He’s Not Tame
A windy and wet day, Father, but a wonderful time both in worship this morning and then with family for the rest of the day. Thank you for watching over us as we enjoyed our time together.
Luke 20:41-44 (<<click here to read the passage)
We’ve already spoken of Jesus’ turning the tables on the teachers of the Law who continued to grill Him with every intention of trying to trip Him up in what He said so as to discredit Him and ultimately to incriminate Him. They never once succeeded but now it was Jesus’ turn to grill them a bit!
The core of all their problems was the fact that they refused to accept the fact that Jesus was the Messiah that they and all of Israel so eagerly anticipated. Their greatest hurdle was that they did what we all tend to do – they wanted to keep God shoved neatly into a box of their own making. And I will tell you right now, that is an impossibility!
We want everything neat, tidy, and under our control. As I typed a wonderful character in a series of books written years before even I was born came to mind. The series of books is The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis, and the character is Aslan, the Great Lion.
If you haven’t read the books, it’s hard to communicate the totality of who Aslan is, but maybe this will help.
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the Pevensie first hear of Aslan. They think he is a man but come to find out he is a lion, at which point one of the children asks,
“Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver … “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you… He’s wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”
As Jesus conversed with the religious leaders, He made it very clear that just because they assumed that they would have the final say in who the Messiah was and what He would be and do had no bearing whatsoever on the reality of it all.
In Matthew’s rendition of this occurrence in Jesus’ life, Jesus asked a question that we must answer as well. “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” Matthew 22:42 NLT
First of all, we must remember that the name Messiah (Hebrew), and Christ (Greek) both mean “anointed” – they refer to the same person – Jesus. Jesus was his given name at birth, per his heavenly Father, but He is the Anointed One. So, what do we think about Him? Whose son is He?
Jesus references Psalm 110:1 to point the Pharisees (and us) to who He is – the Son of God.
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
….Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
….making them a footstool under your feet.’
Basically, it boils down to the fact that David – Jesus’ ancestor – by inspiration of the Spirit, refers to the Lord (the Father) speaking to David’s Lord (the Messiah, i.e. Jesus). And Jesus then asks the “experts” of the Law, “Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” v44
They may not have liked the answer but the Messiah – Jesus – was greater than David. He, in fact, was God!
Many throughout history have balked at that answer, as well. Many have tried – unsuccessfully, I might add – to refute the fact that Jesus is who He said He is. We can debate all kinds of theological issues but until we believe that, everything else is irrelevant and a waste of time.
Lord, may we all be drawn to find the indisputable reality of You in our lives. Amen.
Nov 15th, 2020, Sun, 7:34 pm
45 Watermelons and 7 Brothers
Father, we are back into a hybrid schedule with some of the schools in our district due to COVID outbreaks. I would ask for Your watchcare over all involved. Wrap Your arms around us. Amen.
Luke 20:27-40 (<<click here to read the passage)
Remember those fun word problems in math class? Here’s a good one.
A boy has 45 watermelons in the desert. He needs to get them across to the Oasis fair, 15 miles away. He can only carry 15 watermelons at a time, and he eats one watermelon every mile he walks, including walking back to where he started from. He can also leave watermelons at any mile he has walked, but no fractions of a mile. How many watermelons can he possibly take to the fair?
(I’ll put one answer at the bottom if you want to try and work it out yourself. I had to ask the master of math who is home for a few weeks to figure it out for me!)
Reading today’s passage made me think that the Sadducees could not have asked a more convoluted question of Jesus! It didn’t involve watermelons but a woman who unsuccessfully attempted to provide a child in a succession of marriages to seven brothers, with the final question being whose wife she would be in the resurrection.
From the get-go, the Sadducees were on the losing team. An old joke comes to mind. Why were they called Sadducees? They held that there is no resurrection from the dead. v27, that’s why they were “sad you see”. It’s old and corny but if there is no resurrection then that means this life is all there is. And no matter how good some have it in this life, it would be very sad indeed if that is all we have to look forward to.
Jesus answered the unimportant question they asked…
“Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.” v34-35 NLT
…but He also answered the important question that needed to be answered.
