I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 21-22.

    When Jesus told His disciples that the day was coming that the Temple would be completely destroyed, they asked Him what sign they would see which would tell them it was about to take place. Most of Jesus’ answer was concerning what would happen leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. However, after saying that would happen He continues on to talking about His return. I believe that many aspects of Jesus’ prophecy here have been fulfilled again and again throughout history. To me there are only two elements of it which represent fixed events in history. The first of those is the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The other is His return, which has yet to happen. Throughout history there have been times when the Jewish people experienced great suffering similar to what Jesus describes here. There have also been times when those who follow Him have been persecuted for doing so. Perhaps the most important part of Jesus’ prophecy for us is His warning against allowing carousing or the worries of this life distract us from serving Him and watching for His return. I think that we should keep in mind that this prophecy comes immediately after Jesus praised the widow for giving her last two coins.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 19-20.

    The story of Zacchaeus climbing the tree to see Jesus was one of those which I learned as a child. The primary reason that we tell that story to children is because children instantly sympathize with the man who needed to climb a tree to see over the crowds. As a result of this emphasis when told as a children’s story we often overlook its primary message. Which is not to say that its use as a children’s story, where we emphasize the importance of eagerly seeking Jesus, is bad. No, the real point of this story is Jesus’ warm acceptance of sinners and how His doing so led some of them to repentance and transformation. In the children’s version of this story we encourage children to emulate Zacchaeus, which is not a bad thing. However, Luke told this story to encourage us to emulate Jesus. Let us seek to show God’s love to sinners, while eagerly seeking a closer walk with Christ.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 17-18.

    When His disciples asked Him how to increase their faith, Jesus told them that they could increase their faith by expecting no reward for doing God’s will. I do not know that I have ever heard anyone comment on that. Our faith will increase as we recognize that what we have done in service to God is merely our duty in response to what He has already done for us. No matter what we have done, we should not feel that we are owed any further recognition or reward than what God has already done for us. Our faith will increase as we come to see each act of service we perform for God as nothing of note, when we do not understand why others might take note of what we have done. You are on the path to increased faith when your response to those who praise your actions is surprise that anyone noticed.

    I want to skip ahead to Jesus with the wealthy religious leader. When the Jesus told the man that he should sell his possessions and give them to the poor, the man became sad. When Jesus said that this indicates how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God, that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. I have never understood why some people find it necessary to soften what Jesus said here. His disciples immediately understood that He was saying it was impossible and wanted to know who could do so. At which point Jesus told them that although it is impossible for humans it is possible for God. Finally we get to the reason I skipped ahead to this. Jesus told His disciples that those who have sacrificed their relationships in order to serve God will be repaid many times over.
    I see these two as related. We should expect no reward for serving God; serving God is our duty, not something we do to obtain reward. However, God will reward us for serving Him. It is only when we stop doing things for “what’s in it for me” that we learn to appreciate the much greater rewards which come from doing God’s will.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 14-16.

    I have touched on this before, but in today’s passage Jesus tells us that we must be willing, perhaps even eager, to lose our life in His service if we want to be His disciple. We need to be willing to sacrifice any and all of our relationships in order to serve God. However, Jesus also tells us that we should take a look at what our service to Him will cost before we set out on that path. It is not enough to say that we are willing to sacrifice. We must look at what we have and acknowledge our willingness to give it up.

    Luke goes on from there to write about Jesus’ teachings on bringing sinners to the Lord. I have always paid a lot of attention to this teaching, although I am not sure how well I have actually practiced it. All too often our congregations focus on serving the needs of Christ’s followers more than on reaching those who have yet to hear the Word. While the accounts in the Book of Acts and in some of Paul’s letters make it clear that we should strive to meet the needs of our fellow believers, our true joy is from bringing another person into the Body. We need to focus on how can we communicate God’s love to sinners.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 12-13.

    I needed this passage today. Lately, I have been worrying about my long term finances. Jesus reminds us here not to do so. God takes care of the Lillies of the field, He will take care of us. Instead, I need to be focusing on how I can serve God. If we put our attention on using our resources and time to serve God, He will provide for our other needs. However, we need to serve God now not plan to do so at some future time. Our time to serve Him may run out at any moment. Let’s not waste the opportunities we have now because we think we will have a better opportunity later.

    One of the things which has always bothered me in disputes about Church issues are those who insist that we compromise our beliefs in order for the Church to be unified. While Church unity is important, so is faithfully preaching the Gospel. In today’s passage, Jesus reminds us that He did not come to bring unity. He came to bring division. He demands that we choose whether we will serve Him, or serve the world. There comes a time when we must be willing to take a stand for what we believe, even if it means we will suffer for it. However, that does not mean that we should admire people for taking a stand for what is wrong. We need to take a stand for what is right, but we need to always be aware that we may be wrong about what is right. That is one of the great paradoxes of our faith.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 10-11.

