JESUS AT A PHARISEE'S HOUSE

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Jesus always brought excitement to a dinner party! He was always an interesting guest, because He was very proactive in reaching out to the untouchables of society. He seems to wait for just the right situation, like healing someone on the Sabbath or interacting with a woman who was a sinner.

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. NOTE Jesus was being watched very carefully. He was always under scrutiny. The wording here could be taken to mean they were lying in wait to trip Him up or to catch Him in some inaccuracy. Instead of putting Jesus on the examination table, the tables were turned on the Pharisees. They were the ones being examined.

There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
One of those attending the meal in the Pharisee’s home is a man who is suffering from an abnormal accumulation of fluid in his body and therefore was swelling up. This was symptomatic of something more serious than a mere swelling problem. The Mosaic Law itself doesn't prohibit healing on the Sabbath, but the rabbinical traditions do.

It’s interesting to note the wording here. Once Jesus had taken hold of the man, He healed him and “sent him on his way.” This is the same wording as when Jesus healed the woman who was crippled…also on the Sabbath. It says there that He released her. That, I believe, is what is happening here. Jesus wasn’t sending this man away, but providing for him a powerful release from his bondage.

Again, Jesus uses common sense to respond to their shock of His Sabbath healing: Then he asked them, "If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?" And they had nothing to say.

Then Jesus offers another parable. This time it has to do with how the Pharisaic community was striving for seats of honor. NOTE what Jesus says: When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this person your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.

Jesus summarizes what He is saying here: For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Jesus now turns the attention toward another social issue that is affected by kingdom principles: Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Here’s what He is saying. If you do something for a person, expecting something good in return, then you will not be blessed. However, if you invite people to a dinner where no one invited could possibly return this good gesture back to you, for that invitation you will be blessed. Jesus says that we ought to extend ourselves toward those who cannot possibly repay. This is the way of the kingdom. And, you will be blessed. Your repayment will come through at a future date, when Jesus comes back to resurrect us all.

The bottom-line? Jesus moves to the beat of a different drummer and expects those who follow Him to do the same. I recently was given a hint on how to walk, talk, think and love like Jesus. Here it is: Once you’ve decided to do something in a certain way, do the opposite from what you would naturally do and you’ll most likely be walking with Jesus. Jesus is walking to a different drummer than the world. It’s the beat of the kingdom. And He wants you and me to walk alongside Him, moving to that same beat.

THE PARABLE OF THE NARROW DOOR

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Jesus is still making His way toward Jerusalem. Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"

Instead of a direct answer to the question, Jesus challenges them to do whatever they have to do to get through that narrow door: He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'

"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'
"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

Whatever else is going on here I think Jesus is making a major point. Those who should more naturally expect to be at the kingdom feast will not be there. However, the “outsiders”, the gentiles will be in attendance. The prophets warned the Jewish people to remain faithful or they would lose the blessed relationship they have enjoyed. Also, the prophets make it clear that the Messiah will offer the kingdom to those who are outside the Jewish people and they will accept. In fact, Jesus tells them that people will come from the east and west and north and south—from all over the world—into His kingdom feast. Jesus and His kingdom are not just for Christians or Jews, but for everyone!

Now NOTE what happens: At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."

Did you hear that? This is a group of the Pharisees warning Jesus about Herod’s intention to kill Him. You know that all Pharisees are not against Jesus and many secretly were hoping that He was God’s promised Messiah.

He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
Then Jesus shows His compassion for the Jewish people: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Jesus expresses His deep sadness here. He is sad that those who have the most light are rejecting Him and His message. He is sad that they will not come to Him. He is lamenting over a city—the Holy City of Jerusalem—that has a history of poor treatment of God’s prophets, yet God loves Jerusalem deeply. He says, “How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings and you were not willing.

This brings us back to the narrow door. The door was open to them, but they were not willing to go in. They were just not interested. Here’s the saddest thing of all. God has visited man through the God-Man, Jesus, and those who taught and thought of Him most didn’t recognize Him.

Jesus warns them that they will not see Him again until they say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” This is attributed to the Messiah when prophesied centuries earlier. I think this is referring to what is known as the 2nd Coming of the Messiah.

