The Offer of Peace

Hello everyone.

Today's post will begin my exegesis of Luke 10.  By chapter 10, Jesus had developed quite a following. He sends out his disciples again. He had sent out the twelve in the beginning of chapter 9. This time he sends out seventy-two. He gives some of the same instructions that he gave to the Twelve.  They were not to take money, a bag or sandals with them.  It does not say whether Jesus extended the power to heal and drive out demons that he gave to the Twelve to these Seventy-two. 

Jesus tells them that there is an abundant harvest out there, but not many workers to work in the harvest field. Because there was a lack of workers Jesus told them to pray that God would send out workers into the harvest field. The response to a lack of workers - prayer. The harvest belongs to God.  Jesus calls Him, 'Lord of the Harvest', and we are to ask in prayer that God sends workers out into His harvest.  Everything about the harvest is in some way connected to God.  The harvest is by Him, for Him and through Him. We work, sure, but we also pray, and a greater harvest comes as more disciples take responsibility for it. 

Jesus tells his disciples that they are to ask God for aid and to rely on His provision. We have learned a lot about God's provision, way back in chapter 4. Jesus relied on God’s sovereign provision, refusing to turn stone into bread. So, we, too, are called to rely on prayer and God’s provision.  

Thirty-six pairs of disciples went out into the towns and villages ahead of Jesus.  Jesus warns them up front that this was no easy mission.  He sends them with a warning that they would be going out as sheep among wolves.  The world is compared to a wolfpack here.   These disciples are going out as innocents in a predatory world. Yet they were being sent out to offer peace to the wolves.  The picture of a lamb offering peace to a wolf is a unique picture, as lambs tend to run away from wolves. 

Upon entering a house they were to offer that house their peace.  “Peace to this house.” Jesus says that they would either find children of peace there or they would not, but either way they were to offer peace.  If those living in the house were children of peace, it is good to let the peace rest on them. If they are not, Jesus tells his disciples that the peace will return to them.  Even when we offer peace to those who do not deserve it, that peace is not wasted. 

They were to offer peace, no matter what, and then God would meet their needs. In verse 7, Jesus says, "The worker is worthy of his wages.' These guys were going to be working hard for the Lord.  They were to go to a house and stay there.  They would be fed.  It looks like the roof and the food and drink were going to be their wages for this mission.  They were to eat whatever was put in front of them.  They were to be content with that.  They would see God’s provision through the kindness of their host. (Bock, 999)

They were sent to villages and towns.  If the whole town rejected them, they were to shake the dust off of their feet as a symbolic gesture.  (Note: They had recently been rejected by a Samaritan village.  Jesus has them acknowledge the rejection by symbolically wiping the dirt from the town off of their feet.  This is a much kinder response than the disciples had in mind when they wanted to call fire down from Heaven to consume them.) 

So Jesus sends out seventy-two of his disciples, to offer God's peace to all, trusting that God would meet their needs as they went. 

Tom 

     Darrell Bock, Luke, Volume 2: 9:51-24:53, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 1996. 

The Hard Road

Hello everyone.

Today's post will finish up Luke 9.  We are looking at verses 57-62.  In this passage two men come to Jesus and declare that they would follow, while another is called by Jesus to follow.  We can see from the three interactions that following Jesus is a difficult path. Jesus doesn’t sugar-coat it. 

The first of the three accounts that we have here a man says to Jesus, “ I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus' response to man is pretty telling.  Jesus does not give a picture of a comfortable path.  It is a hard road to follow Jesus. Jesus really challenges the man, as if to say “Are you really willing to follow anywhere?”  Jesus spells it out for him.  Wild animals have places to go.  But Jesus had nothing, not even a place to lay his head down at night. Was he really willing to do this? What this man is looking for is not clear, but Jesus does make it clear that following him is not an easy path. 

