Defending God: Luke 12:1-12

Focus Passage: Luke 12:1-12 (GW)

Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy. Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. Whatever you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

“My friends, I can guarantee that you don’t need to be afraid of those who kill the body. After that they can’t do anything more. I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the power to throw you into hell after killing you. I’m warning you to be afraid of him.

“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. I can guarantee that the Son of Man will acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others. But God’s angels will be told that I don’t know those people who tell others that they don’t know me. 10 Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”

Read Luke 12:1-12 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While Jesus was warning the disciples about the dangers of hypocrisy and avoiding the subtle influences of culture, He shares with them a powerful promise that we all can learn from. Before being derailed by someone in the crowd interrupting Him, Jesus tells the disciples, “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.” (v. 11-12)

Of all the warnings, promises, and challenges Jesus gave the disciples, I imagine this one was among the most equally faced among these earliest followers. I believe every single one of them was pulled in before synagogues, rulers, and authorities to defend themselves and the message of Jesus.

I would imagine this could be the most intimidating thing for anyone to face, except for what Jesus promises will happen during these times. Jesus shares that when we are placed on trial for God, the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say, or in other words, the Holy Spirit will speak through us. The promise Jesus shared was for both His disciples in the first century and all of His followers who face trials from that point forward.

In this promise, Jesus takes all of the pressure off of us and He places it on God. While I doubt that this makes being present in the moment any less fearful, we can know without a doubt that God loves us, He values us, and He will use our lives for His glory.

Jesus tells us in this promise that God will defend Himself through us. It is not up to us to defend God. If we try to defend God on our own merit, we will fail. The only way for us to win is to let the Holy Spirit defend God through us. When we win using the Holy Spirit, we may not be spared torture, and we may not keep our life, but we will be saved for eternity – which is the only life that matters.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Praise for Our Redeemer: Psalm 8:1-9


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As we continue forward in our year looking at prophecies Jesus fulfilled and passages from the Old Testament that are connected in some way with the New Testament, we arrive at an event that happens early on within the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Depending on the gospel that you read, the event we will look at in Jesus’ life might have even been the first thing to happen following Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, which was the focus of our past two episodes.

However, prior to diving into Jesus’ life and ministry, let’s look back in the Old Testament, in a psalm, that Jesus ultimately drew on to defend some people who were being targeted by the religious leaders.

Our passage for this episode is found in the Old Testament book of Psalms, chapter 8, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1, the psalmist writes:

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

In this psalm, we discover an amazing reflection on how much God loves and values us, and this psalm also reflects on how we are often very unworthy of God’s favor.

However, early on in this psalm, we read a phrase that Jesus draws upon shortly after He has cleared the commerce from the temple courtyard. Let’s read what happened and discover what we can learn.

Our passage from Jesus’ life and ministry is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will begin reading in verse 12:

12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

14 And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17 And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

As I picture this event take place, after Jesus has chased off all the merchants from the temple, those who were disabled come to Him to be helped. In addition to this, if this event happened on the same day as the triumphal entry, we have a group of people who has eagerly been traveling into Jerusalem singing praises to Jesus. It wouldn’t surprise me if the praise and celebration continued through Jesus’ arrival at the temple, and with every person who He healed.

However, also looking at this event were the chief priests and the scribes. While the religious leaders did not like what had happened, they could not openly speak against the miracles and healing Jesus was doing, primarily because this wasn’t the Sabbath. About the only case they could make against the healing Jesus did was if it had happened on the Sabbath, and in this event, everyone Jesus healed was receiving their blessing during the workweek.

I suspect for this reason, the religious leaders decide to criticize the only other angle they have available, and that is the source of the praise Jesus was receiving, specifically that it was young children being loud and that their loudness was openly praising Jesus with a Messianic title.

Jesus responds to their criticism by quoting this psalm, however for one reason or another, or perhaps because I don’t know the original languages to spot a potential connection, it seems as though Jesus shifts one word in His response from the word the psalmist used.

In the original psalm, we find the idea stated as, “From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength”. When Jesus quotes this line, He shares the following statement, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’”.

From the way Jesus frames His statement, it is as though the praise these infants and children bring Jesus is a strong argument and defense against those who would accuse Jesus. It is also an amazing, God-like twist, to understand that God is able and willing to establish His strength through the mouths of children who are just beginning to talk. It would be interesting to know if the praise some of these children gave that day were actually their first words. While we have no way of knowing this, it is an interesting thought that just entered my mind.

In first century culture, perhaps even more so than today, children were often looked down on. However, like the Godhead often likes doing, we find a powerful example and prediction where the children are praised for their praise of Jesus, while the adults, who should be more aware of the significance of what is happening, are being left out because their minds and hearts were closed. While the religious leaders should have been the group to have seen the clearest the amazing significance of what Jesus was doing, they had let their minds and hearts harden against Jesus because He did not fit their pre-built picture of the Messiah.

However, before wrapping up our podcast, let’s look back at a couple phrases of this psalm that are not part of this prophecy. In Psalm 8, verses 3 through 8, the psalmist proclaims:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

While we might be left wondering why God would care for a fallen race of rebels, or specifically why He would even still love us like this psalmist also wonders, we don’t need to look any further than Jesus to know that God truly loves us, and His big goal is redeeming you and me from the grip of sin!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always open by challenging you, intentionally seek God first in your life and thank Him for what He accomplished for you and me through Jesus’ life and death. Thank God for His love and caring, and if you ever feel as though God has abandoned you, open your Bible and reread the gospel record of Jesus.

