Jesus Is On His Way - Luke 13-15
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MONDAY: Luke 13:1-19
TUESDAY: Luke 13:20-35
WEDNESDAY: Luke 14:1-24
THURSDAY: Luke 14:25-35
FRIDAY: Luke 15:1-10
SATURDAY: Luke 15:11-32
SUNDAY: Pray, worship, relax, enjoy your family; be aware of God’s presence.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 13:22). There are several encounters, healings and parables about the kingdom woven together in Luke’s artful telling. Notice that chapters 14 and 15 include a theme revolved around eating and banqueting. There are practical words regarding how to be a guest at another’s party (14:7-11), as well as risky admonitions as to how to be a host and whom to invite (14:12-14 and 14:16-24).
The first is not new with Jesus but is a partial quote and take-off of Proverbs 25:6-7. And in fact, this simple teaching, if one is not careful, can be turned around into a strategy of recognition: “Oh, see how humble he is? What a fine, Christian fellow. Why we ought to invite him to come up here and be an example for the rest of us.” You see how easily humility stumbles into a perverse, manipulative form of pride. Jesus’ teaching is not a lesson in how to become popular (“exalted, [11]”) but an essential reminder of reality: God is great; we are not. A humble heart and thankful spirit are natural responses to God’s grace.
14:16-24 and all of chapter 15 is concerned with who is included in the kingdom. The theme remains eating and banqueting. The party going on in most of these verses is worth serious consideration. Jesus presents no somber affair of order and restraint, but a series of rowdy gatherings attended by a bizarre conglomeration of “tax collectors” and “sinners” (15:1) along with the “poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (14:21). Angels rejoice (15:7;10) and a town erupts in celebration for the strangest of reasons. Read these passages carefully. And pay particular attention to the strategy of the younger son in 15:17-19. In Jesus’ telling of the story, he has this young scoundrel give in his speech an exact quote of Pharaoh from Exodus 10:16. What do you suppose Jesus intends us to hear from this fellow’s words? Is he really repentant? Or is he still a scoundrel who is simply hungry? And if the answer is the latter, what does that say about the father? Give serious thought to what Jesus wants us to learn from this series of three parables in chapter 15. This chapter forms the theological center of Jesus’ ministry and God’s grace. Listen, read and study carefully!
Important clue: Keep in mind who Jesus is talking to and who he is being criticized for spending time with (15:1-2).
David Jordan
Senior Pastor