Jesus calls the next man to follow him.  The man makes what seems to be a simple plea, but one that seems to be rejected by Jesus. He asks to go and bury his father. Jesus' response to this seems pretty harsh, especially within the context of Judaism, where one of the most important commands is to honor your mother and father. In Jewish custom, burial of the dead was seen as a major priority, so it certainly became a big family responsibility. 

Jesus' response is “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you come and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Here, Jesus is establishing a new priority.  His kingdom takes precedence over family responsibilities.  Obviously, Jesus is not doing away with the command to honor our parents.  But he is establishing that his kingdom takes priority, even over family. 

Some have suggested that the man’s father was not yet dead, and that he was wanting to delay following Jesus until his father had died.  If this is the case, then the man fails to see the immediacy of Jesus’ call.  This may, or may not be the case.  If it is, it does help to temper the seeming harshness of what Jesus says to him.  The important point is not whether the man's father was still alive, but the priorities that Jesus is establishing. 

In the third example, the man, like the first, declares that he will follow Jesus.  He merely wants to go and say goodbye to his family. This does not seem to be an unreasonable request.  Elisha asked Elijah to be able to say good-bye to his family in 1 Kings 19, before returning to serve Elijah and eventually take his place as Israel’s prophet. 

Jesus’ statement does not necessarily condemn this action. Darrell Bock says that Jesus’ reply was to show the would-be disciple what this commitment really involved.  “One cannot follow after two things at once.” (Bock, 983)  Jesus’ response is, “No one who places his hand on a plow and looks backwards is suitable for the kingdom of God.”  Jesus is expressing an important thought.  Once we make our decision to follow Jesus, we can never look back at our old life and seek it again, just like a farmer cannot plow a field while looking backwards.  

As disciples of Jesus, we look forward, toward Him. But, it is very easy to glorify our old life when following Jesus gets difficult. We can’t look back to it. If our old life seems attractive to us, then we are doing something wrong. 

In each of the three stories we are not told how the potential disciples responded. How did they respond to the difficult things that Jesus said?  We don’t know.  We can know that Jesus does not promise us an easy path, and that in spite of the difficulties, following Jesus is worth it. 

Tom 

        Darrell Bock, Luke: Volume 2: 9:51 - 24:53, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academics, 1996.

Forgiveness over Judgment

Hello everyone.

Here is my post in the New Year.  I hope the new year is going well for you. I want to continue my exegesis of Luke 9.  In my previous post we looked at how Jesus taught his disciples about what greatness really meant, but they didn't understand his lesson.  Today we will look at something else that disciples were not understanding from Jesus.  He had preached to love enemies (Luke 6:27) and had taught them in Luke 6:37, “Don’t judge and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven." In Luke 9:51-56, a couple of the apostles do some judging and some comdemning, without the forgiving. Here is my translation: 

51 As the days for Jesus to be taken up drew near, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead. They went into a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 However, the town would not receive him, since he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 Seeing this, two of his disciples, James and John, said, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from Heaven and burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned to them and rebuked them, 56 and they went to a different village. 

It appears that we see, from this point on in Luke, a change in Jesus’ ministry.  Verse 51 says that the time for Jesus to be taken up was drawing near. And so he set out for Jerusalem. In the Greek it says that Jesus πρόσωπον ἐστήρισεν (prosōpon estērisev) to go to Jerusalem. Πρόσωπον means ‘face.’ and ἐστήρισεν is a form of the word that means to cause 'to be  inwardly firm or committed, confirm, establish.' So a literal translation would be something like, “he set his face to go to Jerusalem.  It is an expression that we would likely not use our modern vernacular. So, I translated it as, “Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem.”

It is important to understand that Jesus knew what awaited him in Jerusalem, suffering and death, but then resurrection. He turned his face toward suffering and death and he was resolute, determined to go toward it. So, the rest of Luke is the story of Jesus as he marches resolutely to the Cross. 