One of the keys to understanding this section of Luke is the phrase, “Make every effort” to enter through the narrow door. Literally this means to strive after entering that door. It’s like Jesus is saying to them: “Stop and do whatever you have to do to enter through that narrow door that leads to the kingdom of God while you can. You see, there will come a time when it may be too late to respond.

Here’s the deal: There is a door of opportunity right now that is open to you. You have been introduced to Jesus and His kingdom and He is inviting all those who are interested to enter into that narrow door. Every time a person is introduced to Jesus that narrow door is open. Why is it so narrow? I think it’s because it requires a decision on your part. You can’t just play spectator and slide into the kingdom. You must choose! There is an old saying that seems to fit here. It was a sign at the beginning of a very muddy, dirt road: “Choose your rut well. You may be in it for a very long time.”

THE MUSTARD SEED AND THE YEAST

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Here in Luke 13:18 Jesus turns their attention back to His most favorite subject—the kingdom. NOTE the two illustrations Jesus uses to describe the kingdom.

Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches."

The mustard seed is the smallest seed to be sown in the garden, yet when it grows it grows to the size of a tree. The tree is big enough and strong enough that birds are able to perch in its branches. So, the kingdom is like a mustard seed and once it is planted in the hearts of people, it has incredible growth. Incredible!

Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."

The second image Jesus uses is the yeast or leaven that is kneaded into the dough. When yeast is introduced into the dough, it permeates the entire lump of dough. You cannot extract the yeast back out again. In other words, this process is irreversible. And so, the kingdom of God, once introduced will continue to spread in such a way that it can’t be stopped. It’s irreversible!
This has a lot of implication to what we are doing. We are doing all we can do to walk with Jesus—to be stubborn followers of Jesus and His kingdom. Now, as we introduce people along our spiritual journey to Jesus and His kingdom principles, we participate in the planting and watering of the seed into the hearts and minds of people everywhere.

These two illustrations of the kingdom—the mustard seed and the yeast—give me great encouragement as we walk along in two ways:

FIRST—No matter how small the message of Jesus and His kingdom seem to be as we measure it through the responses from those who are listening, it will grow incredibly. So, be encouraged.

SECOND—No matter how little the beginning response is, the kingdom will spread in an irreversible way. So, you can count on it.

You know what both of these images say to me? The growth of the kingdom is inevitable, but it will take more time that I would like. It’s just like fruitfulness. There is no such thing as instant fruit. In God’s time the kingdom will blossom in such a way so that it cannot be stopped!

Not only does it take time, but this timing process serves another purpose. This timing gives me the time to focus on my own growth process. Over the years I’ve spent too much of my time and energy focusing on reaching out to others. What I’m realizing is that I must focus on reaching myself. Unless the Lord has my heart, I have nothing significant or life-giving to offer others.

Learn from my experience. Before heading out into your OUTREACH programs and strategies with your family and friends, make sure you are fully into INREACH—allowing Jesus to do His work in your life in His time.

JESUS AGAIN HEALS ON THE SABBATH

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At this point we come to a very common scene—Jesus attending and speaking at a local synagogue. He was viewed as a visiting rabbi and therefore invited to speak. After awhile, people began to anticipate that He would be teaching.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

While speaking, Jesus noticed a woman who was badly crippled sitting in the congregation. “When He saw her” gives a hint that He saw her with His heart of compassion. And when He saw her, He called her forward in order to “set her free” from her infirmity. He touched her and “immediately” she was healed and was thankful to God for her healing.

Now the synagogue leader seems to be embarrassed, because Jesus healed this woman on the Sabbath. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

His response made it clear that the keeping of the law of the Sabbath was more important than a woman being healed. Think of it. This poor lady had been crippled for 18 years, bound in her knotted body. Can you imagine, not being able to straighten up for 18 years? And then, all at once she finds a miraculous relief of her personal pain. She was free! It didn’t matter to her how this happened, who caused it to happen or that it happened on the Sabbath. She was free!
The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

Jesus’ response is to appeal to them that the law of the Sabbath doesn’t bind you from doing something compassionate for your animals. It’s the natural thing to do. How much more ought we to show compassion on a woman who has been bound for 18 years.

