November 8, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Luke? Here’s today’s reading:
Luke 14 (NIV)
Jesus at a Pharisee’s House
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way........Continue Reading
This response to healing on the Sabbath is one of my favorites Jesus gives….would you not save your child on the Sabbath? Of course we would and since we are God’s children He did not look at these things as work but rather the saving of His children.
Humility is so important to God. We struggle with pride and self so much in this world that what we want becomes more important than everything and remembering that God comes first and therefore so do others because that is His will for our life is essential to our walk with Christ.
When Jesus uses the word hate when telling us about the other relationships in our lives in comparison to our relationship with Him it is so impactful because we know He is a God of love but using this word shows us how important it is to keep our priorities straight…God first and everything else second. Ironically living this way makes us a better spouse, parent, child, or friend but only when God is first.
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
A couple things seem to be clear in this chapter. First, everyone is invited but few choose to come. I have a framed picture of Jesus in which he is almost laughing. That, I think, is his face when someone answer the invite. And second, we can never loose our “saltiness”.
Jesus talking about banquets or weddings. Funny I recently went to my nephews wedding. And consider myself much closer to him than 99 percent of the 200 guests at the wedding. Little things aren’t important when you know the lord. Watched so many people trying to get notice by sitting in the front rows or get their picture taken. Honestly. That means nothing when Christ is your lord. Cindy and I sat towards the back with a smile. Verse 16. Another banquet and many that were invited for different reasons did not show up. Sounds familiar in God’s economy. Lots of excuses to not show up.!! Verse 28-35. I’m guessing the price to follow Jesus don’t come at it half hearted. As Paul said and I hope to say also. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race!!!! My goal in life!!
Luke: 14
Once again Jesus is questioned about healing on the Sabbath (even being set up to do so here) and He gives His common response. You do other good and necessary things, so why not heal a human? He also expands His message to talk about assuming position and privilege. Better to not assume you have it and let someone else give it to you, rather than assume it and have someone tell you you don’t. It’s all about having a perspective of humility. This also translates to who we do good things for. If we do good things for people that can repay us, what is our true motivation? But when we give to people that can’t repay, we know that our desire to give is pure.
And while He is talking about banquets and someone refers to feast that will happen in the kingdom of God, Jesus describes the real dynamic that happens there. It more like God inviting people that are supposed to come (the Jews) and they find every reason not to come. So God opens up the offer to others (gentiles) and makes sure that His house is full.
Luke than recounts a time where large crowds are following Jesus and He makes it clear the rigors of being His disciples. It requires complete commitment where everything and everyone else in live is secondary. It requires carrying a cross and dieing to self. Now Jesus says this because certainly He is worthy of all that, but it is also true that that is the only way being His disciple works. We cannot have two masters. One will always detract from the other. That is why the commitment to Christ has to be complete and total.
Luke 14-16
God is sending His invite into the Kingdom of God (Jesus) but they are making excuses not to attend, so the invitation will go to others.
There is no halfway, sort-of Christian. You are either all-in or you are not a Christian. Americans have become syncretists…..like the Israelites in the book of Judges. We are on a path to lawlessness. I pray that Americans defy the lawless and seek righteousness.