When doing nothing is doing something

"Jesus converses with the doctors of the law"
 - Alexandre Bida

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 6-7; Psalm 115

TO CHEW ON: "And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him." - Luke 7:29-30

There are moments of decision, crossroads where we must choose one direction or another. John the Baptist was one of the people who confronted his listeners with their path options. His message was repentance. The graphic way people showed they chose this repentance road was to submit to John's baptism.

After John's disciples asked Jesus John's question ("Are You the Coming One?" - yesterdays reading), Jesus explained John to the people (Luke 7:24-28). And then the writer Luke adds his author observations about what was going on here (Luke 7:29,30). Here's how the Amplified Bible puts it:

"And all the people who heard Him (Jesus), even the tax collectors acknowledged the justice of God [in calling them to repentance and pronouncing future wrath on the impenitent] being baptized with the baptism of John" - Luke 7:29 Amplified Bible.

However, two groups of people—the Pharisees and lawyers—steeled their hearts against this truth. How did they show their resistance? Apparently by doing nothing. Luke again:

"But the Pharisees and the lawyers [of the Mosaic Law] annulled and rejected and brought to nothing God's purpose concerning themselves, by [refusing and] not being baptized by [John]." - Luke 7:30 Amplified Bible (emphasis added). 

Jesus goes on to describe them as utterly resistant to wisdom (Luke 7:31-35). My Bible's commenter says it well:

"Jesus illustrates the fickle and even caustic response of the people to John's ministry and to His own. Unbelief will not respond to the truth, however well it is presented and demonstrated" - J. Lyle Story, commentary on Matthew 11:16-19, New Spirit-Filled Bible, p. 1310 (emphasis added).

There is a subtle warning in this for us. For we too can choose one way over another by doing nothing—by refusing to respond to the Holy Spirit's tug on our consciences, by resisting His invitation to change direction. How sobering to think that it could be said of me or you: "She / He annulled, rejected, brought to nothing God's purpose concerning themselves by refusing …"

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me understand the danger of passivity. I want to have a heart that is sensitive to You and quick to respond. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 115

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Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotes are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation - Used with permission.

Beloved Son

Image: pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 20:9-26

TO CHEW ON: “‘Then the owner of the vineyard said,”What shall I do? I will send my beloved son…”’” Luke 20:13

In the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Luke 20:9-16)—which the chief priests and scribes recognized as a parable against them—Jesus called the son that the king finally sent, in the king's words “my beloved son.”

If we are at all familiar with the Bible, flags will go up at that expression. We’ve heard it before.

• The prediction that God would send a Son occurs as early as Psalm 2:7:

“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

The Messiah that Isaiah predicted was described in offspring terms:

“And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him-  Isaiah 49:5.

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand - Isaiah 53:10.

• When Jesus arrived, God the Father said it publicly at His baptism:

“And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” - Matthew 3:17 (also Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).

He said it again on the Mount of Transfiguration:

“‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him’” - Luke 9:35 (and Peter recalled the experience in 2 Peter 1:17-18).

• In confronting the Jewish religious leaders, who were so offended by His claims they sought to kill Him (as in our reading as well) Jesus said it plainly to them: 

“‘For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does’” - John 5:20.

As we approach the Advent season when we focus on the expectation and fulfillment of God sending His Son, I am particularly moved by the adjective “beloved.” This was no robotic, mechanical gift from cold, distant God but a tearing apart of His very self as He entrusted His Beloved Son to Earth’s murderous gardeners; entrusted Him to what He knew would happen, indeed what had to happen in order to restore sinful man back to relationship with Him.

It's a gift that makes it possible for us to say with Paul:

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” - Colossians 1:13.

Hallelujah!

PRAYER: Dear Father, as a parent I understand how beloved a child is. That You would send Your Son Jesus to be treated as He was and sacrificed for me is hard to comprehend, but wonderful. Thank You! Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Responding to Jesus

 Jesus Teaching in the Synagogue 

in Nazareth - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 4:14-30

TO CHEW ON: "So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. … So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath." Luke 4:22,28

Today's story is a study in synagogue crowd behavior.

* The service described in our reading starts with the leader(s) welcoming Jesus with respect, if not warmth. Someone even hands Him the scroll to do one of the readings.

(A commentary explains the order of a synagogue service. It required at least ten males be present and began with someone reading the Shema [Deuteronomy 6:4-9]. That was followed by prayers, followed by more Scripture—a portion from the Torah [Genesis to Deuteronomy] and then the prophets. In the teaching that followed, the reader explained the passages read and sometimes linked them with other Scriptures. The meeting ended with a benediction. [Information from the IVP New Testament Commentary accessed through Biblegateway.com.])

Jesus chooses Isaiah 61:1,2, reads it, and says, "'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing' " Luke 4:21.

* Here we see his hearers' next response; they "marvel" at these words (Luke 4:22). The Greek word for marvel is thaumazo which is rendered by forms of the words amaze, astonish, marvel, surprise, and wonder.

* By the end of Jesus' speech though, the crowd's mood has darkened from He's-one-of-us, to amazement, to murderous rage (Luke 4:28-29).

Why the change? What does He say (and they hear) that so infuriates them?

