Flashback Episode — Generosity, Light, and Truth: Luke 11:33-54


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As we continue through Luke’s gospel and look at some of the amazing events Luke chose to include, we come to a place where Luke records a very powerful, very challenging message Jesus shares to a group of Pharisees and religious teachers. However, leading up to this challenge, we have a fascinating teaching Jesus shares about light. In this teaching, a phrase always stands out in my mind because of the seemingly impossible contrast Jesus makes.

Without any further introduction, let’s read what Luke tells us Jesus taught. Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version. Starting in verse 33, Luke tells us Jesus taught saying:

33 “No one lights a lamp and hides it. No one puts it under a bowl. Instead, they put a lamp on its stand. Then those who come in can see the light. 34 Your eye is like a lamp for your body. Suppose your eyes are healthy. Then your whole body also is full of light. But suppose your eyes can’t see well. Then your body also is full of darkness. 35 So make sure that the light inside you is not darkness. 36 Suppose your whole body is full of light. And suppose no part of it is dark. Then your body will be full of light. It will be just as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Let’s pause here because Jesus has just finished speaking this big thought and Luke is about to shift focus onto the challenging statements Jesus makes to a group of Pharisees and religious leaders.

In Jesus’ teaching about light and our eyes being lamps for our bodies, He makes a fascinating statement in verse 35: “Make sure that the light inside you is not darkness”.

The immediate context for this statement is contrasting someone who has great eyesight with someone who has poor eyesight. The person with great eyesight would logically have lots of actual light inside of them, while the person with poor eyesight would not have as much light.

However, Jesus isn’t speaking only in a literal sense. While there is a literal application to Jesus’ statements, light inside us is not literally darkness because light and dark are opposites. Where there is light, there is not darkness, and where light is not present, there is darkness. This means Jesus’ statement about light and dark must have a spiritual application as well.

I suspect that Jesus is challenging people throughout history to be conscious of what they believe and internalize because many things that people are considering as light or new light is really darkness. While literal light and literal darkness are not true opposites, in a spiritual sense, light and dark are polar opposites. When we believe and internalize ideas we come in contact with, we should intentionally be filtering out darkness from light. We can best do this by holding up the truth in question to the filter of the Bible.

The Bible is a lens that doesn’t explain everything, but it does explain everything we need to understand in the spiritual dimension of life and it does explain a great number of other things that many people might be surprised to discover.

However, Luke may have finished sharing this portion of Jesus’ message, but he continues by sharing a powerful event that may have been one catalyst towards getting the hostility of the religious leaders turned in Jesus’ direction.

Continuing in verse 37, Luke tells us:

37 Jesus finished speaking. Then a Pharisee invited him to eat with him. So Jesus went in and took his place at the table. 38 But the Pharisee was surprised. He noticed that Jesus did not wash before the meal.

39 Then the Lord spoke to him. “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish,” he said. “But inside you are full of greed and evil. 40 You foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you. Then everything will be clean for you.

42 “How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give God a tenth of your garden plants, such as mint and rue. But you have forgotten to be fair and to love God. You should have practiced the last things without failing to do the first.

43 “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most important seats in the synagogues. You love having people greet you with respect in the market.

44 “How terrible for you! You are like graves that are not marked. People walk over them without knowing it.”

45 An authority on the law spoke to Jesus. He said, “Teacher, when you say things like that, you say bad things about us too.”

46 Jesus replied, “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You put such heavy loads on people that they can hardly carry them. But you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

47 “How terrible for you! You build tombs for the prophets. It was your people of long ago who killed them. 48 So you show that you agree with what your people did long ago. They killed the prophets, and now you build the prophets’ tombs. 49 So God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them. They will kill some. And they will try to hurt others.’ 50 So the people of today will be punished. They will pay for all the prophets’ blood spilled since the world began. 51 I mean from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah. He was killed between the altar and the temple. Yes, I tell you, the people of today will be punished for all these things.

52 “How terrible for you authorities on the law! You have taken away the key to the door of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered. And you have stood in the way of those who were entering.”

