Luke 14:1-6

Click here for the Luke 14:1-6 PODCAST

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. 5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say. ~ Luke 14:1-6

Sabbath day hospitality was an important part of Jewish life, so it was not unusual for the Lord Jesus to be invited to a home for a meal after Sabbath services.

In v.1 we read, "One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched." The previous chapter ended with a judgment. The people, by and large, chose their religion, which made their bondage to their sinfulness strong. They were choosing their religion over the Lord Jesus. It was the religious leaders who had duped the people. The Bible warns us about false teachers and the deadly, eternally destructive impact they have on people.

They were extremely religious and moral, and righteous on the outside. The Jews were sure they were the favorites of God and knew the way to heaven. They believed the good people are going to go to heaven and the bad people are going to hell.

They saw the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as an attack on them and their system.

The Lord Jesus was not reluctant to confront religion. One day in an unnamed town, He goes to a luncheon with a Pharisee, according to v.1. Since the Sabbath was the high point of their week in terms of law keeping, it was also the potential high point of their week for law breaking. Law breaking or law keeping reached its apex on the Sabbath when an endless array of regulations made the effort to comply exhausting so that it became anything but a day of rest.  They wanted Jesus to violate the Sabbath to give proof that He was not from God.

In v.2 we read, "There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body." This man had a problem with water retention, a symptom of some kind of a disease. It could have been a serious compromise in his liver or his kidneys or his heart. It indicated perhaps congestive heart failure. It could have been liver disease.

How heartless of the Pharisees to use this man as a tool to accomplish their wicked plan, but if we do not love the Lord, neither will we love our neighbor. 

Keep in mind the Lord Jesus had supposedly already “violated” their Sabbath traditions on at least seven different occasions. On the Sabbath day, He had cast out a demon (Luke 4:31–37), healed a fever (Luke 4:38–39), allowed His disciples to pluck grain (Luke 6:1–5), healed a lame man (John 5:1–9), healed a man with a paralyzed hand (Luke 6:6–10), delivered a crippled woman who was afflicted by a demon (Luke 13:10–17), and healed a man born blind (John 9).

This was a set up by the Pharisees, otherwise this man in his condition would not have been there. They were hoping the Lord Jesus would perform a miracle and heal the man on the Sabbath so that they could catch Him breaking the Law on the Sabbath and use it against Him.

In v.4 we read, "But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way." That verb translated, "taking hold of him" means to literally wrapped this man up in His arms and squeezing him tightly, as if to force the fluid out him and giving him a new body and a new beginning.

In v.5 we read, "Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?" Wells were everywhere in Israel and people fell into them often. So did animals. The Lord knew this legalistic crowd was dangerous for the man who was healed so He let him go. 

In addition, He knew that on the Sabbath day, it was common for the Jews to deliver their farm animals from wells, so what was wrong with delivering this man who was made in the likeness of God?  

While healing this man, the Lord Jesus exposed the false piety of the religious leaders. They claimed to be defending God’s word, when in reality they were rejecting God by the way they abused people and accused the Savior.

It was obvious these religious leaders had no signs of the life of God in them. They lacked compassion, mercy and kindness.  They were self-righteous. They loved money. They were spiritually proud. They were hypocrites. And then, they sought ever so much more to kill the very Son of the living God.

Luke 13:34-35

Click here for the Luke 13:34-35 PODCAST

34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. ~ Luke 13:34-35

The Lord Jesus' heart was grieved as He saw the unbelief of the people, and in v.34, He broke out in a lamentation over the sad plight of the Jewish nation. It was the expression of a broken heart. The people had been given many opportunities to believe and be saved, but they had refused His message. 

In v.34 we read, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." For years God had sent to Jerusalem prophet after prophet, the Old Testament shows the history, and so many of them were mistreated and killed by Jerusalem. 

