

The Story:

•    Demons

o    We live in a spiritual world

*    There are demons around us as we are in a war between God and the evil one

o    The good news is that Jesus wins! I’ve read the end of the story!
o    In our culture people will typically do one of two things

*    Deny the battle and the forces of evil
*    Focus too much on them

o    In reading the Bible, I see Jesus and His followers holding to a third way

*    They recognize the battle
*    Yet they are secure in the fact that God wins and that they are walking with Him
*    i.e. don’t focus or be scared of demons or the forces of evil, if you happen upon them, just hold fast to Jesus and exercise the authority Jesus gave you through His Spirit

•    Mute demon

o    Note all mute people are demon possessed
o    Yet in this case, a the forces of evil had rendered a man mute
o    Jesus cast out the demon and the man begun to talk

•    Critics

o    The critics didn’t like Jesus
o    So they said that he did things via the power of evil

•    Kingdom divided

o    Jesus responds with some simple logic
o    A house cannot stand divided
o    Satan cannot cast out Satan

•    Finger of God

o    This is very important theological statement!
o    Jesus is saying that if the things that he is doing is from God Almighty, then the rule and reign of God that was long hoped for has come.
o    The end of the world was upon them
o    This is important because it is because the fact that the Kingdom of God has come that we have the Holy Spirit inside our hearts.

*    It is the reason we have been set free from evil, sin and death
*    It is the reason for the cross (i.e. the life Jesus prepares the way for the cross, resurrection and ascension into heaven – not to mention Pentecost.)

Continue reading Hearing and Obeying →

Public Reading: Luke 10:38-11:13

The Story:

•    Introduction

o    The last few weeks have been interesting…
o    We looked at how Jesus sent out the 72 just like the 12 and how the progress of the Scriptures show how each of us are sent out in the same manner
o    Then we looked at how all the signs and wonders in the world are useless unless you allow Jesus’ compassion, mercy and love to flow through you and change you.
o    Today we are looking at the root of this love, mercy and compassion

*    We are going to be talking about having intimacy with Jesus
*    About having a deep and personal relationship with Him.

The Passage

•    Everything in this passage points to knowing and spending time with Jesus
•    In the story of Mary and Martha you have two people caught between social norms and Jesus

o    One chooses to continue with the social norms of the day and works at preparing food and what not
o    The other choose to sit at the feet of Jesus
o    Jesus praised the later

•    This doesn’t mean that work is bad or that we should stop following any social norms

o    What it means is that we need to be willing to shift our lives around to find time to be with Him
o    It is a lesson in time management and priorities

•    The disciples felt the same pressure

o    They came up to Jesus and asked, begged no less, for a prayer to follow

•    Why did they do this?

o    Because John the Baptist’s followers had a ‘special’ prayer as did other groups…
o    So they wanted one too

•    Jesus decides to give them a prayer to pray

o    Why the way, this really isn’t the “Lord’s Prayer” but the “Disciples’ Prayer”
o    The Lord’s prayer is the one he prayed in the garden before he died

Continue reading Intimacy with God →

Public Reading: Luke 10:25-37

The Story

•    With four biographies about Jesus, a lot of the stories are repeated

a.    However, there are two unique stories in Luke that are very interesting
b.    We looked at the first one last week

i.    The sending out of the 70.
ii.    When coupled with the book of Acts we see the following theme

1.    Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated the Kingdom of God
2.    Sent out the 12 to do it
3.    Sent out the 70 to do it
4.    Peter did it after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension
5.    Paul did it
6.    We are to do it

c.    The second unique story follows the first

i.    The story of the Good Samaritan
ii.    I think there is a reason they are next to each other

•    The 72 is about going out in power

a.    Power to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom
b.    Sometimes we can get so focused on signs and wonders we forget about the ‘rest of the story’

•    The story that follows is one focused on love and compassion

a.    Love…..love it normally considered weak and wishy-washy in our culture
b.    We talk about loving each other usually in the sense that we can each do what we want
c.    John Lennon talked about love

i.    “all you need is love”

d.    Let me tell you that we have under estimated the power of love

•    Love does NOT mean that you can do what you want

a.    It means that you love a person enough to tell them the truth
b.    It means that you call them out when they are wrong
c.    It means that you care so much about their welfare that you are willing to walk with them through the pain and sorrow of this life
d.    Love is a decision that powerful

•    John 3:16 shows the power of love:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

•    Love is why Jesus died on a cross

Continue reading The Power of Love →

Public Reading: Luke 9:46-62

The Story

We have been following the life of Jesus and studying both his teaching and his actions. He is our example – God himself came down to earth and showed us the way to live – the way to live under his rule and reign.

Some folks think that perhaps this way of living is rule of do’s and don’ts…yet as our journey through the book of Luke has been telling us, the way of Jesus is anything but a list of rules. It is a way of life governed by a personal relationship with the Creator God; a life build upon listening and hearing him.

Yet, as we will learn through today’s passage, it is a life of choices. Do we really believe and trust Jesus? Do we really want to follow him? What happens when we are faced with the hard decisions? What do we do? What choice we will make?

Not questions to be easily answered.

Nor ones to be dismissed as the day is coming; nay the day has arrived when we will have to make a decision. Do we follow Jesus in the good and bad days or just the good?

Let us turn to Luke chapter 9 verse 46.

The Greatest

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

The disciples had recently just acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ, the Coming One of God, who was to usher in God’s Kingdom. Right after that Jesus went up on a mountain with Peter, James and John and talked to Moses and Elijah.

Continue reading Practical Life →