Now, Jesus starts this journey in Galilee and goes through Samaria, the shortest route to Jerusalem.  Most Jews, because of their disdain for Samaritans, would go around Samaria, even though it would take more time to do so.  Jesus was never afraid to go against the social convention of his time, and went straight through Samaria rather than around. 

The first village that Jesus came across would not receive him.  This is not all that surprising, since a Samaritan village would not want a large group of Jews coming into it.  Why would they? The assumption of the Samaritans would be that this group would come into town and look down on them. Who would want that? 

This riles up two of Jesus' disciples. James and John, two of Jesus' closest disciples, want to call down fire from Heaven to burn the whole village up.  (Calling down fire from Heaven does have an OT precedent. Elijah called down fire from heaven on the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.) Also, we see with this request that Jesus has given the apostles considerable power.  They were not asking Jesus to call down fire from Heaven, they were going to do it. (Mark 3:17 records that Jesus had nicknamed these two, the Sons of Thunder. perhaps for good reason.)

But, one has to wonder what these two have been seeing for the three years that they spent wandering around with Jesus.  Had they ever seen Jesus do anything like this? If Jesus ever called down fire on a village in anger, the Bible doesn’t record it. I doubt that the disciples had ever seen Jesus doing anything like they were suggesting.  In fact, Jesus doesn’t seem angry with the Samaritans, at all, instead his anger seems directed at his disciples who want to burn down villages. 

Despite the fact that these Samaritans have rejected Jesus, the apostles who are calling for swift judgment on the town are wrong.  This is not Jesus’ style at all. They may have forgotten Jesus' teaching in Luke 6:37, but Jesus had not.  They were quick to judge and quick to condemn.  Jesus was quick to forgive. Rather than advocate violence to the Samaritan village, Jesus simply moves on to another village. Jesus had, after all, set out resolutely on a mission of forgiveness, not judgement. 

May we all be more Jesus (forgiving),and less like those who would call down fire from Heaven (judgmental). 

Tom

The Path of Greatness

Hello everyone.  

I will continue my exegesis of Luke 9, continuing the story with a discussion of what makes greatness. Here is my translation of Luke 9:46-50:

46 An argument arose among the disciples as to who among them was the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts, took a child and stood the child next to him. 48 Then he said to his disciples, “Whoever receives this child in my name, receives me. And whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me, because whoever is least among all of you, that person is the greatest.” 49 Answering this, John said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, so we stopped him, because he was not following along with us. 50 Jesus responded, “Don’t stop him, because whoever is not against us is with us.”

In verse 44, Jesus shared with them that he is going to be betrayed and killed.  What are the apostles thinking about?  Which one of them is the best. Darrell Bock shares a noticeable contrast here.  Jesus has been focused on serving, while his disciples seem to be focused on their own self-importance.  His humility is contrasted with their pride. (Bock, 894.)

As the disciples are arguing amongst themselves as which of them was the greatest.  Peter, James and John had plenty of weapons for such an argument, having just witnessed something that the other disciples had not seen, but had been told not to talk about it. I can imagine one of them trying to win an argument, “If you had seen what I’ve seen, you would admit that I am greater than you.” 

“Oh, what have you seen?” 

“Well, I can’t talk about it, but you knew....”

The problem was that none of them understood what it meant to be great.  They probably thought greatness meant that they would hold some prominent place in Jesus’ earthly reign, after he drove the Romans out and restored Israel. They certainly did not seem to understand that greatness came from humility and service. 

Jesus brings in a child and has the child stand there next to him and he says that the one who receives this child receives Jesus and ultimately God himself.  That person is the greatest.  In the Greek, the text uses the word παιδίον (paidon).  It means ‘child’ and does not give gender.  I have always pictured this as a little boy, but I wonder if perhaps it might have been a little girl, to get the message across, knowing the man-centered society that they lived in, serving or as Jesus says receiving a little girl would have shown some true humility. Bock says that in Jewish society, spending time with children under twelve was basically considered a waste of your time. (Bock, 894,895.) 