53 When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law strongly opposed him. They threw a lot of questions at him. 54 They set traps for him. They wanted to catch him in something he might say.

In this last set of verses to conclude this event, I am wholly not surprised that when Jesus left, the Pharisees and religious leaders strongly opposed Him.

While there are many things we could pull out and focus on for the remainder of this podcast episode, one phrase stood out to me that I want to emphasize. In verse 41, Jesus tells the Pharisee, “Give freely to poor people to show what is inside you.

In this statement, Jesus hints at generosity being a function of the heart. Generosity, or a lack of generosity, shows others what is in our hearts. When we look at almost all of Jesus’ challenges to these religious leaders, two big themes Jesus challenged them on were a self-centered attitude that pushed people away and an arrogant attitude that looked down on others. The religious leaders judged first and only when proven wrong would consider changing their judgment.

Jesus’ challenge regarding generosity stands in strong contrast to the attitude these religious leaders had. When we are generous, we have other people in focus, and we step into a serving role to help the other people. While I’m sure it is possible to serve others and be generous with a self-centered attitude, these two actions are not easily blended.

The religious leaders are accused of standing in the way of people coming to know God and Jesus. This is a challenge with people at every point in history. God wants a personal relationship with us. Any leader, teacher, guide, or mentor who wants to get in the way of you growing closer to God has more in common with these religious leaders Jesus speaks against than people God sends into our lives.

If you face opposition from someone when you are trying to grow your relationship with Jesus, chances are that God did not bring this person into your life, or if He did, they are not acting within God’s will. The religious leaders God wants to have present in all His churches and spiritual communities are leaders who help others, leaders who open the door to knowledge, and leaders who help sinners understand that they are truly forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished for humanity on the cross!

God is looking for leaders to help people grow close to Him, and these leaders will always point people back to the Bible and help them focus on applying the truths found in the Bible into their daily lives!

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

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and don’t let anyone get in the way of you and your relationship with God. Filter the “truth” that is presented to you through the lens of the Bible in order to determine what is really true and worth applying into your life.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. I hope and pray that what I share each week helps your personal relationship with God grow stronger, but I also hope and pray that with everything I share, you will take and study it out for yourself so it becomes truth that you know from the Bible and not simply truth that I shared. While pastors, authors, speakers, or podcasters can give great ideas, always study what you hear and read to determine if it is truth worth applying in your life.

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 give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Flashback Episode: Year in Luke – Episode 23: As Jesus taught the crowds, discover a powerful teaching He shares about light, and how Jesus response to a Pharisee who looked down on Him for not following a very specific custom.

True Freedom: John 8:31-59

Focus Passage: John 8:31-59 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Read John 8:31-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He goes to Jerusalem for a festival and stands up to speak in the temple. In the message He shares, we find a powerful challenge to those present, and one that they may have not been ready to receive.

John’s gospel opens by sharing a detail I had never noticed before about the people Jesus spoke this message to. John tells us that, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (v. 31-32)

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is shared here, and perhaps it was because I always gravitated to this verse, I missed seeing the truth contained before. When reading the opening John shares to this portion of Jesus message, I am amazed to learn that Jesus spoke this message to “Jews who had believed Him”. (v. 31a)

This detail is significant because it makes me wonder if these Jews had believed in Him at some point in the past while then discounting Him in the present, or if these Jews had believed in Jesus up to the point that He challenged them with this message. Perhaps these Jews said they believed in Jesus, but they discounted or ignored His teaching.

Jesus opens His message to this group of Jews by saying, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (v. 31b)

By opening in this way, Jesus makes this challenge to everyone who calls themselves Christians, believers, followers, and/or disciples of Jesus. In this passage, the context happens to be Jews who said they believed in Him at one point, but Jesus frames His response in a much broader fashion.

Part of me wonders what is so significant about holding to Jesus’ teachings. Perhaps it has to do with the next verse, which happens to be included among my favorites. Jesus continues by saying, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (v. 32)

As I read this opening to Jesus’ message, we get a progression that says: When we hold to Jesus’ teachings (implying that we remember and obey them) then we are His disciples. As disciples of Jesus who hold onto His teachings, we will then be able to see the truth (spiritual truth, physical truth, social truth, and Godly wisdom), and the truth that we discover will set us free. The freedom we discover comes through knowing the truth that we can only find because we are obeying Jesus’ teaching. This freedom is not freedom from obedience, its freedom within obedience!

