The crowds were more than happy to acknowledge the Pharisees were hypocrites.  But it made people wonder, if they’re hypocrites, could they effectively sit in the seat of Moses to judge matters regarding the Law?  What about to settle disputes?  To teach what the Law says about things? 

One thing was unmistakable, even to the crowds: Jesus spoke and taught with authority.  Maybe He was the person to ask.  Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”

They clearly weren’t catching on.  This isn’t about settling disputes between men or intervening in human-to-human affairs. It wasn’t Jesus’ role for intervention between Martha and Mary back in Bethany, and it isn’t with this guy and his brother now.  It isn’t about the temporal.  It isn’t about the material.  It isn’t even about the earthly. It’s about the eternal, the spiritual, and the heavenly.  It’s about understanding true life and where it comes from. 

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

“All kinds of greed,” thought the person with the inheritance question, “I’m glad He isn’t singling me out.   What does He mean that life doesn’t consist in an abundance of possessions?  Isn’t being rich a God-given sign of God’s blessing?” 

Jesus looked at him with compassion since that’s such a common misunderstanding! It’s true that all good things come from God whether rich or poor.  Life–true life–however, isn’t about what you acquire or how rich you become!  It’s about your being and character.  It’s hard for rich people to enter the Kingdom, and about the poor…don’t they inherit the earth?  Hadn’t He preached on that already?  Hadn’t they learned?

Luke 12:16 He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Think about it: 

• In verses 16-21 above, look at the words himself, I, my, and myself.  To whom did the man credit his good fortune?  
• Let’s look at our lives today. In America, we pride ourselves on being highly independent and want to believe we are self-made people.  What would God say to that?
• When you hear people say someone is set up for life, or they’ve really made it, what does that mean? 
• If a person was being “rich toward God” how would that reveal itself?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for reassuring us that “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields– along with persecutions– and in the age to come eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:29-31).  Thank You for being with us in persecutions and good times.  Help us to see You as the Giver of all good things, Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and that as the psalmist said, “the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.  Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.  They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior.  Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face” (Psalm 24:1-6).  Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Jesus’ disciples were shocked.  Jesus’ boldness in confronting the hypocritical leaders is something they’d only dreamed of doing.  They just never felt like they could.  Jesus, however, knew that He was different.  He knew where He’d come from and He knew what people thought of Him.  He knew that when people who are doing wrong things are challenged, they will go haywire and begin plotting and opposing.  He was ruminating over the sheer audacity of blindness and the necessity of light.

Luke 12:1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  

He’d just seen it with all its ugliness on display.  He was wise to warn the disciples about the hypocrisy of leaders who have expectations of others that they will not honor themselves.  Living by two sets of rules, having a higher standard for the conduct of others than one holds for himself.  Of course, the leaders were careful to keep their double standard and evildoings as secret.  Jesus continued,

Luke 12:2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

Eventually the chickens come home to roost.  They always do.  Sin will be always be exposed and Jesus knew of the judgment to come and His role in the final judgment.  He wanted to reassure His disciples who feared He was making life difficult for Him (and for them)! 

Luke 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.  6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

The disciples looked at one another gravely, silently acknowledging their shared fear.  Sparrows or not, Jesus was not making friends.  Jesus was not making His kingship an easy sell.  Now He’s got all the Pharisees and experts of the law—the entrenched elite—mad at Him.  And not just mad at Him, but at them too, for hanging out with Him!

Luke 12:8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

This wasn’t just palling around with Jesus anymore, this was getting seriously scary.

Think about it:

• Why do most people do their sinning in secret? 
• What are some of the ways people keep things hidden? 
• Does God see what’s done in secret? 
• Given that God knows all about it, who are they really hiding it from? 
• What does that say about their faith?  Whom do they actually fear?  What might they be worried about in terms of consequences, reputation, etc.?

Psalm 139:1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:1-12 NIV)  For this we praise You.  Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

How great is God– beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out. He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion? (Job 36:26-29)

More to the Easter Story devotionals resume tomorrow. Enjoy a Sabbath today and worship Him!

Luke 11:37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.  38 But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

“That’s just one of the problems with sin,” Jesus thought as He reflected on the scene of the blind crowds being led by blind Pharisees.  When your own human leaders (especially ones whom other men admire) go the way of darkness, it’s harder than ever to find oneself craving the light or finding life.  He hoped the crowds would see through the hypocrisy.  After all,

They are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ( Matthew 15:14)

For that reason, it was every bit as important to preach to the leaders as to the crowds.  He turned to the surprised Pharisee. 

Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.  40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you– be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.”

The Pharisee who invited him and the others gathered bristled at the criticism.  The truth is they’d set themselves up as judges over Jesus.  But Jesus was having none of it.  He knew their hypocrisy and how it was projected against Himself.  They’d already set themselves up in order to condemn Him.  He said,

Luke 11:42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.  43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.  44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

Indeed, their hypocrisy was evident even among the people.  The crowds complained behind closed doors but were afraid to say anything.  With Jesus’ saying this publicly, all eyes were on Him.

