One Year Later . . .

Googling Coronavirus today brings up some shocking statistics. Globally over 2.8 million have died from Covid 19, while 72.8 million out of 128 million cases have recovered. In the United States, a chaotic and disorganized initial response contributed to the deaths of over 550,000 individuals. 

One of the former government's top healthcare administrators recently stated that while 100,000 deaths were attributable to the initial surge in cases, the majority of those that followed were preventable deaths.

 No one ever expected to write such paragraphs in the 21st century. How much have we learned in 2020 about the fragility of human life?

 As James put it in the first century:

 "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow . . .

 "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14)

We are some of the fortunate ones. By the grace of God we have sheltered in place for one year. Now we are fully vaccinated, and we learned today that our local daughter and son-in law are scheduled to receive theirs on April 6. Other members of our family in Texas, Illinois, and California have received their first shots. We have many reasons to give thanks, and we are especially grateful to be in good health with access to great healthcare.

So, starting today, in the Spring of 2021, we will celebrate life and live with a renewed sense of gratitude.

Pray for those Battling Coronovirus!

 Jesus Healed An Epileptic Boy

According to Luke, the very next day as he descended from the mount of transfiguration, a crowd had already gathered to meet Jesus:

“Then on the following day, as they came down the hill-side a great crowd met him. Suddenly a man from the crowd shouted out, “Master, please come and look at my son! He’s my only child, and without any warning some spirit gets hold of him and he calls out suddenly. Then it convulses him until he foams at the mouth, and only after a fearful struggle does it go away and leave him bruised all over. I begged your disciples to get rid of it, but they couldn’t.”

“You really are an unbelieving and difficult people,” replied Jesus, “How long must I be with you, how long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.”

But even while the boy was on his way, the spirit hurled him to the ground in a dreadful convulsion. Then Jesus reprimanded the evil spirit, healed the lad and handed him back to his father. And everybody present was amazed at this demonstration of the power of God. (Luke 9:37-43, J.B. Phillips The New Testament in Modern English, Geoffrey Bles Ltd., 1960)

A father’s love for his only son drove him to make an urgent appeal to Jesus. We don’t have many details, but Luke reports that an evil spirit would take control of his son, throw him into convulsions, and leave him battered and bruised.

But Jesus overcame the evil spirit, healed the boy, and handed him back to his father.

By looking at one individual’s anguish, seeing the bruised boy, and feeling the pain of a desperate father, we are reminded how such scenes are repeated every day, every night, all around the world. Like the father in Luke’s account we cry out to God to bring healing into our desperate situation.

In the year 2020, a novel coronavirus is sweeping away lives in country after country.

When can it be slowed down? When can a vaccine stop this virus? 

                 Pray for God’s Protection & Power for those Battling Coronavirus!

Let us join in prayer and ask God to demonstrate his power through the heroic doctors, nurses, caregivers, and first responders who are risking their lives to save others.

After the Ascent . . . A Descent

While Peter wanted to memorialize the amazing experience on the mountain (Luke 9:28—36), Jesus led his three companions back down to rejoin his followers.

“No sooner had Jesus descended from the mountain top than the demands and disappointments of life were upon him,” writes William Barclay in The Gospel of Luke, (Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1975, page 125).

A great crowd was waiting for him.  Then a man calls out:

“Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not” (Luke 9:38—40).

Jesus replied with an abrupt, somewhat shocking statement:  

“You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?” (Luke 9:41 NIV)

Did his words reflect his humanity? Did he react impatiently? Did his response hint that he had an emotional letdown the day after his mountain top experience? 

See how different translators phrase his reply:

“O faithless and twisted generation! How long will I be with you” (Wright)

“You faithless and depraved generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you?” (Barclay)

“You really are an unbelieving and difficult people. How long must I be with you, how long must I put up with you?” (Phillips)

“What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this?” (Message)

If his initial reply was unexpected, and difficult to express, these translators all agree on what happened next, by using the same words—Jesus said: “Bring your son here.”

“Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God” (Luke 9:42-43).

In his comments, N.T. Wright notes that all four gospel writers link “the mountain top experience and the shrieking, stubborn demon.”

