Luke 19:1…

Imagine the excitement generated with the news Jesus is coming to your town.

Even with all the opposition He faced, Jesus still drew huge crowds to observe His movements, and to hear His pronouncements. There was obviously great anticipation and expectation when His approach was known. What may happen? What may He do?

So much was already known and felt about the potential in Jesus. This is why when the news began to spread of His approach, so many would drop everything just to lay eyes on Him.

I wish we had that kind of excitement and anticipation for Jesus today.

Zacchaeus was one of those who you may have thought least affected by the approach of Jesus. If you were looking on from the outside, you would probably have assessed Zacchaeus to be a hard man. Perhaps an embittered man. Whatever had taken place in his life, Zacchaeus had checked out of society and made himself an enemy of the people on behalf of his own fortune. Greed had become his master. At some point in his life, the opportunity presented itself for Zacchaeus to become a tax collector, and Zacchaeus had turned away from friends and family and chosen a path of life most hated by the Jewish people. It was the wealth he could accumulate which made it worth his while to be a hated man.

Usually, with this construct, a man’s heart becomes hard as a rock for self-preservation purposes, if nothing else. It takes a special degree of hardness to endure the thoughts of hatred everyone has for you and for your chosen profession. Wealth is not much compensation for enduring hatred, but for those hard-hearted enough to endure it, wealth becomes their solace.

It is interesting to note how often Jesus interacted with tax collectors. One of His apostles, (Matthew,) had been a tax collector. You would think these particular men would be impossible to reach.

But it reminds us those with the hardest hearts are often the closest to salvation. Zacchaeus’ story reminds us how a hard heart is so often a shield for a brokenness dying to be revealed. Jesus IS the answer for every broken heart – especially those hardened by the evil constructs of this world.

-Pastor Bill

Luke 18:9…

“Men always ought to pray and not lose heart.”

Such an important teaching by Jesus as He anticipates all that will happen once He has been crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven.

He encourages those men He is leaving behind to pray always because they are without a physical, present Savior they can see with the eye and hear with the ear. Those men, (including all of us,) would be departing the physical realm of guidance, and moving into the spiritual one. (This explains the importance of understanding WHERE the kingdom of God is.)

(The kingdom of God is not a place, it is a heart attitude present in a man who desires to be ruled by God. This establishes God’s Lordship, and it is only accomplished by yielded-ness in man.)

This explains the importance of praying always – in light of the evil present in this world - and because the mystery of God remains for the mortal man seeking to understand The Immortal God.

But there can be a danger in the accumulation of Spiritual wisdom gathered and experienced through constant prayer, and Jesus warns us of this as well:

It is Spiritual pride. Jesus employs the Pharisees as an example of this.

The Pharisees began as a needful institution. When the Israelites returned from exile, the Pharisees eventually emerged as a body of leadership within the Jewish faith intent on keeping God’s Word and departing from any vestiges of idolatry which had led them into exile. God hates idolatry, and He loves those who keep His Word. It is needful in any society to have those present whose role is to protect God’s truths and present them to the people as guidance for their lives.

By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had been performing this role in Jewish society for over 150 years. They were looked up to as being the seat of all knowledge. The problem is they became prideful as they were looked up to. Instead of being humbled by the acclaim, they looked down upon the people they ruled over. Jesus lets us know this attitude of Spiritual pride is detestable to God. No man is above the Law of God. ALL men are broken by its precepts.  

-Pastor Bill

Luke 18:1…

Jesus has just spoken to His disciples of His departure from the earth.

The detail Jesus has provided about the events which will transpire from His time into our future are staggering. Can you imagine what the disciples must have been feeling and sensing?

In the first case, it would have been difficult and even tragic to even think of Jesus leaving. He has been their ‘All in All’ and their ‘everything’ in this period of their lives.

For three years He has walked with them and provided God’s instruction and guidance in every thought, and every word, in every deed. It is impossible to fathom how MUCH they may have learned from Jesus while they walked with Him. Can you imagine trusting God with EVERY decision and action for three years’ time - and then having to contemplate losing that sort of direct counsel and instruction?

Sure, the teaching Jesus has just laid out for them in Luke 17 is fantastic, but rest assured, the part they probably heard the loudest was the part where He informed them He is leaving them. (The implication is He is leaving soon.)

And so, certainly the focus goes to His return, which Jesus also emphasized. However, in the prophetic manner Jesus spoke, His return is not as well-defined as His departure.

It still isn’t today, and this becomes an issue for all Christians. When WILL Jesus return?

How are we to respond to His absence?

As Christians we are dealing with the very same issues His disciples were when it comes to Jesus’ return. He promised to return. When will this be? (WILL it be?)

Jesus reassures His disciples with the same guidance He provides us. His return is certain. A given. There should be no doubt. Why then do they/we doubt? Why then would we possibly lack when it comes to making our petitions before God? Why would our persistence ever lag – especially when we see earthly examples all around us making their persistent petitions to earthly judges for their needs? Poignantly, and very poignantly Jesus asks: “When I return, will I really find faith on the earth?”

-Pastor Bill

Luke 17:20…

We know God by inspiration, by proclamation, by demonstration, (and by meditation and perspiration.)

Soon and very soon, we will also know God by revelation.

This is the ‘apocalypse’ we are so familiar with, but mostly by the blatant and constant misuse of the word.

This word which means ‘unveiling’ - or truly - ‘revelation,’ has been used in the modern age to mean some sort of cataclysmic event. A huge explosion, or massive battle, or some such thing. A super-colossal tragic event of some sort is said to be “apocalyptic.”

