Luke 19:35-40

Luke 19:35-40 

English Standard Version 

  One of the things that's interesting here is that the Pharisees are trying to have Jesus hush the disciples, but Jesus acknowledges the reality -- God will be praised.  

  Sometimes, it's easy to praise God.  The sun is shining and life is grand.  

  Other times, it's harder.  Things are going against us.  But this doesn't mean that God has abandoned us, or that God doesn't care.  It simply means that God is at work in ways we cannot understand, but God is still mighty and good, even when we cannot comprehend it.  God will be praised, and creation itself will praise the God who has made it.  When we are silent at times, the song of praise continues, unabated, until such a time as we rediscover the words and our hearts learn to praise God once more.  

Luke 19:28–34

Luke 19:28-34 

English Standard Version 

  The Lord Jesus Christ is, without a doubt, the most powerful human being who ever lived.  He has the power to create the universe through his speech, and we'll see here in a few chapters that he can conquer death.

  And yet, he rides an ordinary colt in to Jerusalem.  He didn't come on a mighty warhorse meant to intimidate all those who were near.  He rode something that was on their level -- he didn't want to be separated from the people.

  We don't know much about the people who provided the colt.  They were likely ordinary, too.  Did they realize that their animal would be discussed for thousands of years?  I doubt it.  They were simply filling their role, doing what they were called to do, perhaps not even wondering what the long-term consequences of their actions would be.

  We are mostly ordinary people, with ordinary gifts.  But God can and does use them, all the time, and they have eternal repercussions.  That's one of the great things about being a part of the eternal church -- the ways we serve and love echo over generations.  

  So treasure your ordinary gifts, and use them wisely.  They'll linger in the halls of heaven forever.

Luke 19:20–27

Luke 19:20-27 

English Standard Version 

  In summary, what do you believe is the defining characteristic of God?

  The servant here believes that his master is a severe man, and so his fear drives him to act in a certain way.  Everything is shaped by his fear of the master.  Imagine how this might have been different if he believed that his master was kind and gentle -- he would've thought differently about the money that was entrusted to him.

  In the same way, our belief about God will shape how we live and act.  If we believe that God is harsh and severe, then we'll respond in fear.  We'll be enveloped by it, and will think about obedience in terms of how we can avoid punishment. 

  If, however, our belief about God is that the same God who comes to judge is the God who comes to save, and we read the New Testament and see a God there who comes searching for us, then we'll respond differently.  We'll be motivated by love and gratitude rather than fear.  

  So what do you believe?  What does the broad witness of Scripture tell you about God?  It's important that we read widely and form that belief for ourselves, for we'll act out of that over all our days.

Luke 19:16–19

Luke 19:16-19 

English Standard Version 

  Do you measure yourself against others?  It feels like this happens a lot in our culture -- we're always looking around to see how we're doing compared to others.  It's only natural that we assume that God is doing the same --  measuring us against the competition.

  But the master here doesn't scold the servant for only making five minas.  There is satisfaction and reward.  We are expected to be faithful stewards, and that looks different for each of us.  Stop worrying that your life and ministry don't look like someone else's life and ministry.  You have particular gifts for your particular call.  You are equipped for ministry that only you can do, so go and do that.  Serve and love the world in a way that only you can.  No one else can do what you are uniquely gifted to do.

Luke 19:11–15

Luke 19:11-15 

English Standard Version 

  Who here loves waiting?

  Most of us don't get terribly excited about the prospect of waiting.  We want things now, and the modern economy does a fantastic job of reinforcing immediate gratification.  The challenge for the economy now is to perfect same-day delivery, because next-day simply wasn't good enough.  We've got to get faster!

  Jesus is talking about a ruler who has gone away, and his followers were charged to wait faithfully.  This is the mission of the church -- our ruler has come, and yet he has departed, and we're charged to wait faithfully.

  What will we do while we wait?  How will we serve in the meantime?  What gifts has God given us, and how will we use them while we wait for Christ's kingdom to come in fullness?

Luke 19:5-10

Luke 19:5-10 

English Standard Version 

  Going through these section by section, it stands out how much grumbling there is in the Gospels.  People are always grumbling at what Jesus is doing and how he is doing it with.  Here is Jesus, healing people and changing lives dramatically... and rather than applause from everyone, he hears grumbling.  Remember that when you're pressuring yourself to keep everyone happy!  