Wright also provides a perspective we can apply:

“We are right to be wary when we return from some great worship service, when we rise from a time of prayer in which God has seemed close and his love real and powerful. These things are never given for their own sake, but so that, as we are equipped by them, God can use us within his needy world”  

(Luke for Everyone, by N.T. Wright, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004; page 114).

Listen to Him

                                                    
"A light-radiant cloud enveloped them"

About a week after Peter responds to Jesus by saying he is “God’s Messiah,” Jesus takes Peter, John and James up onto a mountain for a time of prayer.

According to Luke’s report, As Jesus “was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:29).

While this is happening, “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus” (Luke 9:30).

They were talking about “his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31). Meanwhile the disciples had fallen asleep.

As Eugene Peterson writes, they were “slumped over in sleep. When they came to, rubbing their eyes, they saw Jesus in his glory and the two men standing with him” (Luke 9:32 Message).

After Moses and Elijah leave, Peter exclaims “Master, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He blurted this out without thinking” (Luke 9:33 Message).

“While he was babbling on like this, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them. As they found themselves buried in the cloud, they became deeply aware of God. Then there was a voice out of the cloud: ‘This is my Son, the Chosen! Listen to him.’

“When the sound of the voice died away, they saw Jesus there alone. They were speechless” (Luke 9:34—36 Message).

As this day began, Jesus set out to pray on a mountainside with three of his disciples. The appearance of Moses and Elijah turned the prayer time into a time of preparation for Jesus.

As N.T. Wright explains, “the word for ‘departure’ can mean exodus . . . like ‘exodus’ in the Old Testament, ‘departure,’ ‘going away’. It can also serve as a euphemism for ‘death’ . . . In the first Exodus Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and home to the promised land.

“In the new Exodus, Jesus will lead all God’s people out of the slavery of sin and death, and home to their promised inheritance—the new creation in which the whole world will be redeemed” (Luke for Everyone, by N.T. Wright, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004; pages 114—115).

Above all else, Peter, James and John never forgot the words they heard God speak in the cloud on the mountain:

 “This my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”

What About You?

The landscape of Galilee today, has not changed dramatically since the days when Jesus walked with his disciples near the lake . . .

Once again the disciples are with Jesus when he is praying privately. Jesus turns to the disciples and asks a direct question “Who do the crowds say I am?” Luke 9:18.

Some say you are John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the old-time prophets brought back to life. Hearing this, Jesus asks his disciples a personal question:

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?” (Luke 9:20).

Peter responds with a personal answer: “God’s Christ,” meaning God’s anointed One, the long-awaited Messiah. 

Jesus cautions the disciples, he “strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone” (Luke 9:21).

What was Peter’s understanding of Jesus at that moment?

 “For Peter, Messiah was a title of a glorious personage both nationalistic and victorious in battle. Jesus on the other hand, saw His destiny in terms of a suffering Son of man and Servant of God”

(Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Nashville, Tennessee, 2003).

Jesus makes who he is crystal clear to his disciples: 

“It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and on the third day be raised up alive” (Luke 9:22 Message).

“Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering: embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.

“What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I’m leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels” (Luke 9:23—27 Message).

As William Barclay writes, “It is never enough to know what other people have said about Jesus. A man might be able to pass any examination on what has been said and thought about Jesus; he might have read every book about Christology written in every language on earth and still not be a Christian. Jesus must always be our own personal discovery . . . Christianity does not mean reciting a creed; it means knowing a person”

(The Gospel of Luke, Translated with an Introduction and Interpretation by William Barclay, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1975).

Five Loaves . . . & . . . Two Fish

Returning from their journey (Luke 9:3-6) the apostles reported every detail of their experiences to Jesus (Luke 9:10).

Were they surprised again when he “took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida”?

Were the Twelve expecting a quiet time alone with Jesus? If so, they were soon disappointed. Crowds of people were following Jesus wherever he went.

“He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11).

“Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here’ ” (Luke 9:12).

Then came another surprise: Jesus replied -- “You give them something to eat.”

“We have only five loaves of bread and two fish”.

Jesus takes the loaves and fishes and gives thanks. Then the astonished apostles take the bread and fish and distribute them among the crowd that numbers well over 5,000 people. Miraculously, surprisingly, Jesus multiplied what seemed like very little given the size of the crowd.

“They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over” (Luke 9:17).

Their baskets were empty when the disciples left for their retreat with Jesus. After watching him multiply the loaves and fish, their baskets overflowed.