The ‘apocalypse,’ (which has no doubt been borrowed for use by the world,) is the revelation of Jesus Christ to the whole world at one future point in time. This is the moment when all will see and know that Jesus truly IS the Christ, and when all will acknowledge His Lordship over their lives. For many this demonstration of His Lordship will come by His destruction of their attempts to oppose it.

In the second half of Luke 17, Jesus answers the Pharisees’ sarcastically spiteful question about when the kingdom of God will come with a clarity few may have expected. One question we may ask about Jesus’ lengthy answer: How does Jesus know all this?

If you know the answer to that question, than you know Who it is Who is answering, which means His answer is the Way, the Life, and the Truth. To deny His answer can only lead to your destruction.

On the first point - which is major for us - Jesus reveals the present location of the kingdom of God. To those who were looking for a political figure to come and overthrow the Roman government, or any other thing which may be dominating their lives, Jesus informs us the kingdom of God is within us. It is not presently a physical kingdom, it is a kingdom of permissive Lordship over the heart of man. It is a spiritual kingdom present only within those who allow it to be so. To date, this kingdom is invisible.

But soon and very soon this will change, which should be of primary importance to every life. Jesus IS coming back, and to every eye and every heart He WILL BE revealed.

-Pastor Bill

Luke 17:1…

Offenses to God’s kingdom are not like other offenses.

It is interesting to think what kinds of offenses these may encompass. Without a doubt this would extend to anything which may impede someone else’s progress into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus speaks powerfully of the sobriety we should have in consideration of causing such an offense. He says it would be better if, “a millstone were hung around your neck and you be thrown into the sea.”

It would be “better…” Think about that.

The very idea of being cast into the sea with a millstone around your neck is about as vibrant a picture as Jesus ever presents.

But who are the “little ones” Jesus speaks of?

Certainly, this would speak of any children who may be in their midst. More than once Jesus has spoken very fondly of the children. He has encouraged they be brought to Him that He may hold them and share His love for them. Jesus has such a heart for children because of the nature of their faith. They have not become jaded, and they believe what they are told by their elders - especially by those elders who are closest to them in relationship. Indeed, it is ‘childlike faith’ which saves the child of God.

But what if what the little ones are told to believe about the kingdom of heaven is accompanied by hypocrisy in you? What if they believe what they have been told to believe about the kingdom of heaven – but then begin to struggle with their faith in the kingdom of heaven or to lose their faith entirely because of what they see in you?

This is the idea Jesus is presenting. We will be held responsible for the impact our lives have on those who are just learning about these things. Anyone of any age can be one of the “little ones” Jesus refers to. Yes, children are certainly included, but so is anyone who is a new believer, or just becoming a ‘child of God.’

Mr. Religious Man, what impact does your life have upon the child of God?

-Pastor Bill

Luke 16:19…

Death becomes you.

As has been well-said, “The statistics are in – and ten out of ten people die.” (Yet one more reason to pray for the rapture of the church!)

You ARE going to die. So am I.

Strange as it may seem, though this is a really well-known fact, it is denied and imagined to be untrue as much as possible. It never quite seems really true until we are faced with death in some way. Perhaps a loved one or a friend dies. It is a present reminder of death, its impact, and our own facing of it.

Then a little time goes by and we find ourselves putting it out of our mind again. Is this a form of self-protection because we don’t like to think about it – or is it really self-preservation because it helps protect our sanity?

All the religions of the world have a plan for dealing with death. (Perhaps we could even say death above all else is the REASON all the religions of the world exist.) It is certainly one of the best ways to compare the religions of the world, because they each deal with the subject of death in vastly different ways.

Given that eternity is vastly LONGER than the time spent on earth in this life, perhaps it might be worth some investment of the time you have left on earth to consider the eternal ramifications of your life. This is the point Jesus is making to the Pharisees.

Since this IS God-in-Flesh speaking about eternal life, it behooves us to pay close attention to what He says. What He says goes all the way back to the beginning of His teaching about unjust stewards. (Those who misuse the resources God has provided.) The Pharisees were the classic example of this, in that the focus of their religious practice had become accumulation of wealth – in the name of God. Since, in their time, it was assumed the wealthy were the blessed of God, and the poor were the cursed of God, it would likewise seem these wealthy Jewish religious leaders were a lock for eternal life in heaven, in their own minds, and in the minds of the people.

But Jesus says they are not a “lock” for heaven. In fact, they are locked out.

-Pastor Bill

Luke 16:14…

You become what you worship.

This is the warning Jesus so profoundly offers when He pronounces, “No servant can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

God’s Word consistently and constantly warns us against having a divided heart – and the reason is because once the heart is divided, it really goes all the way to the other side. Thinking it is merely divided in a proportionate way is self-deception. It is not possible.

The acquisition of wealth from God is what the Pharisees are about. Jesus strongly lets them know God knows this, and that God knows their hearts are polluted. It does not matter at all that the people see them as representing God. Jesus tells them God knows they do not.

Think of how serious it must be in God’s eyes to know He knows everything you do in His name is pretense.

Wealth is not the issue. It is the pursuit of wealth in God’s name which is leading them to condemnation. It is not too late, but it is too terrible unless they immediately and forcefully turn away. The god they serve is money, they have become wealthy, and the entire focus of their ministry life is not service to the True and Living God, but service to themselves and the monetary accounts they steward, “in God’s name.”

The Pharisees worship wealth and its preservation, and so they are constantly in peril unless they can collect money in the name of God. (This is what happens when money becomes the focus of your life.) They have no means of acquiring personal wealth on their own. (They cannot dig, they are ashamed to beg.) For them it is about using their religious position to build up an earthly religious kingdom, and then to live off those proceeds.

They represent the True God as a hard master to the people because of their own need for fortune. And strangely, this ultimately this leads to a softening of God’s Word to preserve the resource (the people,) the wealth appears to come from.

-Pastor Bill