Commuter Bible

Looking back from our position in history, we have the advantage of considering the kingdom of God through all of the teachings of Jesus and through the lens of Scripture as a whole. During his time of ministry on earth, however, things weren’t so clear for His original audience. When the crowds thought about the Son of David, they assumed that he would be a king in the traditional sense. The Jews were excited that this king had finally arrived, and upon entering Jerusalem they erupted with praise & excitement. Little did they know that Christ’s kingship would establish eternal authority over the souls of men or that victory would come by way of the cross.

Let’s talk about two of today’s parables that are different from the others, because in them Jesus points to sinful men as examples of that which is good, which is confusing on the face of it, but let me explain. In the parable of the dishonest manager, his goal is to show his people how to think about wealth and earthly possessions: we are to use them to win favor with others while we still have them. In the parable of the persistent widow, God the Father is compared to an unjust judge. The goal, however, is to argue from the lesser to the greater. If an unjust judge will give justice through persistence, how much more so will the righteous judge grant justice to those who earnestly pray?

Our passage today includes a number of notable parables, some of which concern the nature of death and the afterlife. Jesus tells His disciples to enter by the narrow way, because the door to God’s household will soon be shut and those outside will be turned away regardless of their proximity to Jesus. He compares God’s table to that of a nobleman who hosts a banquet, only to be turned down by those he had invited. He therefore invites the weak, the poor, the blind, the lame, and those who are far off. Later, Jesus describes the joy in heaven over the lost who have been found, and tells the well-known parable of the prodigal son.

We are almost halfway through the book of Luke, and Jesus and His disciples are on their way to Jerusalem and to the crucifixion of Jesus. On the way he teaches His disciples how to pray to God the Father, rebukes those who claim He uses demonic powers, chastises the generation who will put him to death, and denounces the self-righteous Pharisees as hypocrites. Finally, Jesus encourages his disciples to store up treasures in heaven, and to stop worrying about the future. Worrying doesn’t add years to your life, so why not choose a better way: spend your life investing the kingdom, rather than yourself.

Today's chapters focus more on the relationship Jesus has with his apostles and his disciples as empowers them for ministry, provides for them, calls them to whole-hearted devotion, and warns them of his future death. Jesus and his disciples begin making their way to Jerusalem where he will face the agony of the cross, but he has much to say and much to teach before that hour arrives. On the road to Jerusalem when Jesus is asked what it means to love your neighbor, Jesus tells a parable that would have shocked his audience as he makes a detestable Samaritan the hero of the story rather than an upright religious Jew.

Jesus continues to exhibit his power over illness, demons, death, and over Creation. Those witness his power, including the disciples who are with him daily, continue to be awestruck by what they see. Make no mistake: the people in Jesus’ day were not simpletons who would simply believe anything. Like you and I, they knew that what Jesus was doing seemed impossible, and they all had trouble wrapping their minds around it. Later in Ecclesiastes King Solomon envies the dead, who no longer have to bear the burdens of oppression, loneliness and evil at the hands wicked men. Without the Lord, these things seem to serve no purpose.

As the crowds begin to gather in greater number, Jesus gets in a boat, pushes out a little, and preaches; this would have helped to amplify his voice and give him a little space from the those who were pushing in on him. As he performs miraculous signs that display his power over creation, dedicated disciples begin to grow in number. He then appoints 12 men to be his apostles. These men would have had unique access to Jesus and responsibilities beyond those given to others who had been gathering as disciples. As disciples accumulate, so do those who are opposed to his teaching, and their rage begins to fester.

After being baptized by John, who is the prophet who prepares the way for the Lord in the wilderness, Jesus enters the wilderness where he fasts for 40 days. At the end of the 40 days, Jesus is hungry, as you might expect, and it is then that the devil comes to tempt Jesus. These forty days and these temptations are a parallel to Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. However, where Israel fails, Jesus succeeds, resisting those temptations to rebel against God the Father in order to honor and glorify himself. Later, Jesus returns to his hometown where he begins to teach in the synagogues, and while they are amazed at his teaching, they are infuriated at the suggestion that God might work wonders for foreigners instead of for them.

The gospel according to Luke is the longest book in the New Testament, and according to his own prelude, it’s an orderly collection of eye-witness accounts from the life and ministry of Jesus. He begins by recounting the events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist who would prepare the way for the coming Son of David. While John’s conception and birth are miraculous and recall the promises made to Abraham and Sarah, the birth of Jesus is greater still. His humble birth is cause for celebration and continued awe & wonder. Later, we’ll begin the book Ecclesiastes, a meditation on the futility of seeking fulfillment in life apart from God.

Amos was a prophet from Judah who travelled away from his homeland to prophesy against Israel. As his introduction states, Amos was a shepherd by trade, but he received instruction from the Lord to go north to Samaria around 760 BC. It was a time of great prosperity for Israel, but many farmers had been reduced to poverty. The wealthy gave them loans that they could not repay, forcing these debtors into slavery whereby the aristocrats seized their lands. They felt that their city walls and citadels would keep them safe and secure from danger, but the God of Israel sees all and will exact justice on those who have neglected his statutes.