Where would you like to see Jesus multiply resources in the coming year?

Take nothing for your journey

 "Take nothing for the road, neither a staff, not a wallet"

Jesus continually surprised his disciples. He gave them “power and authority to drive out all demons and cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2).  

Imagine how the Twelve responded: were they excited, or a little fearful?

Even more surprising were his next words,  “Take nothing for the road, neither a staff, nor a wallet, nor bread nor money, nor two tunics” (Luke 9:3 Barclay).

Here Jesus invites his first followers to join him on mission.

Just go, don’t wait to pack or make special preparations. Did the disciples hesitate? Did anyone grumble? How would you respond?

Jesus adds still more unusual directions: “Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town” (Luke 9:4).

“If anyone won’t receive you, go out of that town and wipe the dust off your feet as evidence against them” (Luke 9:5 Wright).

Immediately Luke summarizes the results “So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere” (Luke 9:6).

As N.T. Wright comments, Jesus “was beginning to share his vocation with them. They needed to learn to do what he was doing, to trust God like he trusted God.”

Jesus still invites his followers to join him on mission today.

Are we ready to build relationships with our neighbors? Are we prepared to share the good news of the gospel where we live and work? Will we pray faithfully for sick family members and friends?

We are commissioned by Jesus just as the Twelve were in Luke 9. 

Let’s go.

Re-starting: Highlights from this Summer’s Readings

I wrote my previous post on May 7^th. Today is August 29^th. What happened? Summer, of course—some travel, some family times, a beach visit here, a good book there. One constant through the last three plus months—our men’s group continued to meet twice a week so that those who were not traveling could continue our summer program:

Wednesday mornings at 6:00 a.m. we read and discussed my wife Cheryl’s book, Pray Through Your Day Learn to Pray the Benedictine Way, available on Amazon in paperback or Kindle.

Friday mornings at 7:00 a.m. we continued our study and discussion of Luke’s gospel. Alternating between a practical study on praying “the hours” with careful readings in Luke created a balanced weekly rhythm that we will continue to explore as Summer turns to Fall.

Re-starting our journey with Jesus in Luke 8, I realize why I’ve been reluctant to “catch up.” There’s simply so much ground to cover! Luke 8 is as full of important lessons as my Summer was full of all kinds of diversions and distractions!

  

Luke 8 begins with Jesus traveling from one town and village to another “proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” With him are the twelve and a remarkable group of women. Jesus had cured these women of evil spirits and diseases. Luke, who often draws attention to the role of women in his gospel, explains they are financially independent women who are supporting Jesus’ ministry using their own resources (Luke 8:1-3).

Read the Parable of the Sower Luke 8:4-8, and Jesus’ explanation of the story when the disciples ask him to interpret it for them in Luke 8:9-15. 

As N.T. Wright comments “If Jesus was telling this story today, he might well include other categories as well. What about the seeds that were planted in good soil but were ruined by acid rain? What about the plants that were coming up nicely but were bulldozed by occupying forces to make room for a new road?” (Luke for Everyone, Westminster, John Knox Press, 2001, 2004, page 93).

The thought-provoking teaching continues, with Jesus reminding everyone that his “mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Luke 8-16-21).

Anyone exploring the question “who is Jesus?” will want to look closely at the second half of Luke 8.  First, Jesus calms a storm on the lake when his disciples thought they were going to drown (Luke 8:22-25).

Next, Jesus commands an impure spirit to come out of a demon-possessed man who had been kept under guard and chained. He was named “Legion” because so many demons had entered him and taken over his life. This distraught man becomes completely sane and calm after Jesus commands the evil spirits to leave him (Luke 8:26-37). Although he then begs Jesus to take him with him, Jesus sends him away saying “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” Luke adds “So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him (Luke 8:38-39).

Jairus, a synagogue leader, throws himself at Jesus’ feet because his 12-year-old daughter is dying.

On the way to Jairus’ house, the crowds following Jesus nearly crush him. In the midst of the swirling throng Jesus feels power leaving him, sensing a desperate touch by a suffering woman longing for healing. She had experienced twelve years of bleeding that no doctor had been able to heal. But when she managed to touch the edge of Jesus’ cloak, her bleeding stopped immediately. “Who touched me?” asks Jesus.