The Lord went on to say, "how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." The metaphor is of a protective hen gathering her young. What an insight into the heart of the Lord Jesus. He had the best intended for them, not the worst, but they were unwilling. 

In Jeremiah 29:11 we read, "The thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of good and peace, to give you a future and a hope." That's the heart of the Lord Jesus. 

The word “desolate” in v.35 literally means "Left to you." The Lord Jesus was saying, "Your house is left to you."  That's another way of saying you're on your own. As we see in Romans 1:24,26,28, one expression of God's wrath is He lets us go our own way. 

In v.35 we read, "Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

The word “until” teaches us God is not done with Israel, even though they had largely rejected Him. This “until” tells us that sometime in the future Israel will acknowledge the Lord Jesus as Messiah. The Lord Jesus quotes Psalm 118:26 in v.35 of our text. And, with this quote, we conclude God keeps His promises. 

In the Old Testament God promised a son who would be a king with a kingdom, and the kingdom would be worldwide and everlasting. And, Israel will one day trust in their Messiah, the Lord Jesus, and they, one day, will receive the land that God promised them. And one day they will be a blessing to the whole world. 

One of the major divine purposes for the tribulation in relation to Israel is the conversion of the Jewish remnant to faith in Jesus as their Messiah. This will take place throughout the tribulation, but by the end of that seven-year period the entire number of the elect remnant will become converted to the Lord Jesus. 

This is the point of Daniel's seventieth seven in Daniel 9:27. At the beginning of the prophecy in Daniel 9:24, God is clear to tell us this prophecy is for Daniel's people, the Jews. This seventieth seven is referred to by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 30:7 as a time of Jacob's trouble. We know that Jacob is Israel in unbelief, so this means that during the seven year time of tribulation God will draw Israel back to Himself even though it will be a volatile period of time. 

In fact, in Matthew 24:15 the Lord Jesus refers to this Daniel 9 prophecy proving it is yet in the future to take place. The Lord Jesus brought attention to the fact that in the middle of this seven year period, the antichrist would be revealed. It is a time of Jacob's trouble when God will fulfill all of the unfulfilled prophecies concerning Israel. By this we can be buoyed once again that God's promises are true and can be trusted.

We are following a God today who is faithful and true, whose will is sovereign. Yet, He doesn't force His will on anyone. And, therefore, we can trust Him with our lives. Let me encourage you today, my friends, go all out for Him today and watch the miraculous things He will do for and through you as you trust in Him.

Luke 13:31-33

Click here for the Luke 13:31-33 PODCAST

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! ~ Luke 13:31-33

From His birth, the Lord Jesus was the target for death. In fact, by the end of His earthly life, it seems like almost everybody wanted Him dead.  

It began with Herod the Great, who ruled Israel during the time of Christ. So threatened by anyone who might take his throne, Herod slaughtered any threat, even his own family members. He was so paranoid that when he heard from the wise men that there was a child born in Bethlehem that was the king, his paranoia led him to massacre every male child two and under in the whole area.

After the Lord Jesus became a Rabbi, He began teaching the people. The response of the people was mixed, some love it and others, well , they were so angry. In fact, in one city they took Him out to the edge of a cliff and tried to throw Him off. 

The religious wanted the Lord Jesus dead. In John 2, He went into the temple during the Passover. After observing the religious and greedy behavior of all, He made a whip out of three cords. He then drove all in the temple out. He emptied the place of thousands of people. Poured out the coins of the money changers, overturned the tables. Then said, "Take these things away.  Stop making my Father's house a house of merchandise."

In John 5, after He had healed a man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath day, the Jews were furious that He had healed the man on that day. As a result, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him.

It is also true that in the end Pilate wanted Him dead because Pilate needed Him dead or he would have a revolution on his hands. The people wanted Him dead, but Pilate found no fault in Him. He wanted to wash His hands of innocent blood, but finally intimidated by the Jews who would report Him to Rome and he would lose His job if another bad decision was made with regard to the way He was treating the Jews and discharging His responsibility on behalf of Rome. So, in fear of losing his job, he acquiesces and orders Him to be put to death.