Jesus is calling on his disciples to change the way that they see people.  They should be kind to the lowly in such a way that ignores status.  Receiving someone in Jesus’ name means to recognize their value.  What Jesus is wanting the disciples to see is that everyone has value, even the lowliest person, and in this case, children. 

John makes an attempt to respond, and he shows even more clearly just how much he does not understand what Jesus is talking about.  He says in verse 49, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, so we stopped him, because he was not following along with us.” 

Jesus has just talked to them about inclusiveness, receiving children, and John's response is to talk about how they had excluded someone. He undoubtedly thought he was doing a good thing, here. But it was the opposite of what Jesus was talking about. Jesus is trying to teach how to be great.  John, not only misses the message, but continues in his incorrect thinking.  Someone else has been casting out demons in Jesus name, but since he was not part of the group that John was a part, John and at least one other person told them to stop what they were doing.  

I’m not sure what John was thinking when he said this, but I suspect that this was John’s newest argument for his own greatness. It is an odd response to what Jesus had just said to them about greatness coming from receiving children, plus it had nothing to do with what Jesus was talking about. 

Jesus let’s John know that this was the wrong way to handle that situation.  One did not have to be a part of this particular group to follow Jesus.  If the guy could cast out demons, why stop him?  Casting out a demon is a positive thing. 

The apostles argued about greatness without really understanding what true greatness meant.  Jesus, in this passage and throughout his time on Earth presented a true path of greatness.  It wasn't about building yourself up and convincing others of your greatness.  It was a path of willing self-sacrifice and seeing the value in others. 

Tom 

Too Big to Handle Alone

Seasons greetings everyone. 

I hope you have had good holidays.  I want to continue sharing from my exegesis of Luke 9.  In my last post, we looked at the Transfiguration.  Now, in verse 37, Luke tells a different story that happens the next morning. Luke says that they came down the mountain the next day. So, Jesus, Peter, James and John spent the night on the mountain after the Transfiguration.  I wonder what they talked about.  

Anyway, Matthew, Mark and Luke all give an account of this story. Mark tells that as Jesus approached the crowd, the other disciples were in the middle of a big argument with the teachers of law. (Mark 9:14-17)  When Jesus asks what they were arguing about, a man tells him that his son was possessed by a demon.  The apostles had been unable to drive it out.  Luke leaves the details about the argument out. 

The boy’s problem: He was possessed by a demon that would throw him into convulsions, making him foam at the mouth, and in the course of these convulsions, the demon would bring harm to the boy's body. Matthew mentions that the demon would try to throw the boy into fire or water. (Matthew 17:15) Matthew uses the Greek word σεληνιάζεται (selayniazetai) which means ‘having epilectic seizures.’  Darrell Bock talks about this, saying, “Jews and other ancients saw epilepsy as particularly devastating and as very difficult to cure.” (Bock, 881)

Bock makes an interesting observation, The blame for the lack falls on those offering the healing, not on the one seeking it.  (Bock, 883) The argument apparently started because of the apostles inability to drive the demon out. The man says that the disciples were οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν (ouk aydunaythaysan). The Greek word οὐκ means ‘not.’ While ἠδυνήθησαν express the power or ability to do something.  So the apostles were unable to do it, or you could say that they lacked the power to do it. 

But, the disciples had power. At the beginning of chapter 9, Jesus gives them power to heal the sick and to cast out demons.  They should have been able to do it.  This was apparently a powerful demon, and the apostles were unable to drive it out. In response, Jesus expressed some disappointment here about their faithlessness, saying, “O faithless and rebellious generation, How long will I have to endure you?” Who was he calling 'faithless and rebellious'? Was it the apostles, the crowd or the argumentative teachers of the law, all of them?  I am not sure. He also asks in verse 40, “How long must I endure you?” This is an interesting statement from Jesus  He had come from Heaven and would be returning there soon enough. And we know that Jesus loves people, but it appears that at this moment he is espressing some exasperation with humanity, including his disciples. 