In the presence of all the people, she explains herself, and how she was instantly healed. “Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace’” (Luke 8:47-48).

While Jesus is still speaking, messengers arrive from Jairus’ home to report that his daughter has died. Jesus startles everyone when he tells Jairus “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed” (Luke 8:50). When Jesus takes her by the hand, he says “My child, get up!” Luke reports that her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. “Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened” (Luke 8:55-56).

To summarize, in one fast-moving chapter, Jesus demonstrates his unique power and authority over—

• The natural world (by calming the storm)
• The spirit world (by healing Legion)
• The physical nature (by healing the suffering woman)
• The realm of death (by raising Jairus’ daughter back to life).                                                      

 N.T. Wright's commentary helps summarize what we've seen and heard in Luke 8: "Luke has been patiently pointing out, through one story after another, who Jesus really is . . . in whatever problem or suffering we face . . . the presence of Jesus, getting his hands dirty with the problems of the world, is what we need and what in the gospel we are promised" (Luke for Everyone, Westminster, John Knox Press, 2001, 2004, page 105).
 
 

Great Faith and Great Questions

Luke presents four dramatic encounters with Jesus—by sketching each scene with precisely detailed reporting in Luke 7. Interestingly, in Luke 7 Jesus exemplifies and enacts the ethical teachings described in Luke 6.

He begins with a military man, a career officer in the Roman army—a centurion—who commanded a unit of 100 men. This man’s “highly valued” servant is dying. He’d heard about Jesus, so he asked several friends—Jewish elders—to go to Jesus and ask him to come and heal him. They reach Jesus and “plead earnestly” on behalf of their Gentile friend, explaining “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue” (Luke 7:5).

Jesus decides to go and when they’ve almost reached their destination,  he gets a second message the centurion has sent: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

“For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it” (Luke 7:6-8).

Amazed by the centurion’s words, Jesus tells the crowd around him: “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel” (Luke 7:9) And when the messengers returned to the house they found the servant well.

Now, Jesus is walking along towards the town of Nain with his disciples accompanied by a large crowd. As they reach the town gate “a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow” (Luke 7:12). Here we see Jesus’ deep compassion in action.

The Message captures the moment: “When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, ‘Don’t cry.’ Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, ‘Young man, I tell you: Get up.’ The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother” (Luke 7:13-15 Message). 

What a miracle! Jesus raised a dead person back to life! No wonder the crowds swirling around him were filled with awe and praised God. Once again the news about Jesus spreads throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Luke records the miracles, but he doesn’t avoid the low times of discouragement either. John the Baptist’s disciples shared the good news of Jesus’ ministry with John in his prison cell. John is not seeing things firsthand, so quite possibly is questioning his life’s work while locked up. The freedom of the desert is now a fading memory, and John is unsure if Jesus is the Messiah or whether to expect someone else. So he sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus "Are you the one who was to come, or are we to look for another?"

Jesus was in the midst of curing many who suffered diseases, sicknesses, evil spirits, and blindness. So Jesus tells John’s disciples: “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me” (Luke 7:22-23).

Jesus then speaks about John to the crowd: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? . . . A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:24-28).

The closing scene in Luke 7, may well be the best known of these astonishing encounters with Jesus. A Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to a meal with him. When Jesus enters Simon’s home and takes his place at dinner, an uninvited guest—a woman known and ostracized for her “bad” reputation—also arrives.

Having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee she came carrying “a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume” (Luke 7:38-39 Message).

Simon can’t believe that Jesus permits this, and questions whether or not Jesus is a true prophet. Jesus responds by telling Simon a simple parable. Two men owe money to a banker. Neither man can afford to repay their debt. One owes five hundred pieces of silver, the other fifty. The banker cancels both men’s debts. Jesus asks Simon, “which of the two would be more grateful?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”

“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume . . . She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.

 

“Then he spoke to her, ‘I forgive your sins.’

“That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: ‘Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!’

“He ignored them and said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace’” (Luke 7:40-50 Message).

The Sermon on The Plain

While Matthew records his version of this most famous of all sermons as The Sermon on the Mount, Luke provides a different perspective “He went down with them and stood on a level place” (Luke 6:17)—the setting may be the same for both versions—just approached from different directions.

