Recap

So far in Luke, we've read through the introduction, Jesus' ministry in Galilee, and started the journey to Jerusalem. We noted how this book was written with the book of Acts to be one continuous story. We also looked at how, for Luke, the kingdom of God is centred on uplifting the marginalised and outcasts and bringing salvation and repentance, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We read the two miraculous conception stories of John and Jesus who would both fulfil Old Testament prophecies. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, announced to shepherds by angels, showing God's desire to reach the poor and outcasts. At twelve, Jesus is in the temple, focused on God's work. He is later baptised and resists the devil’s temptations in the wilderness. Throughout, people are filled with the Holy Spirit to fulfil their roles. John the Baptist taught the importance of repentance and caring for the poor.

Then Jesus began his ministry, using Isaiah 61:1-2 to declare his mission to those on the margins of society. After being chased from the synagogue, Jesus liberated people from demons and illness, putting his words into action. He called his first disciples by demonstrating his power, filling fishermen's nets after an empty night, showing his provision. He also called a tax collector, a sinner, explaining that he came for those in need. Jesus healed a leper, and a paralysed man, again showing his power and care for the outcast.

This led to the section focusing on teaching disciples about the values of Jesus' upside down kingdom. We get the Sermon on the Plain, similar to the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Luke includes curses following the Beatitudes, warning the proud and self-sufficient. In God's kingdom, those who recognise their need for him are blessed, while the self-reliant will be left wanting.

Jesus performed many miracles from healings, raising the dead, calming the storm, casting out demons, and feeding 5,000 people. This prompted the question, "Who is this Jesus?" and Peter answered, "The Christ of God." Jesus then revealed that he must suffer and die, and his disciples must also be willing to suffer for God's kingdom. This was confirmed when three of them witnessed Jesus' transfiguration, removing any doubt about his identity.

We began the journey to Jerusalem focus on the call of the disciples. Lacking faith, they failed to cast out a demon and argued over who was the greatest. When rejected by Samaritans, they threatened violence instead of showing mercy. Through them, we learn what not to do when following Jesus.

Jesus reclaimed his kingdom by sending out seventy-two disciples. He was symbolically reclaiming the earth, even seeing Satan fall. An expert summarised the law as loving God and neighbour, illustrated by the parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus taught the disciples to pray, while others accused him of casting out demons by Satan’s power.

Luke 12-13

Jesus give his disciples more teaching on how to live, and begins to link it to final judgement. Jesus warns his disciples to be weary of the leaven of the pharisees. When we read the same warning in Matthew 16:6, we noted that the leaven was a metaphor for the pharisees teaching. A little of their teaching can ruin a person, just like a little leaven (yeast) can affect a whole bath of dough.

Luke doesn’t link the leaven with the pharisees teaching, but with their hypocritical ways of living. Those that talk one way in front of others, and another way in private. Jesus warns his disciples that anything you do in private will eventually come to light. Therefore, it is better to do what is right regardless of whether anyone can see or not.

Too many people fall in the trap of pretending in public because they’re scared that others will judge them. Jesus points out it’s not other people that you should fear. Instead, you should fear God, because the worst a human can do is kill you, but the worst God can do is send you to hell. Make sure to share about the good news of Jesus, because if someone claims to follow Jesus but then doesn’t acknowledge him before others, Jesus won’t acknowledge them before his father.

Next, Jesus teaches on storing up for yourself. You shouldn’t hoard up for yourself out of greed. If God has blessed with you a lot, it’s because he is calling you to use it to bless others. Don’t be like a man who gets a bountiful harvest and then decides to hoard it all up so he can relax and do no work for a couple of years. If God was to take you in your sleep that night, what good would all the things you’ve stored up be?

But likewise, we also don’t need to worry about having enough. So much of our lives can be spent worrying about whether we have enough food, or what we’ll wear. God cares for each one of us and has more than enough resources at his disposal to make sure we have enough. Instead, our focus should be on the God’s kingdom, trusting that he will provide what we need.

And how do we focus on God’s kingdom? By being faithful and ready when he needs us. We don’t want to be like servants that pretend to be loyal, but do our own thing when the master isn’t around. We don’t want to wait to get our houses in order and address the flaws we know are there. Instead, we want to be faithful in doing good so that when God needs us, we’re prepared.

As he was teaching, a group come to Jesus and tell him about “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” (Luke 13:1). Without a little context, it can be unclear what this means. There was a group from Galilee that decided to rebel against Rome.

Pilate sent soldiers to crush this rebellion and so this group decided to hide in the temple, thinking no one would hurt them in there. Instead, Pilate ordered his men to kill them inside their temple, and there they died, their blood spilling in the very temple that they brought their offerings.

Jesus warns those speaking to him that this group wasn’t unique. These Galileans weren’t worse sinners than everyone else, and that’s why they got punished. Just like their ancestors, the people of Jerusalem have turned from properly following God. The Babylonians came and conquered Jerusalem many years ago, and the Romans squashed this rebellion because the hardness of their heart brought down the wrath of their enemies.

If the people of Jerusalem don’t repent, turn from their ways, and turn back from God, then they too will be destroyed by the might of their enemies. And we know this to be true. In 70 CE, the Roman empire lay siege to Jerusalem, destroying the temple. Jesus emphasises this message by drawing on the Old Testament imagery of a barren fig tree, often used to describe Israel and their faithfulness (see Jeremiah 8:13, Jeremiah 24:1–10, Hosea 9:10, and Micah 7:1).

Later on, Jesus mourns over Jerusalem, declaring that he only wanted to gather them up like a hen gathers up its chicks. Instead they are set on a path of violence, and they will be destroyed.

This is even further emphasised by the hostility of the religious leaders. Once again, Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath, and once again, they rebuked him for it. In this we see how hard the hearts of the people had become. Here is Jesus setting people free from the bondage of demons and sickness, but rather than rejoice, the people just become indignant.

Turning to his disciples, Jesus explains that the way to the kingdom of God is narrow. There are plenty of people that think they’re on it, but the hearts are hard, and when they finally get there, they will realise that they aren’t welcome.

Psalm 116

This psalm isn’t attributed to anyone in particular and falls into the category of thanksgiving psalm.

Psalm 116:1-4 - I love the Lord

Psalm 116:5-11 - The Lord is a righteous and merciful deliverer

Psalm 116:12-19 - How can I repay the Lord?

The psalmist opens with the declaration “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice”. The Lord is the one heard the psalmist in the darkest moment. When it felt like death was upon them, it was to the Lord the psalmist cried out.

The Lord is gracious, righteous, and merciful. He protects and rescues his people, dealing with them generously. It was the Lord that delivered the psalmist from death and from weeping. Now, even when the psalmist is going through difficult times, they trust in the Lord before anyone else.

This causes the psalmist to begin to wonder, how could they ever repay the Lord for what he has done. All they can do is hold on to God’s salvation and call on his name. The psalmist will seek to stay true to all that they say the will do before the Lord. They are the Lord’s servant and will offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord. They will do all this in the presence of God and others.

This psalm is the natural response of someone who has been blessed and saved by the Lord. They declare their love and trust in the Lord, even if things get hard again. Then they think through how they can bless the Lord in return.