The Roman soldiers wanted Him dead and here we are introduced to Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. This is the son of Herod the Great, and his hatred for the Lord Jesus was equal to that of his father.  

In v.31 we read, "At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." 

This Herod, Herod Antipas, the Jews hated for he was a puppet of Rome. He had murdered John the Baptist. Trying to intimidate Him, the Pharisees tell the Lord Jesus that Herod wants Him dead. They tried everything to get rid of Him.

Right after Jesus' tough words about the Jews missing out on God's salvation, the Jews were even more offended. They want to silence the Lord Jesus. And the way they chose was to threaten Him or intimidate Him with the biggest stick that existed, Herod Antipas.

In v.32 we read, "Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal." In the ancient times, the fox was viewed as an insignificant third-rate nuisance. To call somebody a fox would be demeaning and contemptuous. Antipas was just a nuisance, neither great nor powerful. He doesn't have the strength to kill. 

In v.33 we read, "In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem." The Lord Jesus lived on the divine timetable. I often think of the fact that nothing can thwart the will of God. In this passage the Lord Jesus hints at the final three days of His life. And, oh yeah, we delay God's will, in accordance with His permissible will, but in the end His will will prevail.

I think of the many times when something monumental has happened in my life, the timing was always key. The key is following the Lord's lead. And, if we are not being prepared to follow by being in His word, we are in danger of missing the ability to follow Him and His lead. Of course, His will is sovereign, but I wonder how often I've missed being a part of something significant. Living on the divine timetable is made possible by having our world framed up by His word. When we read His word, we must make it our goal to meet with Him. This is what enables us more and more to follow Him in our daily lives.

Luke 13:22-30

Click here for the Luke 13:22-30 PODCAST

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”  ~ Luke 13:22-30

No Bible spokesman places more stress on hell as the final consequence of God’s judgment than the Lord Jesus. In today's text, someone asked if only a few people would be saved. The question reveals the man's knowledge of the most popular topic of the Lord Jesus. 

And as He passed through one city to another, He taught the people about the kingdom of God, the opposite of hell. The essence of ministry is disseminating the truth about the rule of God in our lives. The kingdom of God begins in us with understanding the truth. Not all of the truth. We begin with the truth about the identity of the Lord Jesus. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Due to His teaching and miracles, there were massive crowds who followed the Lord Jesus. But, at this point the numbers were changing due to the successful campaign of the religious leaders who were saying the Lord Jesus performed His miracles by the power of Satan.

In v.24 we read, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." The Lord Jesus draws attention to the real issue: whether or not we are saved! When we get that settled, then we can discuss others being saved.

The words "Make every effort" comes from a Greek word that describes an athlete giving his best to win the contest. Our English word agonize comes from this Greek word. It literally means "to fight." 

The battle is largely within us, but it is not about what we do. It is a battle of trusting the Lord Jesus to do in us what we can't do. The narrow gate is the Lord Jesus who is enough for us to be saved from ourselves, sin and death.

These people were lost because they depended on their ancient religion to save them. It takes more than reverence for tradition to get into God’s kingdom! 

In v.25 we read, "Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from."

This is a scary reality. The door is narrow because it is the Lord Jesus. And, what determines whether we are in or out is that we positively respond to the gospel before the owner of the house closes the door. Once closed, the door will never be opened again. 

And v.25 says, “Lord, open up to us.” They didn't "make any effort."  They didn't battle. They never entrusted themselves to the Lord to have His way. They kept their lives and so they lost their opportunity, eternally.  And so, there they are standing outside banging on the door, pleading for it to be opened, but it is too late. 

Part of the remorse of hell is going to be the shock of it. Hell is populated by people who are stunned to find themselves there.  They feel like they've been cheated, like they've been overlooked, like they've been forgotten, like something's wrong, like they're innocent. But, they are not because they procrastinated.

