Luke 20: 41 - 47

 Luke 20: 41 - 47

What if the greatest thing we can imagine sets our expectations too low? This is exactly what happened in Jesus's day. The Jews were looking for a Messiah who would be the son of David. In their minds the Messiah was to be a warrior-king, someone to restore Israel's political, economic, and military fortunes. They had taken a Biblical phrase and applied it to their own “wish dream”. Jesus is the Son of David, but not in their puny little conception. He is more than their wildest dreams come true. His role as Son of David is greater than what they think it means, plus He is more than just the Son of David He is David’s Lord. The Jewish leadership wanted a Messiah on their terms. We often have the same tendency. But when we do that we miss the real Messiah who is infinitely greater than even our greatest and most magnificent fantasy.

Jesus turns the conversation at this point. Having completely dismantled all their arguments and attacks and having shown that their concept of Messiah is too weak Jesus then undermines the religious leadership itself. The practices of the religious elite reflects a collection of arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic, religious pirates. There would have been some exceptions, but for the most part they had made religious function into a fine art by which they ran a scam and con. They had developed a system that allowed them to appear to be vital for the well being of the faithful and at the same time parasite off of these same people. This became a self-feeding system. They appeared to be great, wise, important and dynamic which in turn allowed them to garner resources, money for nothing and taking homes of the most vulnerable.  They used this  ill gotten prosperity as evidence of and to support their claims of greatness. Not unlike some unscrupulous religious leaders of our day.

The condemnation of those who use religious practice as a way to exploit people and enrich themselves will be severe.  One gets the idea that there is little that angers God more than when that which He intends to draw men to Himself, is used by charlatans for their benefit and actually creates barriers between God and man. 

“Lord, never allow me to use Your Kingdom for my own agenda. AMEN”

Luke 20:27 - 40

  Luke 20:27 - 40

“…the Sadducees who say there is no Resurrection…” The Sadducees made up the ruling class of the Jews. They would cooperate with the Romans if it meant keeping power. They were wealthy, unbothered, and enjoyed the ‘good life’. They went so far as to shape their beliefs, and their faith practices to accomplish the goals of personal peace and affluence. For them Jesus represented a threat to their very comfortable lives. Jesus still represents a threat to a life of comfort and wealth.

In the American church we have Sadducees both in terms of rejecting the resurrection and wanting to make sure that Jesus doesn’t upset our lives of comfort and wealth.  Many who genuinely believe in the resurrection still don’t want Jesus messing with their wealth and comfort.  We build our lives with, on and around comfort and wealth, and our consumption is not restrained by sacrifice for the kingdom of God.  The only restraint on our consumption is our capacity to consume. Meanwhile our brothers and sisters and other parts of the world often live at a subsistence level or below. We placate our conscience with some given and imagine that our wealth is proof of God's approval. The most generous of all people give 10%. But rarely do we see among us those whose lifestyle or consumption is dramatically reduced so that more may be sent to the mission of the Kingdom. 

Had Jesus not represented a threat to the power and the perceived security it afforded the Sadducees, had His agenda not threaten their income and affluence the Sadducees would likely not have opposed Jesus. But every fiber of who He was and what He thought was a danger to their self centered lives and faith. Just as it is to us. We are not comfortable with Jesus because our lives do not conform to Him.  Our only solution is to make sure we don't really understand or take seriously what following Him means.

“Lord, never allow me to be comfortable in my comforts, but only in Your grace.  AMEN”

Luke 20:19 - 26

  Luke 20:19 - 26

There are two great points in this passage that are often missed. The second of these is the unasked question. If the questioner had been sincere he would have asked a follow up question. Caesar's image on a coin indicated the authority and ownership of Caesar over that coin. The unasked question ought to have been, “Whose image is on me?” The authority and ownership of our lives is marked by whose image in which we have been made. Render to Caesar the things made in the image of Caesar and render to God the things that are made in the image of God. The fact that the questioner never moves beyond the first question indicates the shallowness of his thinking. What belongs to Caesar? That which bears his image.  What belongs to God? That which bears His image. 

There's another less noticed point. “And they watched Him, and sent spies…” Oftentimes Christians act shocked when someone in the church behaves in a wicked, backbiting, or destructive way. The powers of darkness have employed spies since the Garden of Eden. It may be the spies in this passage were a regular group and not just thrown together for this occasion. While being paranoid doesn't accomplish the Kingdom's work. We need also to avoid the folly of naiveté, being Pollyanna about the possibility of the presence of evil in the church. What does a perfect spy look like? The perfect spy looks like the real thing.  In the church they look just like the real Christian. But unknown, perhaps even to themselves, they are working for a different kingdom.

Lord, mark me with Your image and protect me from the powers of darkness, especially those that appear righteous.  AMEN”

Luke 20:9 - 18

 Luke 20:9 - 18

We generally think of God in terms of limitlessness. He is not limited by time or in power. But God often limits Himself. We do not see the full glory of God because He limits Himself. God also self limits His patients. We are most fond of talking about God as the God of 2nd chances. And that is true. But what we really mean is that He is the God of 400th chances, or 7,167th chances, or the God of 10,091st chances. We tend to presume upon God's patience and Grace.  That we will always find that there is one more occasion when, in response to our willful sin, we can rush to God for one more round of forgiveness. That is a dangerous presumption.  It is a presumption upon God's grace and patience and one that is not supported by scripture. There comes a point where God says “enough”.

Having rejected God's call by all the prophets and finally the Son of God the vineyard owner will come and destroy those who have rejected His prophets, treated the Son with disgrace and defied God Himself. Quoting from the Psalms Jesus says that He is a Chief Cornerstone, the key point. Those who reject Him or throw themselves against him are completely destroyed. 

A life that consistently lives sinfully and presumes on God's patience and Grace is an attempt to be the center of the universe. “It is all about me so God will or even has to forgive me.” Such a person finds themselves at cross-purposes with God.  When a person is in that condition they are destroyed by the “Rock”, against which they have thrown themselves. Let us never sin with the presumption that God ‘has to’ forgive. The objective is not to find out how far into evil we can go and still make it to Heaven. The objective is Christ who is the Chief Cornerstone of life.

“Lord keep me from presumptuous sin and draw me to Christ the chief cornerstone.  AMEN”

Luke 20:1 - 8

 Luke 20:1 - 8

Jesus comes into town symbolically like a King and then cleanses the temple. The question that follows is in itself not a bad question. To allow people to call him King and to say by action that the status quo is wrong is something that ought to require some credentials. The problem was that the questioners were insincere. This delegation, which represented the aristocracy of the temple, refused to answer a question that would have answered their own question.  Because of John's testimony and his role as the forerunner of Jesus they had the capacity to understand the source of Jesus' authority. If John's baptism were from man then Jesus's authority would be from man. If John's baptism were from Heaven then Jesus's authority would have been from Heaven.

In their counsel the leaders revealed that they are not concerned with the truth. They wanted to set a trap for Jesus but found themselves in their own trap. Their objective of the counsel was to find a way out of their dilemma not discover the truth.  Truth didn't matter to them only keeping power and removing this Jesus who was a threat to their power. Any confession of ignorance is an opportunity to learn. But faking ignorance so we don't have to face an unpleasant truth is a manifestation of a dark and wicked heart. They knew, or could have known, but they just closed their eyes to the truth to their own ruin. Facing the truth can be difficult and painful but it is a better option than living in disobedience.

“Lord, give me the courage to face the ugly truth of my own selfishness and sin.  AMEN”