Matthew provides a more detailed account in his gospel (Matthew 5, 6, and 7). Both authors lay out the ethical life that Jesus taught without compromise. Anyone who reads Luke’s version (Luke 6:20—38) "The Sermon on The Plain" cannot miss the challenges that Jesus gives his disciples:

· Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you

· Bless those who curse you

· Pray for those who mistreat you

· Turn the other cheek

· If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt

· Give to everyone who asks you

· If anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back

· Do to others as you would have them do to you

· Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back

· Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked

· Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful

· Do not judge, and you will not be judged

· Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned

· Forgive and you will be forgiven

· Give and it will be given to you

Jesus calls his followers to action to become what his half brother James would later call “doers of the Word, not hearers only” (James 1:22).

Luke closes chapter six with three of Jesus most memorable teachings.

1. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?” (see Luke 6:41—42).

2. “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit” (see Luke 6:43—45).

3. The difference between practical wisdom and its opposite are packed into the parable of the wise and foolish builders—the wise man builds his house upon the rock, the foolish man builds on the sand. When the rains and storms come, the house built upon rock stands firm, but the one on the sand collapses (see Luke 6:46—49).

Jesus still invites us to come to him, listen to his teaching, and put his words into practice.

Jesus Spends a Night in Prayer

Although he is already encountering opposition (Luke 6:11), Jesus is undeterred from his primary mission. So, as Luke writes, “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God” (Luke 6:12).

We soon learn why he sacrificed sleep for prayer—he was ready to choose twelve close companions to be with him for the remainder of his time on earth. The Twelve became Jesus’ inner circle of followers.

Significantly, he also designates the Twelve as “apostles” which comes from a Greek verb meaning “to send.” As The New Bible Dictionary explains: “In the New Testament it [the term apostle] is applied to Jesus as the Sent One of God (Hebrews 3:1), to those sent by God to preach to Israel (Luke 11:49), and to those sent by churches (2 Corinthians 8:23, Philippians 2:25).

“Essential to the understanding of all the Gospels . . . is the choice by Jesus . . . of a group of twelve men whose purpose was to be with Him, to preach, and to have authority to heal and to exorcize (see Mark 3:14).” Luke lists their names:

“Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor” (Luke 6:14-15). As they go down from the mountainside, this group is surrounded by a larger group of disciples and “a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear Jesus and to be healed of their diseases” (Luke 6:17).

But before launching into the many challenging topics covered in the remainder of Luke 6, I want to pause to consider the questions posed by N.T. Wright in his discussion of Luke 6: If Jesus comes into our everyday context today:

“What sort of a team is he going to choose? Who is he calling, and to what sort of task? What are his promises and warnings for our world, for people who will hear his call and follow him” (Luke for Everyone, page 72).

Jesus shares his viewpoint in Luke 6:29-49, and the next post will summarize his key points. From the perspective of what Jesus calls the Kingdom of God, those verses communicate a thorough description of the ethical life expected of his disciples.

How do you "do" a Sabbath day?

Last Friday I attended a Black History Showcase presentation at a grandson’s elementary school in Oakland. So I missed our regular men’s group discussion on Luke 6.


The group covered the first 19 verses and, fortunately for me, decided that we will review the second half of the chapter this week. I noticed how much I missed connecting with my friends last week.

As we meet weekly to read and discuss a passage together we learn so much by sharing our different insights. Reading and applying scripture together becomes a practice that we miss when we are away. As we spend time together we get to know others--and let others know us--in the prayerful context of sharing in a common purpose and friendship.

My friend Dan’s email gave me a quick snapshot of some of the key questions our group covered when discussing Jesus’ activities on a certain Sabbath in Luke 6:1-11:

• Have we lost the idea of a Sabbath?
• Does Sabbath mean church, or do we make it just another day to run around?
• Can Sabbath mean nature?
• Is the Sabbath an external form or posture?
• Does the outward form become something of a charade (as it did for the Pharisees) that gets in the way of an internal dialogue with God? 

Another friend of mine recently described how her family decided to take a family hike with a friend and some relaxing family time with a meal and a movie one recent Sunday. She acknowledged that it is often just too easy to spend a typical Sunday evening making a do-list and stressing out over the week ahead.