So, Jesus had the boy brought to him, and the demon tried one more last-ditch effort to harm the boy.  Jesus, however, had the power that his apostles lacked and rebuked the demon, driving him out. Jesus then gives the unpossessed boy back to his father. 

Luke doesn’t record it, but both Matthew and Mark tell us that the apostles came to Jesus and asked why they could not drive the demon out.  Matthew tells that Jesus talked about having the faith of a mustard seed. Mark records that Jesus told them some demons would come out through prayer. We have an important spiritual principle, here: Some difficult spiritual opposition can only be overcome through prayer. (Bock 883) Some situations are simply too big for us to handle on our own. I have certainly found this to be true. Luke 9:43 says that everyone there responded with amazement.  Truly they have witnessed an amazing miracle that only Jesus had the power to perform. 

After this, Jesus again tells them that he is going to be handed over to be killed.  This is the second time, but they are unable to understand what Jesus is talking about.  Luke says that the meaning of what Jesus was saying was hidden from them. Bock explains their inability to understand like this: They could not comprehend how this could take place as Jesus has described it, since he is the Chosen One.  Jesus challenges their thinking about what God’s deliverance would mean. (Bock, 889) The disciples would eventually understand what Jesus as Messiah means, but not yet. 

Tom 

      Darrell Bock, Luke, Volume 1:1:1-9:50, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academics, 1994. 

Waking up to the Transfiguration

Hello everyone.

Today I will continue with my exegesis of Luke 9.  In my most recent post, Jesus has talked about what it means to truly follow him.  Now, about a week later, Jesus takes his three closest disciples, Peter, James and John and goes up on a mountain to pray.  

We know that the disciples were constantly arguing over which of them was the greatest.  I’m sure that these three felt that they had a leg up on this argument, since they were the ones that Jesus took with him for all of the best stuff.  These were the same three that had witnessed the raising of Jairus’ daughter from the dead.  Now they will be allowed to see the Transfiguration. 

As Jesus prayed, something came over him and he shined.  His face changed and his clothing shined like lightning. Ἐξαστράπτων (exastraptone) can be translated as 'shining like lightning.'  Biblehub.com translates the word as ‘became dazzling.’ Jesus dazzled. 

Two men appeared.  Somehow the apostles were recognizable them as Moses and Elijah, two of the all-time greats of the Old Testament. These two men represent a significant portion of the Old Testament.  Moses representing the Law and Elijah representing the Prophets. 

They have appeared and are talking with Jesus.  For Jesus to be seen with such heroes and luminaries of the Old Testament, it had to be quite a big deal for the three apostles.  What they did not realize yet, was that Jesus was greater than either of these two great men, and in fact, they were fortunate to be talking to Jesus.  In our modern vernacular, niether Moses nor Elijah is the GOAT, Jesus is.

Luke gives some details about the conversation.  Moses, Elijah and Jesus were talking about Jesus’ departure and all of the things that Jesus was going to fulfill in Jerusalem.  In other words, this was a conversation that was primarily about Jesus' upcoming crucifixion. It is difficult to know how much of the conversation Peter, James and John overheard.  It is likely that even what they may have heard, they didn’t really understand, since Jesus had already been talking about his death and they didn't really grasp what he was talking about. 

It must have been tiring to be with Jesus. Like we will see later in Gethsemane, Peter, James and John were sleeping.  They woke up to the sight of Jesus standing, talking with Moses and Elijah. 

Peter, undoubtedly impressed, but not knowing what to say, blurts out, “Let’s build three shrines, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.  Peter thinks that he is complimenting Jesus, by placing him on the same level as Moses and Elijah.  Jesus however is not complemented by this, since he is greater than they are.  Luke says that Peter "but he didn’t realize what he was saying."  In other words, Peter speaks, while basically not knowing what he was talking about.  