Luke 11:45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

Jesus nodded, affirming that hypocrisy in the leaders was plentiful enough for any willing to see it.

Luke 11:46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

The expert’s jaw dropped.  He had expected an apology and got an accusation every bit as pointed as to the Pharisees!  Jesus said it with such authority!  It’s like He knew their hearts!

Luke 11:47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them.  48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.  52 “Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”

The truth had been spoken.  The welcome had become worn.  Jesus had done the necessary teaching about their projected hypocrisy and decided to leave.  Enemies had been made.  The truth does that kind of thing.

Think about it: 

• The truth is feared by those living in darkness. Why do you think that is? Who do they really think they’re hiding from?
• In Luke 11:53-54 we read, “When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something he might say.” Why did they begin an inquisition, trying to project their failings onto others and to catch Jesus in something?
• Think about our world and the many ways Christianity had been removed from acceptable speech in the public square, cross memorial exhibits, and nativities. In what ways do people today try to take away the key to knowledge and prevent others from entering into knowledge of deliverance?

Thank You, Father for the courage to stand for You when it’s easier to deny You. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. May we have the wisdom to seek You and Your righteousness and reject the darkness of evil. Holy Spirit, please guide us into a life of conformity with Your truth and to speak Your Word boldly, even in the public square. Lord, help us to embolden others and may we gain strength to persevere from each other in the community of the faithful. May we see that time is dwindling and our witness is more imperative, day by day. Help us to be like the men of Issachar who understood the times. May we live as wise people for Your glory. Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

How truly tragic that the crowds were so blind!  Jesus was grieved by it all.  He’d understood from the assignment in being sent by the Father that He’d be sent to people who wouldn’t welcome Him.  He’d be sent to people who would reject Him as the Son of God, reject His message of repentance and deliverance, and even reject God Himself. 

That wasn’t surprising.  After all, Israel had a long and storied history of rejecting the Lord and wanting to be kingmakers of human kings.  What Jesus didn’t know was how it would feel as fully human to be tempted—since no one can tempt God—and worse, to see how it is to be tempted by the idea of rejecting what is plain to see in front of you.

It was grievous on two levels.  First, temptation is really hard to resist for any human.  This Jesus sensed and knew now by experience.  But the kicker was that the very thing ministering to His need to resist temptation and helping Him to overcome it—time with the Father in prayer and in obedience to Him, full of the Spirit—was the very thing the crowds were rebelling against.  They didn’t want the only known cure…and that was sad beyond imagining.

So, Jesus told those gathered about the importance of acknowledging what is before your very eyes—the truth—if only they’d see it.

Luke 11:33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.  34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.   35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.   36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

That would be the only way to resist temptations throughout each person’s life, including His own.  He was full of life, the Light of the world, and was the light of men. 

Sin had created a death cult in which way too many men preferred darkness to light.  And that is why they die.

Think about it: 

• In what ways does our culture create a “death cult” by rejecting the truth and refusing the things that bring true life? 
• What issues in our modern world exalt death and the things that bring death (physical and spiritual)? 
• Why is rejecting the only known cure for something a genuine sign of human hubris? 
• In what ways do acceptance and normalization of sin exalt ourselves above God?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the life You have and the life You give. Thank You for the forgiveness we need and that You would offer it while we were yet sinners. We agree with the Apostle Paul who wrote, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation”. Lord Jesus, let us boast in You because the gift is not like Adam’s trespass. “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (Romans 5:10-15) Thanks be to God! Amen!

= = =

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

All in a day’s work, Jesus thought as Luke 11:14 “He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.”

Crowds can be easily amazed, but their hearts are not so easily changed, Jesus noted.  This isn’t just a bunch of magic tricks as a sideshow crafted to astonish.  There is something far more important at stake.  The healings aren’t being done to impress the crowds or even really, for the healing itself…but for what they point to: Deliverance!  Jesus surveyed the crowd, resisting a temptation to roll His eyes or sigh as,

Luke 11:15 Some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.

Jesus choked back indignation at the insult.  Oh, if only they knew!  Crowds!  They can get it so wrong!  Crowd behavior is something about which He knew, but He simply could not understand.  Only a sinner could understand such things by experience.  Indeed, it angered Him with the kind of righteous anger that only the Son of God could feel.

Luke 11:17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.  18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul.  19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.  20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 

It needed to be said.  The logic pointed clearly to their rebellion.  Their denial.  Their rejection of Him, of His Father, and of His mission to save them.  Yes, it was only going to get worse, but those who sow division needed to know they’ll only reap disaster.  Don’t they get it? 

