Through this historical narrative, God urges us to persevere in calling out to Him for His merciful rescue.

What was our Lord Jesus condemning in this passage- He was condemning that self-seeking, self-exalting, posturing for a position of honor or power, the desire to be in authority over others. There is no place, Our Lord Jesus says, for such prideful, selfish posturing within the kingdom of heaven or within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. In these verses, God calls us to a kind of spiritual greatness that comes through humble service to one another. Our Lord's definition of what is truly great is very different from the world's and from yours and mine.

In these verses, we see that God always acts with intentionality in our lives. What that means is that the things that happen to you, both good and bad, God intends with great purpose for your overall good.

God grants the grace of His salvation in equal measure to all whom He calls into His kingdom. God does not play favorites, but, as someone once said about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ- The ground at the foot of the cross is level. No one who comes to Christ comes on the basis of their own merit, nor does anyone receive any more or any less of God's great gift of eternal life. You either have eternal life through faith in Christ, or you do not.

In these verses, God declares to us the great benefits of following Christ. Some of the specific benefits of knowing Him are more obvious to us than others. It is not hard for us to think of that benefit that Jesus actually mentions last in His list here- eternal life. But there are other benefits that Jesus mentions in this passage that are quite simply amazing- And this is, by no means, a comprehensive list.

God warns that wealth is one of the greatest road blocks to salvation there is. It is so great, in fact, that it is impossible for someone who is wealthy to come to saving faith in Christ. It is impossible for us. But it is not impossible for God. Could it be that you are one of those who loves money more than your own soul-

God presents the resurrected Jesus to each of us. God is giving each of us the opportunity to hear the truth of His mercy and love, that even though we are in rebellion against Him, He loves us, has given Himself for us as the one and only sacrifice that can pay for our sins, and He presents this good news of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ to each of us in these verses.

In these verses, God declares to us the deity of our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus goes to the cross, there is nothing more important that you and I need to know. Our heavenly Father is underscoring through Luke that the one who was going to the cross was fully divine. Because Jesus is fully divine, He was able to pay the full price for YOUR sins.

In these verses, God is teaching us some critically important things relating to our own evangelism. What we see in this passage is that God grants salvation only to those who are willing to place Christ above all things. Jesus must come first. If He doesn't then you cannot be saved. If you have gone through the traditional motions of joining a church, but in your heart you are not devoted to Christ above all, then you are not regenerate, you are still in your sins, and you are on the broad road that leads to eternal destruction.

In these verses, God shows us something about Himself, about His own heart, about how He feels towards children. He has great affection for them. In these verses, we see that God loves children with a very special love that points all of us to the gospel of salvation.