Luke 9:57–62

Luke 9:57-62 

English Standard Version 

  I read once that the reasons given were legally allowed reasons to put off military service.  In other words, in most circumstances, these are valid and understandable.  Jesus denies them, not to be mean, for we've seen that Jesus is anything but mean, but Jesus is trying to help people see what the totality of commitment means.  We're not accustomed to this kind of commitment -- we think in terms of what's convenient, and we do what we can, when we can.  Most people understand when things get put off.

  But Jesus is showing us how consuming the Kingdom of God is.  Scripture also tries to show us that when we truly grasp the Kingdom in the depths of our hearts, we won't want anything to stand in the way of our commitment.  This is what allows Paul to speak as eloquently as he does from prison.  He's overwhelmed with the Gospel and wants nothing else.  Some other leaders and pastors throughout the years display this same passion.  

  May we pray for glimpses of God's Kingdom like this.  May it consume our hearts.  Blaise Pascal, the mathematical genius, had a mystical vision in 1654, and he had his notes from it sewn into his jacket lining so he could refer to it, so completely did it change him.  I encourage you to look it up... clearly something captured him.  It starts out:  FIRE.  GOD of Abraham, GOD of Isaac, GOD of Jacob, not of the philosophers and of the learned. Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace. GOD of Jesus Christ.  

  It goes on to mention tears of joy and a desire to never be separated from Christ.  It concludes: Complete submission to Jesus Christ and to my director. Eternally in joy for a day’s exercise on the earth. May I not forget your words. Amen.

Luke 9:51–56

Luke 9:51-56 

English Standard Version 

  Do you think they ever knew?  Do you think they ever realized what they had rejected?  I can't help but wonder with stories like this in the Bible.  It's such a tragedy that they missed out on Jesus' visit.  

  His face was set towards Jerusalem -- he was headed towards the cross.  The rejection would not derail him, and he would not lash out in violence.  Here we see the tone set -- violence is not to be the response.  The Gospel moves forward, not lashing out in vindictiveness, but moving forward in grace.  We continue to learn these lessons -- when there are setbacks, let us continue to keep our eyes focused on the cross and the redemptive love shown there, that we may mimic that in our own lives.

Luke 9:49–50

Luke 9:49-50 

English Standard Version 

  Watching sports has conditioned us to think about the world in an us vs. them mentality.  Politics takes on the same line of thinking -- one side wins while the other loses.  The disciples have the same line of thinking here in Luke 9 -- they see someone who isn't in their group, so they assume he's an opponent.  

  But Jesus is still trying to elevate their thinking about the normal thinking.  It's a bigger tent than they can know.  It reminds me of when Jesus says that he has other sheep in John 10.  It's not what we can see... but that's because we're limited.  We don't know what Jesus sees and who Jesus is working through.  So let us start with a basis of grace when we're dealing with others, and keep our minds open to the ways that Jesus might be working, even if we don't always understand it.  God's ways are not our ways.

Luke 9:46–48

Luke 9:46-48 

English Standard Version 

  We saw a billboard in the airport on Friday advertising a house on the beach for $35 million, and it's so far above and beyond what I could comprehend paying for a house that I simply can't comprehend that economic world.  I was thinking that people like that probably don't compare prices at the grocery store, but then I realized they probably don't even do their own grocery shopping.

  This is what it's easy to think about when we think about greatest.  We think about money and prestige.  We rank society in our minds, but Jesus knows our hearts, and he knows the disciples' hearts, and he's trying to teach them how different the Kingdom of God is.  Greatness in God's eyes isn't about prestige, it's about service.  The greatest is the one who finds ways to serve.  Children in Jesus' time had no legal standing or protection.  People didn't think about serving them.  But in the Kingdom of God, serving those on the bottom rung of society is to be celebrated.  Doing so glorifies God.

  It's almost impossible to wrap our heads around how different the Kingdom of God is.  But Jesus continues to invite us to contemplate the wondrous nature of God.  Let us not be put off by the challenge, but rather spend time in prayer asking God to open our hearts and minds to the wonders of life with Christ.