  The people are grumbling because Jesus is granting legitimacy to Zacchaeus by dining with him while he's still a sinner, but it's a remarkable pattern that Jesus is establishing.  Jesus doesn't wait for Zacchaeus to change his life before dining with him.  Jesus goes in to eat with him, and then his life changes.  

  He does the same with us, too.  May we receive Jesus and fully acknowledge our broken state.  We are not worthy of the King, but he makes us worthy by coming to us.  Such is his unconditional love.  We are broken, but we are his and we are precious to him.  He has come to seek us out, and may we celebrate as he finds us, in whatever state he finds us.

Luke 19:1–4

Luke 19:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  The Gospels give us lots of stories about a variety of people -- some very rich, some very poor, to demonstrate the desperate need that all people have for grace.  Modern America would have some of us think that we're isolated from need... but the Bible knows better.  It understands humanity better than we do, because it was inspired by the same God that created humans in God's own image.

  Zaccheaus is one of the ones who is very rich, but he has recognized that his wealth has not filled the hole he has in his life.  He needs God, and so he goes looking.  He cannot see Jesus due to the crowd, but he is so driven that he climbs a nearby tree in the hopes of getting a glimpse of Jesus.  In a society where it was considered shameful to run and show your legs (thus part of the scandal of the parable of the Prodigal Son when the father runs to his son), I can't imagine they'd look kindly on a man climbing a tree.  But Zaccheaus doesn't care.  He needs to see Jesus.

  Zaccheaus doesn't realize that all along, Jesus has been looking for him.  Tomorrow, we'll read about the surprising way that Jesus calls out to Zaccheaus.  Who is seeking who?  God is seeking you.  God is on the move, reaching out to you before you can even form the thoughts and motions to seek him out.  This is how God's love works -- God reaches out to us, and we respond to God.

  Thanks be to God for such wondrous love as this.

Luke 18:40-43

Luke 18:40-43

English Standard Version 

  How would you answer Jesus' question?

  Sometimes when we pray, we can be very vague and non-specific.  When you're praying for something, ask God directly for it, whatever it may be.  One of the things we see throughout the Psalms, the prayerbook of the Bible, is that the Psalmist can be very upfront and honest with God.  Sometimes, I read them and think that perhaps something could have been worded differently... but then I remember, who am I to judge?  That was on the Psalmist's heart, and so he prayed it.  

  May we take after the Psalmist, and may we follow the example of the blind man.  Just because we ask, that doesn't mean that we'll receive, but we should be direct when we pray and ask God specifically.  May we pour ourselves out honestly before God at all times.

Luke 18:35–39

Luke 18:35-39 

English Standard Version 

  What I love about this blind man is that he refuses to let the pressure of others change his interactions with Jesus.  Think of all the ways that disappointment, embarrassment, and pressure changes the way you act.  We like to blend in with the crowd.

  This man was desperate, and he was not about to let the pressure of the crowd disrupt his relationship with Jesus.  May we all have such a single-minded focus on Jesus, that praying to God is sitting so heavily on our minds and hearts that we simply pray, aloud or silently, whenever necessary, such that God hears our prayers.

Luke 18:31–34

Luke 18:31-34

English Standard Version 

  Have you ever tried to assemble something from IKEA with those instruction booklets and you're staring at the picture and it seems like it should make sense but it just doesn't and you have no idea what the next step is?

  That's the world the disciples are in during this passage, and it's often a similar place we end up in.  It feels like we have faith, and therefore the next step of life should make sense.  

  But sometimes, we understand none of these things.  It doesn't make sense why something happened when it seemed like something else should have happened.

  The disciples were still thinking that Jesus was going to lead a triumphant victory over the Roman army.  They expected victory.

  Crucifixion was not in the cards in their minds.  Jesus was talking about death, but they didn't grasp the fullness of what would seem like defeat.

  That defeat would go on to be the first step in a massive victory over sin and death, but the path to get there didn't make sense to the disciples, any more than the path we wander in life sometimes doesn't make sense at all.

  But just because we cannot make sense of it, this does not mean that God is not at work.  Stay on the road with Jesus, take the next step, and entrust the destination to God.

Luke 18:26–30

Luke 18:26-30 

English Standard Version 

  With 3 kids, there aren't many meals that everyone agrees on.  As tastes have changed, foods slowly were eliminated.  Some nights, it feels like there isn't anything that everyone agrees on, except for ice cream, so maybe it is the perfect food and we should simply start with that.