My study Bible* tells me that the Sadducees were a group of conservative religious leaders who honored only the Pentateuch – that is Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – as Scripture. The Pentateuch is attributed to Moses and they based the entirety of their beliefs on those five books (which by the way is what the word Pentateuch means – five books). They could find no mention of a resurrection in those books.
“But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord[b] as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.” v37-38 NLT
Often in life, we try to make more of something that is necessary. And as human beings, our minds get stuck on things that we assume to be true when in reality, they are not. God is truly the source of true wisdom and we are encouraged to go to Him if we lack the wisdom we need.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5 NLT
(Massey figured out that one possible answer is 6 –there a few different ways to figure it out.)
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 12th,2020, Thurs, 5:00 pm
Gone in the Blink of an Eye
Father, regardless of what is going on in the world around us, You remain the constant. I find great comfort in You being the same yesterday, today, and forever.
********
This past Monday, early on my high school/middle school route I turned onto a road in the semi-darkness and not two hundred yards ahead a deer crossed the road. When he saw me, he stopped perpendicular to the bus, standing stoically near the left shoulder right in the crosshairs of my high beams. The beautiful 8-point buck looked squarely at me for a few seconds and then turned and continued on his trek into the woods.
The above picture is not mine – I found it online. It would have been cool if I could have gotten a picture but one, we’re not allowed to have our phones out on the bus and two even if we were, I wouldn’t have had time to get it out and open my camera app to take a picture.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve taken pictures of abandoned homes, beautiful spring flowers, and magnificent autumn trees. But there was no way I could go back and snap a shot of that buck. It was a random interaction that will probably never happen again in that spot, in that way. Indeed, it was a fleeting opportunity…there at one moment and irretrievably gone the next.
How often in our lives do we encounter unexpected opportunities? At times we have the privilege of acting upon them and other times the openings for interaction quickly present themselves and are gone in the blink of an eye.
Reading through the Gospels, we see that Jesus never missed opportunities like that. He acted quickly…and things were never the same when He did so. I understand that in addition to being totally man, He was also totally God which gave Him foreknowledge of peoples and circumstances. But are not we all His children? Are we not to pursue with all that is within us to become more and more like Him each day of our lives?
Recently Karen and I visited a local Cracker Barrel. Shortly after we were seated an older gentleman was seated not too far from us. Earlier I had held the door for him to enter and then before we were seated, I noticed that employees had provided a chair for him while he waited for his table.
I leaned over and told Karen that if we weren’t in the middle of this whole COVID thing that we should’ve invited him to join us and she said she had thought the same thing.
The sad part is, I let it go at that. I could have slipped my mask back on and sat across from him and chatted before his food arrived…but I didn’t… Opportunity missed? Only God knows…
This past weekend we picked up a few things in Columbus. While we were loading them into the back of the van. A man, who was obviously in need, asked if we could help him out. Our reluctance was obvious, and he left muttering apologies if he had made us feel uncomfortable.
My mind raced to a sermon about comfort in mourning that I had delivered a couple of weeks back and I remembered someone close to us had given us some money to use where we saw fit to help those in need.
Karen and I quickly pooled some cash together and ran after the gentleman. After a short conversation, I slipped him the cash, and with a heartfelt “God bless you” and left him to go his way.
Don’t you think that to truly embrace Jesus’ love for us that it is of the greatest necessity that we love our neighbors, as we are reminded of His deep, deep love for us? Make the most of every opportunity for far too often the openings for interaction quickly present themselves and are gone in the blink of an eye. Amen.
“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV
“Give to everyone who asks you…” Luke 6:30a NIV
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36 NIV
Nov 11th, 2020, Wed, 1:10 pm
Divisiveness
Root canals are not how I prefer to spend my time between bus routes, but Father I am glad that even there I could call on Your name and know beyond any doubt that You were with me. Thank You for Your abiding presence.
Luke 20:20-26 (<<click here to read the passage)
A common point of discourse between myself and Karen is when I ask her a question with two possible options. “Would like to do A or B?” Quite often the response I get is a “Yes” or a “Sure” or pretty regularly a “Whatever you want.”
Of course, as we all know, those kinds of answers to that kind of question are not really answers. (I can see Karen now with a cheesy grin and a big ol’ “What?” expression on her face – haha)
You would think that a question asked with only two possibilities would garner you one of the two responses. But, obviously, that is not always the case….
