June 16, 2009
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Luke 7-9 By Pastor Kunihiro Nishida
Luke 7
5/3/2009
Luke 7:1-10 Here we have a record of the healing of a Roman centurion's servant. This centurion must have contributed to the local temple in some way, and must also have heard some of the talk about Jesus. It seems a bit strange that the centurion would have people from the temple ask Jesus to come heal his servant, but then not let Jesus come into the house. The message delivered by the centurion's friends was that the centurion recognized the principle of "chain of command," and that sickness was under Jesus' authority. All Jesus had to do was to say the Word, and the servant would be healed. Jesus was amazed at this Gentile's understanding of who He was, and that His Capernaum ministry was bearing fruit among the Gentiles as opposed to the lack of fruit in the nation of Israel.Just as there was no direct contact between Jesus and the centurion, there is no direct contact between the physical Jesus and ourselves. But, the centurion's servant was healed in response to his belief. Jesus is the creator and His Word becomes reality. We see this in Genesis. The centurion didn't hear Jesus speak, but he did see his servant restored to health. We not be able to hear Jesus' words directly either, but we should pray that He will "just say the Word" for us. What Christ speaks becomes reality. God's Words never come back empty.
5/10/2009
Luke 7:11-17 The centurion's servant had been dying, and now in the town of Nain, Jesus comes upon a man who is dead. Jesus stopped a funeral procession from carrying the only son of a widow to the graveyard. No one had asked Jesus to do anything for this man. Jesus moved on His own to raise him from the dead. All who saw this "glorified God." The people must have remembered the Old Testament passage from I Kings 17:1-24 where the prophet Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath, as well as Malachi 4:5-6 that prophesied that God would visit His people and send one greater than Elijah.Jesus told those in the funeral procession that He was there and that they didn't have to cry anymore. If He speaks a Word to command death to go, go it must. The widow's son was raised from the dead, but eventually he died again later. He did not experience total victory over death, but just caught a glimpse of it. Jesus only raised three people from the dead, and all of them died again. To be able to have complete victory, we must wait for the final results of the cross and the resurrection, when mankind and creation are taken back from the Fall. We all have to face the death of loved ones, but Jesus tells us that He is there and that He has won the victory, and that we don't have to cry anymore.
5/24/2009
Luke 7:18-23 John the Baptist is in prison, and sends messengers to Jesus to ask Him if He is really the Messiah. John may have his reasons for doubting, but we will not go into those here. Jesus does not answer John's question directly, but refers to Isaiah 35:5-7 and Isaiah 61:1-3 which tell of returning from exile. He directs John's attention to the miracles that have happened, and tells John to decide for himself. The Pharisees had no doubt about who Jesus claimed to be, because the understood that He claimed to be God. Why didn't Jesus give John a direct answer other than "I am doing what the Old Testament prophesies"? John had the evidence, and had to decide for himself, just as we all must decide. Just as John was unable to ask directly, we also are unable to go directly to Jesus with questions about Who He Is. But the ability to ask directly is not really the issue. The issue is that we have the record. We have seen Jesus exercising power over demons in the spiritual world, over nature in the physical world, forgiving sins and healing sickness, and raising people from the dead. He did what Isaiah prophesied that He would do. We must take care that we are not expecting a different kind of Messiah or Savior from what Jesus really is. The more I dwell on my own expectations rather than reality, the easier it is to fall away.