  As Jesus has taught the crowds, it feels like he's whittled away all the paths to salvation that we can try and create on our own.  Religious obedience, morality, achievement, possessions -- each of these has been taken off the shelf and discarded.  The disciples might have thought that their sacrfices would be enough, but even those fall short.  What is left?

  This is where faith begins, Jesus says, because where humans fall short, God steps in.  The Kingdom is something to be received.  Peter is looking at all that the disciples have sacrificed, but Jesus is redefining what it means to follow God.  There isn't a scoreboard that they are tracking, but rather through Christ, they are entering into a new identity, a new creation, where there are riches untold.  Can they entrust themselves to God?  

  May we lean into the Kingdom of God, even in the midst of uncertainty.  May we pursue Christ, trusting in God that what is ahead is far greater than anything that is behind us.

Luke 18:18–25

Luke 18:18-25 

English Standard Version 

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  This guy sounds like the model for all of us to follow, right?  He has kept the commandments from the time he was a child, and he's ascended to a level of power and influence as a ruler.  He's rich as well.  What's not to like?

  Like each of us, he has one thing that he loves more than God and is hard for him to give up.  Jesus, knowing all, is aware of exactly what it is for him.  Money can easily come to rule our hearts -- we desire it and begin to think about it, day and night.  We are saddened by the thought of losing it, just as this rich young ruler is.

  What would be the hardest for you to surrender?

  We should each be willing to ask ourselves this question.  It's so hard for us to keep our hearts in line.  We start to have disordered loves, opting to love something more than God.  It's probably different for each of us, but we all have something.  

  Thanks be to God that Jesus comes to show us what those things are, and he loves us and redeems us to give us hope.

Luke 18:15–17

Luke 18:15-17 

English Standard Version 

  In those days, children had no power of influence.  They weren't regarded as terribly important.  Many people didn't give them much thought.  The disciples assumed Jesus had far more important things to do than to spend time with people who didn't bring much to the table.

  Jesus is teaching us that this is how we come to God.  We are sinful and broken, and we don't bring anything to the table.  

  God loves us anyway.  God makes time for us.  God saves us.  

  Not because we bring something that God is lacking. 

  But because God loves us.

Luke 18:9–14

Luke 18:9-14 

English Standard Version 

  I just preached a sermon on this passage on Sunday -- this is a story of comparison.  The Pharisee defines himself on a basis of comparison.  The sin of the tax collector is useful to him because it makes the Pharisee feel better about himself.  He looks at the tax collector and feels pride.  The Pharisee will also look at anyone who is ahead of him and feel envy.  He's looking around to his peers to find his own place in the standings.

  The tax collector looks only to the holiness of God.  His spirituality doesn't rest in the status of another person.  It's rooted in God's mercy.  He finds his justification in God and in God alone.  

  So when you look to the people around you, what do you see?  Comparison, we're told, is the thief of joy.  If you're anxiously wondering how you measure up, then relationships with others are only going to give you stress.  If you stop looking to others to see how you're doing and instead opt to look to Christ to define yourself, then you can experience others as a community of people working together to serve one another.  We're not competing for a limited supply of grace, but instead enjoying one another's company on the road to discipleship.

Luke 18:1–8

Luke 18:1-8 

English Standard Version 

  Every once in a while, I can cook a pretty good meal.  But if you go to a restaurant with a professional world-class chef... how much more consistent will the food there be?  How much better will it be?  Any person who cooks regularly will get it right every now and again... but a trained chef is in a different league.

  Jesus is telling this parable as a lesson for us -- broken and sinful people every once in a while get something right.  In this story, the judge doesn't fear God or respect man, but he eventually grants this widow's request.  

  How much more, Jesus is telling us, will God look to serve us?  If a broken and sinful man can get it right, then God is so much greater than that.  Jesus is telling us this so that we won't lose heart.  He wants us to persevere.  Jesus knows that waiting can cause us to lose heart, so he encourages us to be patient, to persist, and to keep praying.

Luke 17:34–37

Luke 17:34-37 

English Standard Version 

  I remember the Peanuts cartoon where Snoopy is perched in a tree, waiting for a victim to come by... when Linus comes by and tells him that he's looking the wrong way.  Snoopy didn't make a great vulture.