A portion of culture is trying to craft itself as opposite to God’s way in every way imaginable, but the challenge this group has is that they trap themselves through their actions because they essentially must know the Bible better than they might want to. They trap themselves because they let the Bible dictate what they are opposed to instead of using the minds God gave them to decide freely what is right.

While they claim freedom from the Bible, they are truly trapped, because they let the Bible force them into a corner that they are unwilling to come out of.

The freedom Jesus offers comes through obedience, and all of Jesus’ followers are invited to obey and experience God’s freedom for themselves!

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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Looking Forward to Heaven: Isaiah 62:1-12


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As a follow-up to the prophecy we focused on in our last episode, the passage and prophecy for this week also draws our attention onto Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. However, unlike the prophecy we looked at last week, the passage and prophecy for this episode draws our attention to the specific point in time when Jesus enters Jerusalem. However, the context of this prophecy is different enough for me to suspect the entrance Jesus makes into Jerusalem might be something that happens after Jesus’ return. It is also possible that the Jerusalem this prophecy describes is not the earthly city of Jerusalem, but the heavenly city of Jerusalem that shares the same name. The heavenly Jerusalem we could understand to be God’s city and the place Jesus promised His disciples where He would prepare places for them following His return to Heaven.

With that said, let’s read our prophecy, and then unpack some things we can learn from what the prophet wrote. Our passage and prophecy are found in the book of Isaiah, chapter 62, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 1 and being guided by the Holy Spirit, Isaiah writes:

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.
You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves;
And give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm,
“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies;
Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”
But those who garner it will eat it and praise the Lord;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

10 Go through, go through the gates,
Clear the way for the people;
Build up, build up the highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes;
Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”
12 And they will call them, “The holy people,
The redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

In this amazing passage and prophecy, we get a glimpse of what heaven will be like, and we get a hint at just how eager God is to redeem His people.

However, from the context of the event that Isaiah describes, I see what is being described as blessings, promises, and restoration that happens to heaven and earth following the end of pain, disease, death, and even sin. After the fingerprints of Satan have been removed from the universe, God promises to actively bless the world that had formerly been cursed.

Within this imagery is God entering Jerusalem, and in a slightly paradoxical twist, what we find in the New Testament triumphal entry actually foreshadows the grand entrance Jesus will make into the city of God’s people at the end of this age and the start of the next one.

To draw our attention onto this amazing event, let’s look at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey that is found in Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew chapter 21, starting in verse 6, we read:

The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

With this triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, Jesus foreshadows His entrance into the city of God at the end of the age. Not only does this entrance into Jerusalem point forward to this great point in the future of God’s people, this entrance into Jerusalem marks the start of the week that culminates in Jesus being glorified on the cross.

As we look forward to the day Jesus returns and this Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled in the New Heaven and New Earth, are there any promises we can claim from the words Isaiah was inspired to write?

In my own mind, the imagery present in Isaiah’s prophecy about the bride and bridegroom and how God rejoices over us as His bride is an amazing framing about God’s love for us. With few exceptions, those moving towards marriage are eagerly looking forward to their wedding day. Some engaged couples might even pick a date to marry that other people would consider to be too quick simply because they cannot imagine waiting any longer.

I see God’s attitude and love for us this way. In the spiritual wedding between Jesus the Redeemer and God’s people who He redeems, I suspect we have no idea just how excited and expectant God is for the wedding between His Son and His people. Whether we frame being welcomed into God’s family using the metaphor of being adopted or being married in, God wants us included in His family.

Another promise worth drawing our attention to in this prophecy is the protection that God promises to give His city. While the earthly city of Jerusalem has had its share of challenges over the past centuries, and as those living within this city have not always been supporters of God, our attention is drawn towards the New Jerusalem and how this heavenly city moves into eternity with God’s protection. While it is strange to imagine God having enemies to protect His people against after the end of sin and Satan being destroyed, part of the reason why Jesus hasn’t returned could be because God is actively working on this protection as we speak.