    I wanted to write about Jesus sending out the 72 disciples and some of the other things in this passage which immediately followed that, but I could not form my thoughts into a coherent whole until I came to Jesus’ explanation of who our neighbor is in the story of the Good Samaritan. Most of the time when the story is talked about, it takes the story and explains that we should look at ourselves as the Jewish traveler and consider the despised Samaritan as our neighbor. That’s not wrong, but it is not the point Jesus made. Yes, we should recognize that those we have been taught to despise may be more likely to aid us when we are in trouble than those we have been taught to admire. However, when we look at this in context we see that was not Jesus’ point. Rather, Jesus was pointing out that we should love those who despise us. We should seek to place ourselves in the position of the Samaritan and give aid to those whom we expect to despise us.

    Shortly after that, one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. A request which each and every one of us needs to make at some point. I know that I struggle with praying. Luke records the instructions which Jesus gave His disciples. These instructions came in three parts. First, He gave them (and us) a model prayer. That model has four elements

• Praise God and recognize His Lordship over us
• Ask God to provide for our needs.

In particular, our needs for today (and perhaps tomorrow, depending on how one translates the Greek). The key being providing what we need now, not into the future.

• Ask God for forgiveness while acknowledging our obligation to forgive

This involves both admitting that we have sinned and requesting God’s help in forgiving those who have wronged us.

• Finally, we ask God to give us the will to resist the temptations which we face.

Here we acknowledge that we will experience temptation and that only with God’s help will we be able to not give in to that temptation.

Next, Jesus teaches them to be persistent. He does not mean the persistence of the child who wants a cookie and asks repeatedly, “Can I have a cookie?” Rather means the persistence of the child who wants a cookie who asks, “What can I do to get a cookie?” (That’s not quite right either, but the point is that we need to listen to God’s responses to our prayers while continuing to ask for what we want). The final piece of what Jesus teaches us about prayer is that God loves us. If we ask for things that are good for us, He will give them to us. But, instead of giving us what we ask for, He may give us something better. And, if what we ask for will not be good for us or will be bad for us, He will not give it to us. Sometimes the reason we do not get the things we ask for is because they would do us harm.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 6-7.

    Luke’s version of the Beattitudes scares me and rightly so. I live the good life today and Jesus says that those who live the good life now will suffer later. The Church has always preferred Matthew’s version which spiritualizes poverty and suffering because that is easier for those who have it good today to stomach. I am convinced that despite the similarities between the Beattitudes in Matthew and in Luke that Jesus actually preached both messages. I think that those recorded by Luke transition better into Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies. Before I go on to Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies I want to make a final point about the Beattitudes here. If we experience the good life we should seek how we can share that with those who are suffering. If we have been given good things in this life it is so that we can alleviate the suffering of others.

    Luke records what we call the Golden Rule in the midst of Jesus teaching that we should love our enemies, which certainly makes it clear what He meant by it. “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” Not do to others what they do to you, or even, what you expect them to do to you. No, let me people take your stuff. Let people hit you. Lend to those who cannot repay, even those who can but will not. Jesus transitions into His teachings on generosity from there, which ties it all together. Don’t be afraid that your generosity might lead you into poverty, not because God will prevent that from happening but because God will bless you even if you go from wealth to poverty. It is also worth noting that Jesus teaches about giving generously right after telling us to forgive those who wrong us and not to judge others. Jesus goes on from here to tell us that the only basis for judging someone is the results of their actions. If they make others better off and/or happier, they are good. If they make others worse off and/or feel miserable, they are bad. He uses the very same logic (and I believe Luke includes it here to push home the message) in response to John the Baptist’s disciples asking if He is the Messiah. Jesus answers their question by asking them to look at what He does and reach their own conclusion. When we preach the Gospel, let us ask others to look at what we do and reach their own conclusion. The important thing is not whether we live an ascetic lifestyle, as John the Baptist did, or enjoy some of the finer things in life, as Jesus did. The important thing is whether we do what we are able to ease the suffering of others.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Luke 4-5.

    Luke’s account of the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness demonstrate the temptations faced by those who seek to change the world. The first temptation is to bribe people to do as you say by providing for their physical needs. The second temptation is to acquire political power and force people to do as you say. The third temptation is to overawe people and get them to do as you say without thinking. I am not sure I have summed up the temptations correctly, but I am convinced that they represent the different wrong ways which people use when they try to fix what is wrong with the world. Jesus knew that the only way to fix the world was to convince people to do the right thing and that each person had to figure out what the right thing was for themselves. There is no one-size-fits-most set of rules which can be imposed on everyone in order to fix the world. People need to desire to do the right thing.

    I have never quite understood the dynamics of what took place when Jesus preached in the synagogue in Nazareth. As best I can figure it out, the people were initially skeptical of Jesus because He was “one of them”, what made Him an authority to teach them? Jesus responded to this by pointing out that being Jewish did not give them an exclusive claim on God. Sometimes God chooses to perform His miracles for those outside of the “chosen” rather than among them. Sometimes God’s word is more positively received by the “sinners” than by the “saved”.