6/7/2009
Luke 7:24-35 Pt. 1 Jesus declared that the work of John the Baptist was beyond that of a regular prophet in that John was the one prophesied in Malachi 3:1 who would introduce Christ, and in that John's message had to do with forgiveness of sins through baptism. Forgiveness was to be gained through the later work of Christ, but John began the work. Jesus then shifts from speaking about John to speaking about those "least in the Kingdom of God." The Kingdom of God is our goal, and it is to this end that Jesus preached. The aim of Christ's preaching is to bring sinners to repentance and salvation. Those who respond are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Those who are least in the Kingdom of God are not even to be compared to those greatest in this world. Even the despised tax collectors could gain forgiveness through John's baptism. There were two responses to John's baptism and to Christ's words. Those who accepted them and accepted God's words as correct underwent the baptism and received forgiveness. Those who rejected them (the Pharisees) ignored Christ's words and refused both the baptism and the forgiveness that they credited themselves and not needing. Those who accepted the need for forgiveness entered the Kingdom, and those who rejected the forgiveness did not. We must all make a choice as to whether to say that God is right and follow the way that He indicates, or to ignore His heart and go our own way.
6/14/2009
Luke 7:24-35 Pt. 2 Jesus here used a metaphor of children to describe the attitude of the scribes and pharisees, who were unhappy when they did not get the response that they wanted from John the Baptist or Jesus. John the Baptist was characterized by a life of purity and isolation in the wilderness. Jesus was characterized by actively associating with sinners. The reference to Jesus as a "drunkard" is from Deuteronomy 21:18-21, which says that a rebellious, drunken son is to be taken for trial to the elders at the gate and if found guilty, to be stoned and removed from his parents' will. To use this word toward Jesus indicates that they already think of Him as a rebellious person that they would rather see dead. Jesus tells them that they are only looking at outward appearances and that they are disinterested in both the truth and the Kingdom of God. The message of the Kingdom of God is proven correct by the children that it produces.
6/21/2009
Luke 7:36-50 Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus to dinner. This was an open affair at which Rabbis who wanted to attend could come and go freely. A woman with a tarnished reputation comes into Simon's house and washed Jesus's feet with her tears and dried them with her hair, and then anointed Him with ointment. Simon thinks to himself that if Jesus were really a prophet, He know about this woman and recoil from her. Jesus tells Simon a parable about how one who has forgiven a large debt will love more than one who has been forgiven a trifling debt, and encourages him to think more deeply. Simon has ignored basic manners when inviting Jesus. There was no washing of Jesus's feet or kiss of greeting, not was there any ointment given. Simon's interest in Jesus was shown by his invitation, and no doubt he felt his heart changing as he heard Jesus' words. But Simon did not think that the woman could change and saw only her great sin. Perhaps later Simon noticed that he had been forgiven, too. Jesus knows that Simon is beginning to change, and invites him to continue changing.
Luke 8
6/28/2009
Luke 8:1-3 As Jesus and the disciples travel around teaching, there are women who provided assistance through various means. We don't know much about these women, but without their help the preaching might have been hindered had the group of men had to take care of all of their own needs for food and clothing. There are no unimportant jobs in the Kingdom of God, and what we may think of as small everyday duties may be important in getting the gospel message out.
7/5/2009
Luke 8:4-15 Pt. 1 Here we read the parable about the sower and four types of soil. Jesus first speaks the parable with no interpretation and exhorts his listeners to hear Him. This exhortation reminds us of Ezekiel 3:22-27 where through the prophet Ezekiel God tells those who desire His truth to hear His words to respond, and those who will not hear or respond to go their own stubborn way. We must listen and decide. Later the disciples ask for an interpretation of the parable. Jesus first quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 and explains why those who will not hear will not be allowed understanding. In the book of Isaiah, the people of Israel are faced with a choice as to whether Isaiah is a prophet from God or not. If so, they had better listen and respond. God had promised that Israel could live in Canaan in the covenant with Abraham, but only if they were faithful to worship the true God and no others. This was made clear at Mt. Sinai, and it was the job of the prophets to remind the people. But the people were unfaithful and worshipped other gods and according to the promise were removed from the land into exile. They would not be allowed to hear or understand God's words if they were worshipping something else.Jesus compares his work to the prophets. Canaan represents the Kingdom of God. Just as in Isaiah's time, Jesus's words would have two opposite effects. Those who listen will enter the Kingdom of God, and those who refuse to listen and continue on a path of sin will be denied both understanding and the Kingdom. What one does with Christ's words determines the effect that they will have.The church speaks forth the Word of God the same as the prophet Ezekiel did, and it challenges people to choose and decide. We are commanded to speak whether people listen or not, as Jesus did.