Luke records how Jesus revolutionized people’s thinking about their Sabbath practices. When he was asked “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” (Luke 6:2) He responded by reminding the Pharisees of the time when King David and his band of men “entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. Then Jesus said to them, “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:4-5; see Leviticus 24:5-9).

Luke highlights another confrontation on another day when Jesus is teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. A man in the congregation has a deformed right hand, and the Pharisees are watching to see whether or not Jesus will heal on the Sabbath. Knowing their thoughts, Jesus invites the man with the withered hand to stand up in front of everyone.

Jesus then turns and questions the Pharisees, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath; to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” A long silence follows. No one replies.

Eugene Peterson captures the way Jesus reacts: “He looked around, looked each one in the eye. He said to the man, ‘Hold out your hand.’ He held it out—it was as good as new! They were beside themselves with anger, and started plotting how they might get even with him” (Luke 6:10-11, Message).

Inviting Outsiders to a Changed Life

In Luke 5 we read several dramatic scenes which bring us up close and personal with Jesus.

In the first scene, Jesus is standing beside the Sea of Galilee and “the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God” (Luke 5:1). Seeing two empty fishing boats, Jesus asks Simon if he can use his fishing boat to move away from the crowd. He then sits down and teaches the people gathered along the shore.

When he had finished teaching, Jesus tells Simon to “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Peter hesitates and explains they were out all night and caught nothing. “But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:4-5).

Miraculously, the men’s nets fill with so many fish they begin to break. The men signal their fishing partners to bring out a second boat. Both boats overflow with fish, and begin to sink. Feeling completely shattered Simon falls down beside Jesus and says, “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8).

Luke observed how all of the fishermen shared Peter’s response. “When they pulled in that catch of fish, awe overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him. It was the same with James and John Zebedee’s sons, coworkers with Simon.”

Jesus said to Simon, “There is nothing to fear. From now on you’ll be fishing for men and women.” They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them, nets and all, and followed him” (Luke 5:9-10 Message).

In scene 2 a man suffering from leprosy, a social outcast, throws himself face-down pleading with Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Moved with compassion, “Jesus put out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I want to. Be clean.’ Then and there his skin was smooth, the leprosy gone. Jesus instructed him, ‘Don’t talk about this all over town. Just quietly present your healed self to the priest, along with the offering ordered by Moses. Your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done’ (Luke 5:13-14, Message).

Unable to keep silent about his life-changing experience with Jesus, the man’s story spread so quickly that time and again large crowds flocked to wherever Jesus might be found, longing to hear him speak and to heal their diseases.

Before moving on to scene 3, Luke inserts an important observation into his narrative: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Do we follow his example by praying before, during, and after our daily activities?

Thanks to Luke’s careful account, we can benefit by looking at all the ways Jesus connects with his heavenly father and how he relates to individuals and large crowds while carrying out his mission (Luke 4:18-19).

When scene 3 begins, People were coming “from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick”(Luke 5:17). One of the most memorable healings follows when four men tear the tiles off the roof of a house, so they can lower their paralyzed friend down through the roof to a soft landing in front of Jesus.

The crowd in and around the house was so dense and impenetrable, that the man’s friends exercised amazing courage and creativity to make sure their friend could be seen by Jesus. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven’ (Luke 5:20). This shocked the Pharisees and teachers, who were thinking to themselves ‘Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ (Luke 5:21).

“Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and said, ‘Why all this gossipy whispering? Which is simpler: ‘to say I forgive your sins, or to say Get up and start walking?’ Well, just so it’s clear that I’m the Son of Man and authorized to do either, or both . . . He now spoke directly to the paraplegic: ‘Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.’ Without a moment’s hesitation, he did it—got up, took his blanket, and left for home, giving glory to God all the way” (Luke 5:22-25 Message).

In scene 4 Jesus turns the social order and polite society’s expectations upside down. First, he calls Levi—a tax collector—to become one of his disciples. Immediately, Levi leaves his tax booth, and follows Jesus. Once again, someone called by Jesus leaves everything behind for an unpredictable future.

Next, Levi throws a party for a “large crowd of tax collectors and others” who were eating and drinking with him at his house. Jesus had this party scene in mind when he prayerfully selected and called Levi.

But the Pharisees and teachers of the law had other ideas, and promptly started complaining to Jesus disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” (Luke 5:30). Jesus uses this encounter to communicate his mission:

“Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I’m here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out” (Luke 5:31 Message).

