In today’s section, we read about:
The 72 are sent out
The parable of the good Samaritan
Jesus teaches about prayer, money, the need to be ready for his return and the cost of being his disciple
Jesus encounters and provokes criticism from the religious authorities
Parables of the lost sheep, coin and son, of the shrewd manager, and of the rich man and Lazarus
Jesus sets out for Jerusalem, meets Zaccheus and heals a blind beggar
Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, clears the temple and tells the parable of the evil tenants against the religious leader
Some thoughts that occurred to me:
When the 72 report back in 10:17, it reminds me how easy it is to focus on the wonderful things that God gives to us, and to lose our primary focus on the gift giver himself – 10:20, “But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” 10:42 also helps to see things right, “there is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
I have been struck afresh by the harshness of the Gospel, and the challenge to my assumptions of what I know and how well I am doing. 10:21-22 is salutary in this regard, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” It is only because Jesus has revealed the truth to us, that we can start beginning to see things as they really are. Truly, we once were blind, but now we see.
The NLT translation of 11:9-10 (and also Matt 7:7-8) makes it so much clearer that we should keep on praying (and Lk 18:1-18) – “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Jesus pulls no punches – “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me” (11:23), “someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen” (11:31) and “someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent” (11:32). Jesus takes away any excuse to think of things in relative terms or to compare ourselves with others. We know, we have been told, everything is available to us, so we have no excuse. 12:48, “when someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
What a healthy antidote to our society in 12:15, “Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Instead remember 12:24, “you are far more valuable to him than any birds!” and 12:28, “if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.” 12:31, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.” 12:33-34, “This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Jesus is clear what he must go through, and Luke draws our attention to this more than once – 9:51, “Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem”, 13:22, “Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem.” In this context, I was struck by his reply when told that Herod Antipas was trying to kill him, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!” (13:32).
Jesus doesn’t soft soap anyone about the cost of being a disciple – 14:26-27, “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” Also 14:33, “So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.” I thought long and hard about this. It is not necessarily that we must immediately sell everything and give away the proceeds. Rather, it is a case that we acknowledge that what we have, has been entrusted to us by God, to meet our needs, but more than that to enable us to meet the needs of others whenever and wherever the need arises. It is an attitude of heart that we need, not to cling tightly to everything we have, but to be able to relinquish it for the glory of God and the service of the kingdom.
Interesting contrast between 15:19 where the prodigal son rehearses in his mind asking his father to take him back as a slave, and the response of the older brother in 15:29, “all these years I’ve slaved for you.” This is such a challenging parable, because I am so much the older brother.
I am unclear how should we interpret correctly the parable of the shrewd manager in Lk 16:1-9. The passage from 16:10 on is straightforward.
Only Jesus really knew what he was talking about in 16:31, “If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.”
It seems strange to us that 18:34 could be true, that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying to them. But we can’t be too dismissive, as there is so much that we are too dense, obtuse or stupid to understand either.
I love the story of Zaccheus, the little man with the big greed, and the even deeper longing for friendship and respect. And what do we read in 19:5? “When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name.” He then calls him “a true son of Abraham”, which must have been anathema to the religious leaders and ‘respectable’ people. But this is how Jesus sees him.
One verse from today - "when someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” (Lk 12:48)
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