7/12/2009
Luke 8:4-15 Pt.2 Jesus interprets the parable for the disciples. The first kind of seed represents those who don't accept of believe the Gospel. If one hears but doesn't take it in or believe it, having heard is ineffective. This kind of person will be chased from the Kingdom of God as surely as Israel was chased out of Canaan for the sin of idolatry. The second kind of seed represents a person who believes at first, but has no roots and "graduate" from their belief under pressure. The third kind of seed represents those who don't give priority to the Gospel but to other things when called upon to make a choice. They never mature spiritually, bear any fruit or reach the goal. We must know that in some form or other that we all have these types of soils in our hearts. We all have a tendency to collapse under pressure or to have wrong priorities, and need to heed the warning not to continue in a wrong direction if we wish to reach the goal. The fourth kind of seed that bears fruit represents those who engrave the Word of God upon their hearts, cleave to it and put down roots in God's promises. This is not an overnight process, but one that must be approached with patience gained through experience and practice.
7/19/2009
Luke 8:16-18 No one hides light or even thinks that it is something to be hidden. There is nothing "secret" that will remain hidden, and everything will be revealed and shown for all to see. It is the nature of light to penetrate all corners of a room revealing anything that may be there. This is truly grace. The disciples have a responsibility to share the light that they have regarding the Kingdom of God. How we listen and respond to Jesus's words is important. We must pray that we will be given ears that can listen, and pray as well that we will be used to reveal the light and truth of God to others.
7/26/2009
Luke 8:19-21 Jesus's mother and brothers come to Him during his preaching activity. He was in a house, and the crowds had gathered so that his mother and brothers cannot get in, so they ask that a message be sent to Him. Jesus's response was that those who hear his words are his true family. He preached in order to gain even more brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. The result of his preaching would be the church, a family bound together through belief in and obedience to His words. This is not a human bond. We are all forgiven sinners standing on the same foundation. The size of this family is unlimited and its nature is outside the boundaries of Jew or Gentile, male or female, rich or poor. Jesus is still looking to add members to the family. What is our response to his invitation?
8/2/2009
Luke 8:22-25 Here Jesus calms a storm that is about to sink the ship in which he and the disciples are sailing in. As we see in Genesis 1:3, whatever God speaks instantly becomes reality. In Luke 4 Jesus showed his power over the spiritual realm, and all should have believed in Him at that point. They saw His authority, but did not move from amazement to belief. The disciples are scolded for their lack of faith. As experienced fishermen, they probably realized that the danger was real, but were they too proud to ask the help of a carpenter? How might events have played out had the disciples faith been what Jesus expected? Even if Jesus was asleep, they still knew who He was and what He could do. They had just heard the parable of the four seeds. We are to carve God's word into our hearts so that He can bring it to mind when we need it. If God had spoken something, then we must be patient and wait for it, because it will surely come to pass. Everyone's faith must be exercised if it is to grow and become good soil. Perhaps the disciples had to wake Jesus up so that their faith could grow. When we go through such a process, do we develop, or simply complain? It was Jesus idea to get into the boat. He didn't get out and He didn't put anyone ashore. He had a plan upon reaching the other side, and reach it He would. "Immanuel" means that He keeps us with Him.