Scene 5 tackles the religious party’s pressing question: “Should we be Fasting and Praying, or Eating and Drinking?” The Pharisees remind Jesus that “John the Baptist’s disciples often fast and pray, as do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking” (Luke 5:33).

Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast” (Luke 5:34).

As N.T. Wright comments, “This is a party—the first of many in Luke’s gospel—and like all Jesus’ parties it is a sign of the new age. It is, for those with eyes to see, a miniature messianic banquet . . . It’s a celebration of life itself. Yes, there is a dark note to this as well: one day the bridegroom will be taken away, and then it will be time to fast once more. But it won’t be for long. Luke’s gospel ends with two Easter meals, one in Emmaus and one in the upper room. The bridegroom returns, and his risen life means that God’s new age has been well and truly launched” (Luke for Everyone, pages 64-65).

The chapter concludes with two sayings, one making the point that it’s not good to patch an old coat with new cloth . . . suggesting that you can’t “patch” the old ways with Jesus’ new approach. The second saying declares that new wine belongs in new wine skins. “You have to take the new thing whole or not at all . . . The task then is to live out the new life, the new energy, which was at the heart of Jesus’ teaching and work” (Luke for Everyone, page 65). As we review the 5 scenes Luke describes, where do we find ourselves?

Do we live according to the old rules and old ways, or are we open to letting Jesus shape our lives according to the new kingdom he is still bringing into being?

How to Handle Temptation Effectively.

In Luke’s fourth chapter he takes his readers from Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river out to the same Judean desert described in last week’s post as a blistering hot and rocky landscape.

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry” (Luke 4:1-2).

The devil challenges Jesus with three tests, suggesting first that Jesus turn a stone into bread.

Second, he shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and claims he will give Jesus all the splendor of those kingdoms--but only if Jesus will worship the devil.

Next, taking Jesus to the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem he challenges Jesus to jump so God can catch him and prevent any possible injury.

How did Jesus handle these temptations? For each one, Jesus quotes a single scripture.

“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone’’ (Luke 4:3-4, with Jesus quoting Deut. 8:3).

After showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in an instant, the devil taunts Jesus.

“And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Luke 4:6-8, with Jesus quoting from Deut. 6:13).

In the third instance, the devil confronts Jesus once more by provoking him with the same phrase with which he started this confrontation--“If you are the Son of God”.

“The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ “Jesus answered, It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Luke 4:9-12; the devil refers to Psalm 91:11-12, and Jesus replies with Deut. 6:16).

Laurence E. Porter summarizes: “What is important is to see how, when our Lord’s physical resources had been taxed to the full by His fasting and His spiritual wrestling, Satan suggested easier ways to win men’s hearts and to fulfill his mission than the way of the Cross that lay before Him” (The New International Bible Commentary, 1979, ZondervanPublishingHouse, Grand Rapids, MI, page 1193).

Jesus returns to Galilee to begin his teaching ministry in the synagogues “in the power of the Spirit, and the news about him spread through the whole countryside” (Luke 4:14).

During a regular Sabbath day service in a synagogue in Nazareth Jesus reads aloud from the scroll of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61:1-2).

In those days, the designated reader would stand to read scripture, then sit down to teach. Luke describes the scene in detail noting that after Jesus sat down “He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:31). What a breathtaking announcement! Imagine the impact on those present! But Jesus was already anticipating their unspoken question:

Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ Truly I tell you” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke 4:23-27).

When Jesus first entered the synagogue on that day, everyone spoke well of him. But the mere mention of God blessing two Gentiles was enough to turn them into an angry murderous mob intent on killing him. But as they run him out of town and prepare to throw him off a cliff, Jesus “walked right through the crowd and went on his way” (Luke 4:30).

Luke continues his story with another Sabbath teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum. This time the people “were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority” (Luke 4:32). In Capernaum Jesus heals a demon-possessed man. He also heals Simon’s mother-in-law who was suffering with a high fever.

This action-packed chapter concludes with Jesus leaving town at daybreak--hoping to find some quiet time alone in a solitary place. But the crowds follow and try to encourage him to stay with them. “But he said, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.’ And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea” (Luke 4:43-44).