Luke

Reflection on Luke 23:36-43

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Scripture
And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Observation
Jesus is led away to be crucified.
A man called Simon is forced to carry the cross for Jesus. A large crowd follows, including many grieving women. Jesus turns to them and tells them not to weep for Him, but for themselves, for times of awful suffering are coming.
Two other men are crucified with Jesus.
Jesus calls out “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
The crowds watch. The leaders scoff. The soldiers mock.
One of the criminals with Jesus asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into His Kingdom. Jesus assures him, that he will be in paradise that very day.

Application
Jesus is a King unlike any other.
The Kings of this earth lord it over their subjects, but Jesus dies for His.
The Kings of this earth try to make it seem like their people have never had it better, but Jesus promises something far better than we can imagine.
The Kings of this earth kill their rebels, but Jesus raises them to new life.

Prayer
King Jesus this day I commit myself to following you wherever you lead me. Whether it is a cross or a crown that you call me to take up, I will do it for your glory. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 21:5-19

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Scripture
“By standing firm, you will win your souls.”

Observation
The disciples admire the architecture of the Temple, but Jesus says that te time will come when it will be totally demolished and left in ruins.

Alarmed, they ask Jesus when  it will all happen. He gives them the signs: false Messiahs, wars, earthquakes, plagues, signs in the heavens.

What is worse is that the disciples will face persecution. They will be put on trial for their faith but they are to see this as an opportunity to share the gospel for Jesus himself will give them the words to speak.

The disciples will be hated for being followers of Jesus, but if they stand firm in their faith they will be saved.

Application
Like many prophetic words in scripture, this has several points of reference.

Firstly it speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D.

It also relates to the catastrophic events of the end times and the return of Jesus.

There is a third reference also to the present age. All of the signs of the end have always been here, including the persecution of faithful Jesus followers.

We must always be ready to give an account for our faith in Jesus, even if we are called before authorities. No matter how bad things seem, Jesus will always be with us, empowering and speaking through us.

To come through the times of trial it is only necessary to stand firm and to never give up.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for your reassurance that when I trust you, you are with me. In the worst of situations you never leave me. Help me to trust you in the dark times. Amen

Reflection on Luke 20:27-38

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Scripture
“So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”

Observation
Some Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection from the dead, put a trick question, a hypothetical, to Jesus to prove their intellectual superiority. They put to him a situation which they suppose shows the contradictions in believing in heaven. A woman who has multiple husbands (brothers who were required under the law of Moses to provide for heirs for widows), dies childless. Whose husband will she be in the resurrection?

Jesus replies by pointing out that heaven is different to earth. It’s a different world with different needs so the present rules do not apply.

He goes on to say that if God is the God of the living, and not the dead, and if God describes Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then clearly these people are still alive.

Application
Religion multiplies ridiculous questions because it engages the soul not the spirit. Religion is about finding the loopholes and exploiting them like an unethical lawyer, and keeping God in a safe corner.

Jesus came to set us free from this. Rather than boxing God in, Jesus calls us to taste His freedom.

No more hypotheticals trying to get our finite minds around the infinite God. Rather, let’s walk in relationship with the God of the living, and let His life free us from the constraints of religious thinking.

This is not to decry doctrine, because we need to have categories to describe our infinite Father. When doctrines become the only definition of truth, when they seek to exclude people rather than include, then we are far from the path of life.

Prayer
Lord I don’t understand the details of eternity, but I trust you enough to know that you have it worked out. Thank you that you are equipping me for heaven. Please grow your grace in me each day. Amen.