8/9/2009
Luke 8:26-39 Pt.1 We see that Jesus had a goal in mind when he entered to boat, and that was to go to the Gentile area of the Geresenes to heal a demon possessed man. The demons possessing the man know that what Jesus says becomes reality, and beg him not to speak them into the pit mentioned in Revelation into which they are to be sealed. Jesus was not only interested in taking back the Jewish areas for the Kingdom of God, He is interested in the Gentile areas as well. The Kingdom of God is about all people in all times. The Jews could not imagine this, and Jesus had to break down the walls in their minds. Jesus went specifically to this Gentile man. He made a special effort to get to him, just as Jesus makes a special effort to get to all of us. The possessed man must have been in a hopeless state, but then realized that Jesus could help him, which He did. We have nothing to fear from demons unless we foolishly will them to come.
8/16/2009
Luke 8:26-39 The demon possessed man had to want to be healed. Our will and our response to Jesus determines the outcome. The demons entered the pigs who ran off a cliff and were killed. A report of what happened went out, and people in the area came out to see what happened. They were ruled only by fear, and did not understand the implications of what had happened. They ask Jesus to move on, and the healed man asks to be taken along. Jesus sends him back to his family instead, as it was His intention that this man spread the message of the Kingdom of God. This man has lost his family to live in the wilderness and in the graveyards, and now his fellowship with his family and the town was restored to him. The Kingdom of God is all about restoration, and this was another illustration of it.
9/6, 9/20/2009
Luke 8:40-56 Here we read to story of a woman healed of an issue of blood and the raising of Jarius's daughter from the dead. The woman's healing is unique, because in other instances of healing Jesus had healed with words. Here, there is no word spoken, but the woman is healed. This a mystery of the working of the Trinity, in that the Father healed through the Son when the woman exercised faith by touching Jesus. She is called "daughter," and is as precious to God as the daughter of Jarius is to him. The woman's healing, however, holds Jesus up just long enough for Jarius's daughter to die. As with the raising of the widow's son at Nain, Jesus exhorts the parents not to cry, because He is there. He raises the daughter from the dead, and limits the number of witnesses to Peter, James, John and Jarius. Both Jarius and the sick woman had a small faith, but what is important is that they turned that small faith to Jesus and were greatly rewarded.
Luke 9
10/4/2009
Luke 9:1-10 Up until this point Jesus had been doing all of the preaching, and after a period of training He sends the disciples out to preach. He instructs them to take nothing with them because all of their needs will be met by people who God has prepared to hear and accept his message. If their message is not heard they are instructed to shake the dust of the town off of their feet. This is not a sign of cutting that town out of the Kingdom of God, but rather means that the town and the disciples have nothing in common and that the disciples will bear no responsibility in the case that the town has chosen not to hear their message. King Herod was apparently stirred up by reports that he heard of the disciples' work, and expressed interest in meeting Jesus. Was Jesus John the Baptist or Elijah back from the dead? Herod would have his chance to meet Jesus at His trial.
10/11/2009
Luke 9:10-17 The disciples had returned from their preaching and were no doubt expecting some time to rest, but this was not to be the case. A crowd gathers to hear Jesus preach, and there are 5,000 men that need to be fed, plus women and children. Jesus miraculously provides a meal for everyone, with 12 baskets left over. This event is comparable to 4:38-44 where Elisha also provided a meal for many with only a bit of food. Was Jesus comparing himself to Elisha? Jesus can also be compared to Moses. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to the promised land of Canaan, and Jesus leads those who believe His words out of slavery to sin and into the Kingdom of God. In Exodus 16:22-26 we read that the manna provided in the wilderness only lasted one day before spoiling, except on the day before the Sabbath rest. We are in a time before the final establishment of the Kingdom of God, that is, final and complete Sabbath rest. Jesus provided more than enough for all to indicate this. We are being guided to the promised Kingdom of God just as surely as Moses guided the nation of Israel, and Jesus always continues to gather and to guide.
