Luke 22:1…

Think of all Judas betrayed in betraying Jesus:

Judas betrayed the One Who loved him to a greater extent than anyone had ever loved Him. The love Jesus had for Judas was a demonstrated, felt love. A powerful love of healing, restoration, and of wholeness and peace.

Judas betrayed the One Who rescued him from his banal, pointless, merciless life, and restored him and brought him into greatness of life. (The greatest life anyone could possibly live.) In following Jesus, Judas’ life-potential was fully realized.

Judas had witnessed so many great things if all the libraries of the world were combined they could not contain all the glorious works Jesus had performed in his sight. (John 21:25.)

One thing only Judas had NOT seen. He had not seen Jesus even begin to act as a political figure, as a conquering king. Judas was such a political zealot he saw everything through the lens of defeating Roman rule. This was The Messiah he sought. Jesus presently was not living up to that expectation. Judas desired a king who would defeat, drive out, and deliver Israel from the tyranny of oppression.

He had not imagined The One Who would deliver Israel - and indeed the whole world – from the tyranny and oppression of sin.

He wasn’t thinking about that when he allowed Satan to enter his heart.

Once Judas allowed Satan to enter his heart he followed a path of destruction. Judas had no way of knowing even this act of unholy sedition had been prophesied in scripture. (Psalm 41:9.)

In the strangest and most detestable way, we are reminded even under Satan’s influence our actions are controlled by God for His purposes. It was necessary for Our Passover Lamb to be slain – and Judas unwittingly and foolishly became the instrument.

Was Judas then not responsible for his actions? Jesus said it would have been better for him if he had not been born. (Matt 26:24.)

-Pastor Bill

Luke 20:1…

Rather than listening to Jesus while seeking to discern God’s voice in the things He said, the scribes, elders, Pharisees and Sadducees put Jesus on trial - seeking to demonstrate He was not Who He said He was.

It is difficult to argue with God – and impossible to prove God is not Who He says He is.

Yet people have always tried. While many may sense some degree of success in arguing with an invisible God, the task is made insurmountable by God in flesh.

We have understood Jesus is our Passover Lamb – slain since the foundation of the world.

Jesus on trial fits that scenario perfectly.

In the Book of Exodus, the prescription for the Passover lamb was that it be brought into the house on the 10^th day of Nisan, the beginning of months. The lamb was kept in the home for four days of inspection to determine the worthiness of the lamb being offered. (The lamb would be inspected to determine it was without spot and without blemish.)

On the 14^th day of Nisan, the lamb was to be slaughtered and completely consumed, its blood marking the lintels and doorposts of the homes of those who had partaken of the Passover lamb and removed the leaven from their homes. The Death Angel ‘passed over’ every home marked by the blood of the lamb slain. All the firstborn in the land of Egypt whose homes were not so-marked died.

It was then the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt began. The Jews were expelled from the land and scattered into the desert – heading for the Promised Land.

In the same way, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10^th day of Nisan, and was inspected and found to be without spot or blemish by all who examined Him. He was found to be perfect. On the 14^th day of Nisan, He was crucified – The Lamb slain to save us from our sins.

Following His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, Jesus’ disciples were scattered throughout the known world, and the Church Age began. An ‘exodus’ from the slavery of religion.

-Pastor Bill

Luke 19:28…

God is always right on schedule.

Sometimes in our lives we attempt to run ahead of God, or lag behind – but in the end we always find out we cannot do either – and the reason is because God is ALWAYS right on time.

Imagine if you could control time the way God controls time. There would never be anything outside or apart from that schedule, because you would always be in complete and total control of all things taking place in that schedule.

The God we serve is a God of order and design and intent, and so His schedule is always in place, and it is always right on time. To even imagine anything contrary to this is illogical and ultimately harmful to your existence.

This is why Jesus wept so upon His approach to Jerusalem. Everything in His life was playing out exactly according to God’s schedule, and the people – think of it - God’s chosen people – were completely unaware of what was taking place in their midst because they were unaware of God’s schedule.

This would have a HUGE effect upon the future of the nation of Israel. It wasn’t as if God had not given them fair warning – or at least so much evidence of His coming to earth that He couldn’t be missed unless you were deliberately not paying attention. (But this should come as no surprise to us, as today people SHOULD know all about Jesus and the timing of His life on earth – and even those who spend a lifetime in His church have no clue about any of the prophetic events unfolding before their very lives.)

The result is tragedy of epic proportions. Who is this Man on the back of the donkey? Why is He riding a donkey? Why is this happening today? “Look, everyone is praising Him, I wonder why? Maybe we should join in?”

That’s the attitude that would result in death and destruction for the children of Israel. In 70AD, right on schedule, Roman General Titus would come and destroy Israel and Jerusalem, 1.5 million would die, and Israel would disappear off the map for 2000 years.

All because they did not know the time of their visitation from God. How about you?

-Pastor Bill

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