The four of them then get enveloped in a cloud and a voice comes from the heavens saying, “This is my son, whom I have chosen. Listen to him.” This is the second time that God’s voice has spoken from Heaven, declaring Jesus to be His son.  (He does so in Luke 3, right after being baptized by John.) It is a terrifying experience for the three apostles. 

God’s message here is important.  Was it said in response to Peter’s statement equating Jesus with the two heroes of the Old Testament? First, “This is my son.”  It is not just Jesus claiming to be the son of God.  God is claiming Jesus as his son. Second, “whom I have chosen.”  Jesus has been chosen by God for a specific purpose.  To redeem humanity. Finally, “Listen to him.” Moses and Elijah were great men, but they were not on the level of Jesus.  The Law and the Prophets served their purpose, but Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah.  Jesus is bringing a new paradigm to our relationship with God.  So now, we must listen to Jesus, as his way will be greater than the way of the Law and Prophets. There is an allusion to Deut. 18:15 here: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” 

The voice from Heaven that spoke in Luke 3, directed His comments to Jesus.  This time the statement is directed at a different audience, his followers, telling them that Jesus is the greatest, and that they must do as he days.  Afterwards, the apostles were afraid to talk about what they had seen.  Who would have believed their story, anyway ? 

Tom 

Losing to Win

Hello everyone,

Tonight I am writing a continuation of the my last post, that I wrote almost a month ago.  So, a quick refresher is in order.  Jesus has asked his disciples, who they think he is.  Peter correctly responds that Jesus is the Messiah of God. Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about this, and then tells that he is going to suffer greatly, be rejected by the authorities, and be killed. This is a tough message for the apostles, one that they do not really understand. And here is where we pick the story.

Jesus follows up this tough message with another tough message for his disciples.  He has been talking about being killed, and tells them that if they are going to follow him, they too must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow. (Luke 9:23)

Darrell Bock explains it like this: “Discipleship is summed up in three commands: ἀρνησάσθω (arnesastho, deny oneself), ἀράτω (arato, take up), and ἀκολουθείτω (akoloutheito, follow). The tense sequence shows that fundamental decisions made about the self and about day-by-day bearing of the cross emerge in a continual following of Jesus.”  Bock goes on to say that in this sequence the last part ‘following’ emerges when we practice the first two: denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily. (Bock, 852.)

There is foreshadowing here, as Jesus carried his own cross, telling his disciples they must carry their own.  The difference is that Jesus carried his cross to his place of execution, but his instructions to the disciples are to carry their crosses every day.  We can only be executed once, so what Jesus is saying to his disciples is metaphor.  Dying to ourselves is part of our daily walk with Jesus. 

Luke says that Jesus made this statement to everyone that was there, not just as an aside to his disciples.  Jesus was not afraid to speak plainly to everyone about the cost of following him.  

Jesus’ description of discipleship continues by stating that in losing life, we gain it.  Holding on to this life, leads to losing it, but giving life for the sake of Christ leads to gaining life.  This is backwards thinking to us. You gain when you give?  Our self-indulgent nature thinks that we gain when we take, not when we give. 

Jesus has laid out both the risk of following him and the risk of not following him.  The cost is high in both cases. To follow him, we must deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily.  In other words, we give up ourselves for him. That is a heavy cost. To choose to not follow him, according to Luke 9:24, we lose ourselves. Also a heavy cost. 

Jesus goes on to say that the value of saving our life in him, is priceless. Its value is greater than all of the wealth in the world.  Here is my translation of what Jesus is saying in verse 25, “How does a man profit, if he gains the whole world, yet loses and forfeits himself?” It's rhetorical, I suppose.  We understand that we can't put a price on salvation. 

In verse 26 Jesus tells his followers that they cannot be ashamed of him, or he will be ashamed of them in return on the day of Judgment.  We cannot be ashamed to publicly acknowledge Jesus as our Lord. As disciples of Jesus, we confess his lordship and accept his teachings. Jesus deserves our full allegience. 

Tom