10/18/2009
Luke 9:18-22 Jesus asks the disciples who they think He is, and Peter declares that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus accepts Peter's answer as correct, but then tells the disciples not to share the information because He knows that their understanding of what He came to do is incomplete. They do not yet know the scope of His mission or what it will involve, namely His death and resurrection. He then begins to progress to the next step to make the Gospel message clearer. I Corinthians 1:4-8 and 15:1-5 tell an even more complete story, that Jesus was revealed, will come again and will establish His Kingdom. This is about even more than the death and resurrection of Christ. It is about the establishment of the Kingdom of God in a new heaven and a new earth as God intended it to be in Genesis. He will completely take back all of creation from sin and the fall, and this will be accomplished through the forgiveness of sinners through the cross and the resurrection. Sinners need to be forgiven and Jesus has the right to forgive them. The Kingdom of God is near, and forgiven sinners will enter it as surely as Israel entered the promised land in history. He told the disciples how this would be accomplished through His death and resurrection, but they didn't fully understand it all yet.
11/1/2009
Luke 9:20-26 Pt. 1 The disciples needed their traditional Jewish Messiah concept corrected, as they didn't understand that Christ's work as Messiah involved his death and resurrection. If one has a correct concept of who Jesus really is, one cannot help but follow after Him. Jesus speaks here of taking up one's cross, but the disciples probably did not grasp the concept until after Christ had been crucified and raised from the dead. Jesus knew that the Holy Spirit would bring the words back to them later when they were able to grasp their significance. The parable of the sower comes to mind. Those who take up their cross and follow Christ will not be preoccupied with gaining the world and its riches. The Second Coming and judgment are spoken of, a time of reaping. If we are following Christ and taking up our cross then we will certainly not throw away our faith. We will not desire to gain the world, and we will have no need for shame when Christ returns. Hearing it for the first time, this may have been difficult for the disciples to understand. But this is how Jesus himself lived, as shown in Matthew 26:39 when He prayed that the Father's will be done rather than His own. In John 16:16-22 Jesus speaks of the joy that will be the result of His work and of our taking up our crosses in obedience. How is it possible for us to take up our crosses? Because we know that we are loved by God, and that we are treasured citizens of the Kingdom of God who have an advocate and ally before God, Jesus Christ Himself.
11/8/2009
Luke 9:20-26 Pt. 2 The concept of taking up one's cross is considered a bit more deeply. It is difficult to "throw one's life away" but it becomes easier when we learn to pick up joy instead of ourselves. Simply because we have knowledge of Jesus does not mean that we automatically become His followers. We must decide to follow and then act on the decision. As the disciples did not understand at first because they had not yet experienced the death and resurrection of Christ, sometimes it is difficult for us to understand. As the Holy Spirit helped the disciples, He will also help us. In Matthew 26 Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane that He be spared death on the cross, but He also knew what He would have to do. He had the desire and chose to do what the Father wanted Him to do rather than what He would rather have done. We need to pray for that same desire, that we would rather do the will of God than our own wills. We can tell God what we want, but we can also tell Him that we would rather have what He wants. It is in this way that we deny ourselves, take up our crosses and bear fruit. We can pray this way because we know that God will always do what is best. In the context of the parable of the sower, we need to pray that the desires of our hearts match the desires of God's heart in trials, in our priorities and in our not being ashamed of Him or His words.
11/15/2009
Luke 9:23-36 The Transfiguration is recounted in this passage, and the context is that Jesus has accomplished a major victory over Satan, John the Baptist has been arrested and that Jesus has been preaching a Gospel of repentance and belief. He was also in the process of correcting the disciples Messianic concept, and tells them of His death and resurrection. The Kingdom of God was not to be an Israel freed from Roman rule, but something totally different made up or repentant sinners who desire God's will more than their own. Jesus is seen transfigured with Moses and Elijah, who are not dead, but alive and with God. As surely as Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan, Jesus will lead repentant sinners into the Kingdom of God. In II Kings 6 we read that Elijah prayed that his servant's eyes would be opened to see that God was with them. In the Transfiguration the eyes of the three disciples present were opened in the same way. We are also reminded of Hebrews 12. None of those who have died in Christ are truly dead. They are all in Heaven encouraging us to endure and be victorious. May God open our eyes that we may realize that we do not aim for the Kingdom of God alone, and that there are many who have gone on before us. God himself has also promised that He will be with us until the end and forever.