NOTE what happens: When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

All of those who were threatened by Jesus’ non-traditional ways were deeply humiliated by what He just did. Jesus acted out boldly on the Sabbath with a constant question in His heart, “What can I do to help?” He was leading out in the ways the synagogue leaders wish they could be able to do. Then, note that the people were delighted with the wonderful things He was doing.

This response is typical for today as well. It’s not the people who are threatened; it’s the leadership. Jesus’ work doesn’t embarrass the common, ordinary people. He doesn’t embarrass the humble. Jesus doesn’t even embarrass the various sinners. Jesus gets under the skin of the leadership who by their very positions and attitudes over promising and under delivering. They promise freedom and deliver bondage—binding people up into a “club membership” that must keep feeding the massive, religious machine.

This religious machine tends to become everything Jesus is not—impersonal, distant, judgmental and condemning, exclusive. And in the process of making the machine larger, more and more people are repulsed by it and turned off from the only one who can bring them hope and peace—JESUS.

The religious machine has been highly successful in turning Jesus into “another” Jesus—a Jesus who is not irresistible, but easy to resist. So, most people have not rejected Jesus, but a poor caricature of Him.

Rather than end on a downer, I want to share with you a quote from a past president of Harvard University in the ‘70’s. He said: “The mark of an educated person is that he has the ability to discuss Jesus of Nazareth without adolescent embarrassment.” When the true Jesus is lifted up, all men and women are drawn to Him from every nation and tribe. That’s the Jesus I am doing my best to follow. There is no religious machine ever built that can produce this Jesus.

Check Him out! He can be found in the pages of your local Bible—in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. He is there day and night, waiting to meet you.

REPENT OR PERISH

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As we come to chapter 13 of the gospel of Luke Jesus is speaking to the issue of repent or change your mind about yourself in relationship to God or you will most surely perish.

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

Jesus refers to two contemporary events in Palestine in order to deal with the question, “Who is it that needs mercy?” And, “Who is it that needs to repent?”

FIRST—Pilate killed some worshippers from Galilee who, presumably, have come to the temple to worship. SECOND—A tower, probably near the pool of Siloam, has collapsed and the falling stones have instantly killed eighteen people.

The normal Jewish reaction was to assume that those who experience tragedies must have sinned greatly to deserve such terrible deaths. But Jesus speaks to this and says, “I tell you, no.” His point is that everyone will suffer terrible judgment unless they repent—change their minds about the Lord.

Jesus chooses to share a parable about a fruitless tree that will shed light on this issue of mercy and repentance.
Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'

"'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”

This parable speaks to all who are not in a fruit-bearing position at the moment. The goal of followers is to bear fruit. The tree deserves to be cut down due to its lack of fruitfulness, but the gardener still has hope for it. He wants to give it one more chance.

This is exactly how God works with us. When we are unfruitful, we are useless. But the gardener responded to the owner who was demanding the removal of the fruitless tree. He offered a three-fold plan. And, this plan consists of three growth principles for us:
1. “Leave it alone for one year.” Give the tree some time. That’s exactly what we need in order to recover and grow—time.
2. ‘Dig around it.” In order for a tree to become fruitful, it must have a freshening of the dirt around it. In life, this digging around may be quite painful and a little frightening.
3. ‘Fertilize it.” Finally, the tree needs some food in order to grow. We, too need to be fed some good nutrients in order to grow.

So, what is Jesus saying here? Everyone is in need of repentance toward God—no matter their life situation, whether good or bad. Everyone is in need of the mercy and grace of God. If we were given what we deserve, we’d be cut down like the fruitless tree. BUT GOD, gives us more time, freshens up the soil around us and feeds us the nutrients we need. I believe God will do most anything to get you and I back into being fruitful. That’s His mercy and it’s for anyone. You know what that’s called? AMAZING GRACE. It’s all yours. Repent or change your mind about where you are and turn around toward God. The only thing that is required of you is that you be interested enough to change the direction of your life. Now, that is amazing grace.