Israel’s spiritual leaders sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Jesus in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him] v20 AMP
They had to portray Jesus in just the right light to ensure that their trap was properly set. So, they said,
“Teacher…we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” v21-22 NLT
A or B, right? They thought they had a fool-proof plan and were forcing Jesus’ hand to pick one…or the other. Either way, they had Him! If Jesus said they should pay taxes; they would call him a traitor to their nation and their religion. But if he said they should not they could report him to Rome as a rebel. *
As we have already established, they thought themselves wise, but they had no idea with Whom they were dealing!
He saw through their trickery and said, “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” v23-25 NLT
A or B? Yes.
There they stood with their mouths agape and verse 26 tells that,
They were not able to seize on anything He said in the presence of the people; and being unnerved at His reply, they were silent. AMP
In our world today we have bought heart, soul, and mind, into the “us against them” way of thinking. The Church – of which we are a part if we claim to follow Christ – often puts forth the slogan, in the world, but not of the world. I read an excellent article entitled, Let’s Revise the Popular Phrase “In, But Not Of” (click on the title to read it yourself).
But let me just say, every one of us is “in” this world. And because of that, we are responsible – no matter who you are or where you find yourself and truthfully it makes no difference what we think of our own talents and abilities – we are responsible to impact the world for Christ.
We pick sides all the time. There will always be those with whom we do not agree. But does that give us cause to shun them so that we are not “of” the world…at least the world that we define as right and just. I emphatically shout, “NO!”
Throughout my adult life, I have interacted with all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs. And I will tell you that I have never impacted anyone by getting in their face and telling them they are wrong. I also have never impacted one single person by turning my back on them because I don’t agree with their lifestyle or belief system. I’m not saying to not stand for what is right but, even if they push back and push back hard! – why can’t we love them?
Lord Jesus, help us to love others as You love us. May we seek to draw them to You, no matter how difficult the task, and not be all about pushing them away from You because they’re not good enough, and never will be. Help reality to dawn on us that we will never be good enough either…it is only because of You that we can be accepted by a pure and holy God. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 10th, 2020, Tue, 7:29 pm
Broken or Crushed…It’s Your Choice
We are so excited that Massey will be home soon! Thank You, Father, for seeing him through all he has pursued. You have opened so many doors and provided in so many ways! Praise Your Holy Name!
Luke 20:9-19 (<<click here to read the passage)
Many of Jesus’ parables communicated truths but contained general characters. But in this parable, it is pretty clear who the characters are. And even though they were not happy with their understanding, the religious leaders saw very clearly who the characters in the story were supposed to represent.
The owner of the vineyard is God;
….the vineyard is Israel;
….….the tenant farmers are the religious leaders;
….……..the servants are the prophets and priests God sent to Israel;
….….….….the son is the Messiah, Jesus…
In yesterday’s passage
They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?” v2
In this passage they get their question answered in the guise of a parable. It also showed them that he knew about their plan to kill him.
In that succinct little story, Jesus had laid out a huge swath of Israel’s history. Time and again, God had laid claim to that which He had planted – the nation of Israel. Yet over and over again, leaders had refused to yield to His authority.
Notes from my study Bible* gave me some interesting things to chew on. In our human way of thinking is there any way to put a positive spin on the word “broken”? No matter the context – bones, hearts, toys, etc. – we would not choose to have something we value to be broken.
But when we speak of our relationship with God, brokenness is not just a good thing, but it becomes an essential thing.
God uses only people whose hearts, volition, and pride have been broken. Jesus gives a double warning: those who stumble over that stone – himself –“will be broken to pieces,” while it will crush anyone on whom it falls.
God offers a choice of “brokennesses” if you will. Those who cast themselves on Jesus, submitting their wills and all that they are to him, will be broken by him of arrogance, hard-heartedness, and self-centeredness. It is not a pleasant process but an absolutely necessary one. For those who do not submit to him, he will ultimately “fall on them,” an experience that can only be described as “crushing.” The choice is yours: broken before him, or crushed by him.*
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 9th, 2020, Mon, 7:56 pm