  When you see a group of vultures circling in the sky, you can conclude that something has died.  It's not a lovely visual, and I wish Jesus would've picked something happier as well, but this is what we have.  We all know what a group of vultures mean.

  In the same way, Jesus is telling us that when the end times come, it will be very obvious.  We won't miss it.  There aren't going to be signs that are unclear or ambiguous about whether Jesus has returned.  It'll be clear.  

  Since we don't have to worry about that, we can instead focus on how to live in the here-and-now.  I think that's why Jesus is telling us that the end times will be clear -- once we stop worrying about that, we're free to focus on living faithfully today.  

  So what does it mean for you to be faithful to God this morning?  Maybe even leave the afternoon and evening for later.  What can you do now to serve Christ, to be a faithful disciple, to invite Christ into this day, into this moment?  Perhaps it is to stop and pray now, or to pick up a book and read, or to make that call you've been putting off.  There's something that could wait if you get distracted... but you can also take the next step now.  Glorify God this morning.

Luke 17:31–33

Luke 17:31-33 

English Standard Version 

  There's so much to try and hold onto!!!  There are often so many good things, and we want to hold them tightly in our hands, never letting go.  

  Do we trust God enough to put everything into his hands?  What we place there is ultimately preserved in a way that it cannot be if we hold onto it on our own.  Life is safe in God's hands.  

  It's a constant choice.  Everything we have is a gift from God.  We can offer it back to God, or we can try and keep it on our own.  

  How can we make each day, and whatever is in it, an offering to God?  How do we set out hearts on that mindset, so that we're aware of what a gift the good things are?  May we pray for an open mind and open heart and open hands, so that we treasure God's gifts while offering all of life back to God.

Luke 17:28–30

Luke 17:28-30 

English Standard Version 

  What occupied most of your time 10 years ago?  What about 20?  Jesus is being incredibly serious here -- he's challenging people to think about all the substitutes we use in life that grant us security, and he wants us to think about what grants us our deepest sense of security.  We use all sorts of things in different phases of life, but we ultimately learn that the things we often hold onto in life aren't ultimate things.  They can be good, even great, but we have to look at them, appreciate them, and then look beyond them to the One who is the giver of every good thing.  If you look to your job for affirmation that you're a smart and successful person, then what happens when you lose it?  Or you can look to your job as a gift and an opportunity to use the gifts that God gave you, and if the job goes away, you still have the gifts and can find other opportunities.  Which approach prepares us for change?  

  God alone is able to be an ultimate thing for us.  Only God will not fail us if we define our lives based on him.  May we choose wisely what the most important thing in our life is.

Luke 17:26–27

Luke 17:26-27 

English Standard Version 

  What were you doing before your life changed?  Many of us remember what life was like before 9-11, a turning point in our country and our world.  I remember getting up that morning and living an ordinary day, not thinking that everything was about to change.  What about other monumental days?  

  Jesus is talking about the days of the Son of Man, and he points people back to Noah.  When Noah was building the ark, no one thought everything would change.  They thought Noah was nuts, and they lived their ordinary lives, ignoring whatever God might be doing or calling them to do.  They didn't have the time or patience for paying attention to God -- everything was fine.  

  We often busy ourselves to the point that there's no extra room, sometimes even leaving God out.  We are eating and drinking and running around... are we missing the larger point, paying attention to how God is at work in the world and our lives?  Do not neglect to make time to listen to God.  God is calling, each and every one of us, whether we're listening or not.

Luke 17:22–25

Luke 17:22-25

English Standard Version 

  The disciples must have been uncertain about the day of the Lord -- they were afraid they were going to miss it.  Here is Jesus, assuring them that it will be like lightning racing across the sky, something unmistakable that they cannot miss.

  But rather than stare into the sky and wait, there is much for the disciples to deal with in these present times, because there is much suffering in front of them.  I don't think this message ever resonated well with the disciples, no better than it resonates with us.  We don't like suffering, or really even the idea of suffering.  We want victory in Christ and we want it now! 

  Unfortunately, that's not how the Kingdom of God works.  It's not on our timing, and our minds cannot wrap themselves around the ways that God is at work.  God is infinite and eternal, and there's an element of trust that comes into play.  If we are to remain faithful, then we are called to trust God, even in the midst of our suffering.