He says, in effect (by claiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah 61):
1. He is anointed by the Spirit.
2. He is the prophet of the fulfillment of good news.
3. He is the one who brings relief as well as proclaims it; He is Messiah.

In His talk, Jesus further rubs them the wrong way when He exposes their doubts in Him as a person who they knew from youth. Then He equates Himself with a prophet who gets no respect in his hometown and recalls the rejected OT prophets Elijah and Elisha and their miracles, benefiting not Israelites, but Gentiles.

The IVP commentary explains the choice He lays out for them, and us:
"The price of rejecting God's message is serious: mercy moves on to other locales. It is quite risky to walk away from God's offer of deliverance. … The crowd does not seize the opportunity. Rather, Jesus' warning angers them.  … Many respond similarly today when they realize that the gospel is a matter of 'take it or you will be responsible to God for the consequences' " - Ibid (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to open my heart and life to You and Your works every day. Amen.

MORE: Procrastination

This tendency of ours to put off making a decision about Jesus reminds me of a poem I read a while ago.

Manana (Tomorrow)

Lord, what am I, that, with unceasing care,
Thou didst seek after me, that thou didst wait,
Wet with unhealthy dews, before my gate,
And pass the gloomy nights of winter there?
Oh, strange delusion, that I did not greet
Thy blest approach! and oh, to Heaven how lost,
If my ingratitude’s unkindly frost
Has chilled the bleeding wounds upon thy feet!

How oft my guardian angel gently cried,
“Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see
How he persists to knock and wait for thee!”
And, oh! how often to that voice of sorrow,
“To-morrow we will open,” I replied,
And when the morrow came I answered still, “Tomorrow.”

by  Lope De Vega (Spanish, 1562–1635 - translated by William Wordsworth or H. W. Longfellow)

 - Read in Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany compiled by Sarah Arthur.


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Implicated

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 19:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore when the chief priests and officers saw Him they cried out saying, 'Crucify Him, crucify Him!'" - John 19:16

Here we see enacted what we read about in Proverbs yesterday. The Jews' rejection of Jesus was the coming true of:

"...scorners delight in their scorning
And fools hate knowledge ...
...I have called you and you refused
I have stretched out my hand no no one regarded
... you disdained my counsel
And would have none of my rebuke
... they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord  - Proverbs 1:22, 24,25,29.

It's easy for me to shake my head and think, I would never do those things. But then I am reminded of the list of sin's fruits (yesterday's devo) and how I have tolerated them in my own life. Why all I need to do is think back to yesterday to find contention, dissension, selfishness, an 'outburst of wrath.' What Isaiah said is so true:

"All we like sheep have gone astray
We have turned every one to his own way
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" - Isaiah 53:6

So I find myself—we all find ourselves—in the scene of Jesus before Pilate and feel a pang when He says, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." For we are all implicated as "the one who delivered Me to you."

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for letting Yourself be put in Pilate's hands and paying the death penalty for my sin.

More: Above All - Michael W. Smith

Not chosen

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 1:12-26

TO CHEW ON: “And they prayed and said, ‘You O Lord who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen….And they cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” Acts 1:24,26

I’m sure you know what it feels like to be overlooked, the one not chosen. You let your name stand for a committee and the other person is picked. You enter a contest and when you look at the list of winners, your name isn’t there. You let the boss know you're interested in an open position, but he gives it to someone else.

This is what happened to Joseph Barsabas Justus, one of the two men the apostles chose to fill the vacancy on their ‘board’ left by Judas. They cast lots to make the final choice and the lot fell to the other man, Matthias. I wonder how J. B. Justus felt after that – rejected, slighted, discouraged, snubbed by the very God he worshiped? For the belief was that God revealed His will by how the lot fell.

Though the disappointments in our lives come at the hands of others and not as directly from God as it appeared here, our belief that God is in the details of life may make our failure seem just as much a verdict from Him. So how do we handle situations when we’re not chosen? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Look for reasons we were disqualified. We can ask God to show us if there is some lack of qualification or skill, or some attitude or action that would disqualify us. In a passage that talks about physical healing, James says that dealing with our known sins impacts whether or not our prayers will be answered. (James 5:13-16)

2. We can ask ourselves why we feel so disappointed. This helps us uncover our expectations and motivations. Were they self-serving?

3. We can focus on becoming the people that are pleasing to God in the hidden places. These include prayer, living in forgiveness, fasting, and giving (money, charity, time) without fanfare and hope of being rewarded.

4. We can give our lives to God anew, surrendering everything including our confusing expectations and motivations.

We never hear again about Joseph B. Justus. I hope he didn’t scoop his ball and run home in a sulk. I hope he stayed around to serve tables, head the prayer chain or fix widows’ roofs, realizing he was chosen for those things or something else just as important.

PRAYER: Dear God, it’s hard for me not to feel disappointed when I’m not chosen for things on which I’ve set my heart. Help me to learn from these disappointments and to live the life You’ve chosen for me with joyful acceptance. Amen.

MORE: "We Bow Down" - Viola Grafstrom, Kingsway Thankyou Music




(This is a re-post from May 14, 2010.)