Jesus’ eyes pierced through the darkness of their thoughts as He inspected the crowd all the way to each person’s core of innermost thoughts.  He was sad and stated bluntly,

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  (Luke 11:23)

He watched as each person’s face betrayed what was in each person’s mind and heart.  He didn’t need to see it.  He already knew.

Think about it:

• Have you ever been troubled by the two versions: Luke 11: 23 “Whoever is not with me is against me,” and Mark 9:40 “For whoever is not against us is for us?” How do you reconcile the two? 
• Is there a distinction between an individual’s negative reaction to Jesus as the “sent One” (i.e. rejection) versus serving His purposes but for wrong and self-serving reasons?
• Would those whose hearts harbored rejection of Jesus (through jealousy or stubborn rebellion, etc.) have known their thoughts would reap consequences of kindling wider rejection and plotting to divide and scatter?

Thank You, Father, that unity among believers attests to Your Son as the Sent One. We pray, Lord Jesus, that Your Church would be of the same mind, united in love and fidelity to You and the truth contained in Your Word, as You have taught us. Holy Spirit, please quicken our hearts to the areas we’ve strayed, and correct us with Your holy discipline. May we no longer be divided over the earthly and the superficial. Rather may we all be turned from darkness to light, from our evil ways and evil desires to crave the holiness and righteousness that You, Lord Jesus, died to give us.

= = =

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

From Martha’s home, Jesus went off by Himself.  He needed to remove the distractions and spend some time praying to His Father.  It wasn’t just prayer and it wasn’t just worship.  It wasn’t just an unburdening or even telling His Father something He didn’t already know. 

No, it was something more for Jesus to pray: It was vital to His relationship with His Father, a relationship of complete abiding to continue long after the work in Jerusalem was done.  It was strength for the journey, work in the spiritual realm, and most importantly the best way to truly be with His Father during the time Jesus would spend on earth– a perfect taste …  an exquisite reminder … of what He knew intimately before the Incarnation.  This time of sweet communion was something He knew He would miss when He took on flesh, but He didn’t really know how it would feel until He was walking in Adam’s sandals and felt the pain of what sin did to man’s relationship with the Father.  He knew what had been lost.

Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

They’d been watching Him in the distance, analyzing what He was doing and how He was doing it.  They noted that He always came away from His time of prayer energized and joyful.  They spoke to each other in a low voice while He was praying, so as not to disturb Him, but they wondered to each other at how His prayers seemed to do so much more than theirs.  Maybe they weren’t doing it right.  So they asked Him to teach them to have powerful prayer, too! 

Luke 11:2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ‘”

That’s it?  That’s all You’re doing?  Surely there must be something more!  We could say those very words and still not see the power You see or the know the refreshment You obviously get.  “Why doesn’t prayer work for me?” each man asked of himself.

Luke 11:5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Asking.  How hard is that?  They looked at each other quizzically yet satisfied that this was the answer they would get.

Jesus smiled at the progress.  What they still needed to know in order to pray like the Master prays would be deeper understanding of Who to ask, for Whom to seek, and on Whose door to knock, so He added. 

Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Still work to be done with these “simply humans” before the journey’s end, but they’re making progress. Think about it: 

• How happy are you with your prayer life? 
• Do your prayers seem like a list? Wish list? Shopping list? Health record? Family tree? To-do lists?
• In Luke 11:12 we find the only egg in the Easter story.  In what way is this far more instructive than finding one filled with candy in the grass? 
• If we believed in God’s goodness more, would our prayers be more powerful?

Lord God, Your Word tells us You are good, You are faithful, You are loving, and You are generous. Your Word tells us all we need to do is ask You because of those beautiful attributes of Your character. You are our Father in heaven and we praise You! Increase our faith so we might believe as fully as possible on this side of heaven. Increase our trust so that we might have confidence. Increase our dependence upon You because all good gifts come from You. Help us to view prayer rightly and to see Your power displayed for Your glory alone! Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Jerusalem was still days ahead even if less than 2 miles as the crow flies when Jesus and His disciples arrived at Bethany.  Jesus valued friends and Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha had been foremost among them.  Martha’s house was a special place, kind of a home away from home.  A resting place in the presence of friends for a weary traveler.  He sat down to rest in the care of such friends.

The truth is that Mary and Martha enjoyed Jesus’ friendship as much as did Lazarus.  When Jesus came to visit, they wanted their appreciation of Him to be evident.  Mary and Martha were wired differently and showed their appreciation in different ways.  Mary just wanted to be near Him.  Martha wanted to serve Him.

Out of the corner of His eye, He could see Martha was moving beyond joyful serving to feeling annoyed with a sibling rivalry kind of annoyance.  Finally, Martha could handle it no longer.  She blurted out,

“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40)

The minute she said it, she regretted that her serving had turned from joy to a sense of compelling.  She hoped Jesus didn’t get mad that she’d put Him in the middle of sibling issues.  Jesus looked at her as only a truest of friends can…with a compassionate smile, a tender beckoning, and a gentle correction.