While it is a challenging thought to hold onto, the best way for God to protect the universe from sin in the future is by letting sin reveal itself in the present. While some people might be quick to judge God harshly for letting evil thrive in our world and culture today, the most logical reason I have for why He would do this is to actually let evil reveal itself in an already sin-stained world.

By letting evil show how bad it is today, while there is pain, sickness, disease, and death, those who are redeemed in the future will have evidence, experience, and the motivation to keep them from ever wanting anything even remotely like sin to reappear after it has been done away with.

But what of all the pain, disease, cruelty, and death? How could God allow any of this to happen?

While there are several angles that people could use to answer these questions, let me suggest that the perspective of the Life-giver is different our own. Someone who has the power to give life, and the power to restore a life that was lost, is able to see from a different perspective than what we might initially think. I won’t claim to know what God’s perspective on humanity is currently like, but I will say that when those in humanity want to judge God, few, if any, have ever actually stopped to think through what His perspective is actually like. Without considering God’s perspective, it’s easy to judge Him, but any judgment given in this way is flawed at best, because it only allows for half a perspective, or perhaps even less than half a perspective.

I guess I ended up going on a little tangent there. I hope it was helpful to you, but even if it wasn’t, let’s together remember from Isaiah’s prophecy that God seeks after and redeems His people, and that He has promised to redeem and protect them moving forward into eternity.

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 to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Intentionally place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and lean on Him for the strength, wisdom, and guidance to face life in this sinful world. When bad things happen all around us, keep your perspective focused forward, looking towards the end of sin and the recreation of the universe. With Jesus, we will outlast pain, disease, sin, and even death. Even if death affects our life prior to Jesus’ return, we can know that He is the Life-Giver, and restoring life is something well within His ability to do.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and study, we open our hearts to God and we invite Him into our lives.

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 abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Year of Prophecy – Episode 23: In a prophecy we find within the Old Testament book of Isaiah, discover how Jesus may have partially fulfilled this prophecy, or whether Jesus actually amplified this prophecy by acting in a way that foreshadowed something even greater happening in the future of God’s people.

Join the discussion. Share your thoughts on this passage.

Spending Money on Jesus: John 12:1-11

Focus Passage: John 12:1-11 (NIV)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

Read John 12:1-11 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Often, as I am reading many of the events found in the gospels, I turn my attention onto Jesus – and specifically on how He responds to what is happening around Him. While studying this passage, when I turned my attention onto Jesus and looked specifically at how He interacted with others, a fascinating insight became clear.

With the exception of Jesus and the woman, likely most everyone else in the room was surprised about what had just happened, and many of these people were “indignant” at the price tag of this gift – Judas Iscariot being their spokesman.

However, Jesus’ lack of response says something important to me. Jesus pushes back at those who did not value the gift; against those who were only seeing the price tag involved. This tells me that Jesus/God is willing to accept gifts that cost money – perhaps even a lot of money. Money is irrelevant in comparison to the state of our heart, our mind, and our attitude when we give the gift.

This means that in God’s eyes, it is okay to spend money on things that will bring glory to Him. This was a very expensive gift – one year’s worth of income – and in today’s terms, in the United States economic culture, we could conservatively call this a $30,000 gift.

We don’t know how rich Mary was or even if this gift dented her overall estate. She could have spent all her savings on this gift, or she could have spent just a small fraction of a much larger savings account. Nothing in this passage hints at Mary’s (or the woman’s) financial status – except that she had enough to have purchased this expensive perfume.

However, the focus here should not be about the cost, but about the One that is given the glory. Jesus draws attention to the action, the intention, and the symbolism of what happened, and these things should only be amplified by the cost. The fact that the perfume cost a lot should make the gift that much more significant.

In Jesus’ response to Mary, I see a truth for my life today: It is okay to spend money on things that will bring glory to Jesus. It is okay to not be uptight about the most worthy place to put each penny. What matters most is where my heart, my mind, my attitude, and my focus are – and the only correct answer is on glorifying God.

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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