Also, as I regularly challenge you to do, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. Through regular prayer and Bible study, discover a God who loves you so much that He will stop at nothing to redeem you from sin.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year of Prophecy – Episode 24: When Jesus is challenged in the temple regarding what some people were saying about Him, discover how Jesus comes to this marginalized group’s defense, by quoting from a fascinating psalm that includes some profound insights about God’s love.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

Making the Impossible Easy: Luke 14:1-6

Focus Passage: Luke 14:1-6 (GW)

On a day of rest—a holy day Jesus went to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. The guests were watching Jesus very closely.

A man whose body was swollen with fluid was there. Jesus reacted by asking the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “Is it right to heal on the day of rest—a holy day, or not?” But they didn’t say a thing.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Jesus asked them, “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?” They couldn’t argue with him about this.

Read Luke 14:1-6 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Often the details surrounding an event are just as interesting as what actually happened.

For example, as I was reading the passage for this journal entry, a question entered my head that wasn’t directly answered in the passage in the first place: “Why was there a sick man at this Pharisee’s home?”

The sick person could have been a family member or close friend, but if this were the case, the Pharisee would have directly asked Jesus to heal the sick man. However, Jesus instead asks the first question, making me think that Jesus is more interested in directing the conversation towards healing the man.

If the sick person was not a family member or close friend, this event could have been a setup. The passage does say the guests were watching Jesus very closely. This definitely suggests a setup.  The day of rest, the high profile, highly opinionated guests, and the significant location all suggest that the events in this passage are staged.

As a staged event, we can see that these Pharisees saw Jesus as a healer, and it would seem that even doctors were not exempt from resting on the day of worship (i.e. the Sabbath day). Pretty much anything Jesus “did” that resulted in a healing would have immediately been classified as work, regardless of the effort it took or the number of calories it consumed.

But while the question regarding whether it was right to heal someone on the Sabbath is left hanging in the air, Jesus simply heals the man like the action is no big deal. It is so understated in this passage that if a Pharisee present had been looking away briefly, he could have missed it.

Perhaps these Pharisees had seen other miracles Jesus did, or maybe they had just heard rumors and wanted to see for themselves. Either way, the action present behind this healing was probably a letdown because it was so understated.

After the healed man left, Jesus compares the action to pulling your son or your ox out of a well. Pulling someone out of a well probably would take enough energy to break a sweat, and one or more people involved in pulling an ox from a well would definitely burn plenty of calories. However, Jesus performs this healing without even coming close to “breaking a sweat”. How Jesus performed the miracles were way too simple – Jesus made the impossible look easy.

This brings me to the big idea for this journal entry: Don’t be disappointed if God’s life-changing miracles come through simple methods. God may prefer the simple, clear miracle over the complex, confusing series of steps that our mind often thinks we need.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Forever in Debt: Matthew 18:15-35

Focus Passage: Matthew 18:15-35 (NCV)

    15 “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. 16 But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

    18 “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.

    19 “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”

    21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”

    22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

    23 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. 25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

    26 “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

    28 “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

    29 “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’

    30 “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

    32 “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. 33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ 34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

    35 “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Read Matthew 18:15-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Later on during Jesus’ ministry, He shares a powerful parable to help support the message that while we are forgiven, we are expected to be forgiving towards each other. In the details of this parable, we discover a king has a servant who has an impossible-to-repay debt. Conservatively, this debt is in the millions of dollars, but it might even extend into the billions.

In some ways, it is easier to calculate this debt in the number of lifetimes it would take someone to repay it, and in the case of the debt the man has in this parable, it would take more than 137 lifetimes to repay. The servant in this parable truly has an impossible-to-repay debt.

However, the king forgives the debt. A simple meeting and a heartfelt plea convinces the king to write off the millions or billions of dollars that were owed. On the surface, it appears as though this servant is now free.

But when we look at the details and place ourselves in the servant’s shoes, while we are not required to repay the debt we previously owed, the gift of kindness places an equally impossible debt on us in the form of gratitude. The debt of gratitude says we should always be forever grateful to God (a.k.a. the King) for repaying our literal debt.

In this scenario, there is literally no way of truly being out of debt – because either we have a debt of sin, or we have a debt of gratitude.

I shared this with some people and was challenged with the idea that we cannot love those we are in debt to. While it makes for a catchy thought, I don’t believe it is 100% true. The fallacy in this thinking is that all forms of debt are equal and that all forms of debt contain equal tension from both parties.

While it sounds similar, I think a more accurate statement would go something like this: You cannot love someone you feel owes you something – but you can love someone who has blessed you more than you could ever repay.

If you are in a situation you could never repay, by definition, you are in debt, but this debt is different because it can only be resolved through forgiveness. While there is nothing we could ever do to repay God for His amazing gift of Jesus on the cross, this tiny detail technically makes us indebted to God.

However, God paid our sin-debt because He loves us, not because He wanted us to be feel forever indebted to Him. God forgives us in order to make it possible for Him to love us. He would have it no other way.

Debts of gratitude are different because the only way we can truly repay them is by paying them forward. God wants us to be so incredibly grateful and thankful for what He has done for us that we cannot help extending forgiveness, grace, and love forward to those we interact with.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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