11/22/2009
Luke 9: 23-36 This account of the Transfiguration is reader friendly in that we are told that the two figures who appeared and conversed with Jesus on the mountain are Elijah and Moses. The disciples are asleep or fighting sleep and are at any rate not praying with Jesus, and the conversation is for the most part over by the time they wake up. They hear the voice of God saying something similar to Isaiah 42:1-4, that Christ is God's son and that they should listen to Him. A similar phrase was heard at Jesus's baptism. The content of the conversation was the events that were coming up in Jerusalem, Christ's death and resurrection. This matches up with what Jesus had been telling the disciples. Jesus's "Exodus" was also discussed, this being His Exodus from death as well as our Exodus from sin, death and destruction to the Kingdom of God.
At this time, the Old Testament was referred to as "the Law and the Prophets." Moses is a representative of the Law, and Elijah is a representative of the Prophets. The entirety or the Law and the Prophets was all about Jesus and His "Exodus." God seems to be quoting Isaiah 42 as well as Psalm 2, but it is not a mere quotation. Psalm 2 is a song of coronation, and God is proclaiming that all of these prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus. "This is the One who is spoken of in Isaiah and in the Psalms. Listen to Him!" We must choose what we are going to do with the words of Jesus. Are we going to glance over them without letting them change us, or will we listen to Him. We all must choose whether we will participate in the Exodus or not. Will we follow Jesus as the nation of Israel followed Moses? "Take up your cross."
11/29/1009 Praise Sunday
Jonah 3:1-4:11 The story of Jonah is familiar to all. He had been commanded to go to Nineveh to deliver God's message that unless they repented, they would be destroyed. The city heard the message, believed it and repented and God accepted their repentance. Jonah had wanted to deny them any chance of repentance so that the city would be destroyed and not bother Israel any more. Jonah knew that God was gracious (giving what is undeserved to the undeserving), merciful (desiring to help and protect those in trouble) and loving (unchanging love poured out on His beloved). In running away in the opposite direction, Jonah was attempting to block God's grace, mercy and lovingkindness from the people of Nineveh. But, God never withdraw or denies anyone a chance to repent, and even from the cross, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them."
12/6/2009 No tape yet
12/13/2009
Luke 9:40-56 Jesus laments because of the disciples' lack of faith at their being unable to cast a demon out of a boy. This is happening as Jesus is being transfigured on a mountain, and the event is serious enough to be compared to the nation of Israel worshipping a golden calf as Moses is atop Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments. Jesus was upset with the attitude of the disciples' heart. They had experienced so much with Him, yet they were still arguing over who would be greatest, and offering to call down fire from heaven to destroy others preaching in Jesus's name. They were still filled with pride, even suggesting that God kill in Jesus's name. They should have learned about LIFE, and yet they were condoning killing and death. God is concerned with the life of each and every person. It is precious to Him, even to the point of saying, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do," when He was ignored, ridiculed and rejected. No one is free from the feeling of wanting to "erase" someone. In light of what He was about to face, the disciples' attitude grieved Jesus greatly. It is so easy for us to prefer death to life and damnation to salvation. Christ came to show us another way and to enable us to believe it.
12/27/2009
Luke 9:46-48 Jesus answers the disciples' debate over who is to be the greatest. He uses a child as a metaphor, not because a child is cute, but because a child has no value as far as work or accomplishment is concerned. Peter, James and John had seen things that the other disciples had not seen; the raising of Jarius's daughter from the dead and the Transfiguration. This may have sparked the debate. Rather than seeking to be greater, Jesus exhorts them to "become smaller" than what they were, and to increase in humility. This is exactly what Jesus did in the incarnation when he took on the form of a servant in a human body. How can we do less?