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed– or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Just as Jesus taught that it’s not a matter of how much you know (since there will be no doctrine comprehension exam), and it’s also not just a matter of doing what you know (as completed checkmarks on a to-do-list)…Jesus now offers a fuller instruction to Martha. She was already a theologically sound woman, but she needed to know about the power that is available when one knows how to be.  How to be with Jesus.  How to be in His presence.  How to be refreshed and how He is just as honored by her being as He is by her inclination toward serving. 

He doesn’t love her because of what she does.  He loves her because of who she is. 

And in her life, the best memories will not be made in studying the writings or even the to-do items accomplished.  Memories are best made in the being…and that’s what both she and Mary will need to carry on when He completes His journey to Jerusalem.  It’s preparation for them because Jesus knows the Cross awaits Him there.  He just wanted to be…with friends who loved Him and wanted them just to be…with Him.

Think about it: 

• How hard is it just to be in the presence of Christ?
• What things can you do to be in His presence? 
• In what ways is it harder to rest in Him than doing things to serve Him?
• What types of things make human relationships difficult? 
• Sibling rivalries bring a different kind of difficult relationship.  Why is that?

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your wise instruction to Martha and Mary and to us today. Thank You for not condemning us for our actions. Thank You for loving us and desiring our presence with You. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the Cross to make it possible for us to be with You where You are. We praise You and thank You. Amen.

= = =

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Jesus deeply desired that people understand and acknowledge the truth.  It made His heart hurt, surely grieving Him to the core, knowing that the truth would be rejected over and over again throughout the ages before He’d come a second time to judge people according to this very truth.  “Simply human?  Got it,” thought Jesus, “but it’s not the same as innocent or ignorant.  This was rebellion, plain and simple.  They know the truth and reject it.” 

Living by the truth is much harder when people refuse to acknowledge truth as the starting point.

These were among the thoughts in Jesus’ mind as He headed toward Jerusalem with the hot dusty wind leaving a cake of dust on His sweaty face.  Finding a welcoming place to stay at night and to wash, He then went to the place where people gathered, and He sat down to teach them.  After all, He knew the truth firsthand and wanted them to know it too.  He smiled to Himself as one of those gathered, an expert in the law, stood up to ask Him a question.  “It’s a test,” He thought suppressing a laugh. “It’s always a test which is not the same as expressing a genuine desire to learn.” 

“Teacher,” the expert asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

(Luke 10:25)

Jesus’ expression remained welcoming but thoughtful. “OK, expert in the law,” He thought while inwardly chuckling, “Let’s play your game, let you shine, and then let’s ask the questions that will truly teach you.”  He asked,

Luke 10:26 “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”

The expert eagerly answered 27 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

(Jesus smiled and His eyes twinkled. This expert answered with the easy answer. Sure, he was well educated for grandstanding, but this expert’s life could experience some greater evidence of love and truth.)

29 But the expert in the law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

(Jesus smiled again.  It was completely predictable, this self-justification.  But herein lies the true teaching, so Jesus tells a parable, kind of like a story, or a little riddle, but easily enough understood for those with eyes to see. The beauty of this teaching was the way truths were peeled away like many layers of an onion. The core truth was what He wanted the expert to acknowledge.)

Luke 10:30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

With the parable concluded, Jesus reframed the expert’s question “And who is my neighbor?” with the bigger question in Luke 10:36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

It’s not just a matter of testing what you know or showing off what you know.  It’s a matter of doing what you know to do.  Think about it:

• In what ways do we fail to practice what we preach? 
• Why does God presume we already love ourselves? 
• How is loving a neighbor to that standard of loving others as we love ourselves already a challenge? 
• How are loving our enemies (Matthew 5:44) and loving them as Christ loved us (John 15:22) revealing a whole new standard?
• Why do you think that people were chronically testing Jesus? 
• How does this differ from God’s testing us to prove that our faith is genuine (1 Peter 1:7 NASB)?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the gentle ways You teach us, ways that do not condemn, but also do not sugarcoat reality of the depravity of the human heart. Thank You, Lord God, for not lowering the standards of righteousness to meet us somewhere in the middle between Your holy and righteous standards and our sinful behavior. Thank You for higher, better, and uncompromising standards of conduct and especially, Lord Jesus, for the forgiveness You purchased on our behalf at the Cross because we fail to meet these standards at every turn. Thank You Holy Spirit for quickening our hearts and helping us to see our neighbor in order to love and serve others. In Jesus’ Name, we offer thanks to God our Father. Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. (NIV)

Lent 2019 devotionals “More to the Easter Story” resume tomorrow after the Sabbath rest. Enjoy a day of worship!