According to v.25,  when they cried, “Sir, open the door for us,” the owner responds, "I don't know you." Of course, God knows all things, yet He says, "I don't know you." These who are knocking never had a personal relationship with God. Salvation requires a shared life. There will be those who had the opportunity and they didn't take it, because they trusted in their own self-righteousness. This is part of their remorse and the agony of hell. 

In v.26 we read, "Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets." In Matthew 7 they said to the Lord, "Lord, Lord." They lacked what is essential, a personal relationship with the Lord. They came into contact with the Lord Jesus but were never connected with Him. They knew of Him, yet they did not know Him personally. 

In v.27 we read, "But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!" We do not know in advance when our opportunity to trust the Lord Jesus will come to an end. We are wise to respond today.

In v.28 we read, "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out." The gospel is not about this life, it's about life in relation to eternity. Those who rejected the free gift of salvation are going to experience weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the grinding of remorse. It's not just the absence of blessing or the pain of punishment. It's the experience of remorse. 

In v.29-30 we read, "People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." 

These sons of Abraham are going to be in hell realizing that the kingdom of God is partly full of Gentiles. The Jews disdained the Gentiles not realizing the Gentiles were included in the Promise to Abraham all along.

In October of 1981, when I came into the kingdom of God, it was the result coming to the end of me. My efforts were not going to get me anywhere good and I knew that. I came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by faith alone through His grace alone. 

In the kingdom, the first is last and the last is first. This means everybody's status is equal. We will be there because of His work on the cross done for us.

Luke 13:18-21

Click here for the Luke 13:18-21 PODCAST

18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” 20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” ~ Luke 13:18-21

Being fairly convinced the Lord Jesus was the Christ, the disciples had left everything to follow Him. At this point in the narrative, though, His mission appeared to not be all that successful. This is why the Lord Jesus uses two object lessons in today's text to describe His kingdom.

In v.18-19 we read, "Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches."

This first object lesson the Lord Jesus uses here is the mustard seed, the smallest seed in that day. The Lord Jesus tells a short story about a man who planted the seed in his garden, and it became a tree, and the birds nested in it.

There is a species of mustard called the Khardal mustard, which is a shrub. It's a bush, and it can grow pretty tall for a bush, like fifteen feet tall. It's still pretty flimsy, though. But, it is strong enough to support birds that would nest in its branches. 

Now, in another parable, which Jesus, incidentally, called the key to all of the other parables, the parable of the sower and the seed, He said, "Some of the seed fell by the wayside and the birds of the air came and snatched it away."

When the Lord Jesus explained the meaning of the birds of the air, He said, "Whenever the truth is sown in people's hearts, Satan comes and snatches it away." So, in that parable, He equates birds with evil or with Satan. 

In Revelation 18, we read, "Babylon, Babylon has fallen, the dwelling place of demons, the prison of every foul spirit, and the cage of every foul and hated bird." 

Every time birds are used in prophetic or symbolic literature, it's always evil. When it comes to trees growing in unusually large ways, we have only to look at Ezekiel 17 and Daniel 4, where we are given visions describing trees which represent this enormous, worldwide, dominating power, and the growth of worldly nations. 

So, the church will grow, certainly, the kingdom of God won't happen immediately in all its glory, but it will when He comes again. And, that will happen during the Millennium after the seventieth seven of Daniel 9. The seventieth seven is inaccurately called the Tribulation. It will be a seven year time of Tribulation but the Lord never calls it the Tribulation. 

In the meantime, His kingdom is slowly growing. And, it will involve unusual growth. And it's going to grow, certainly, and it's going to be larger, which means that even evil people and evil forces, because of its growth, can lodge in its branches. It's like a warning. If you look at much Christian television today, not all of it's bad, but there's enough of it that isn't good. 

And when I see the Lord Jesus misrepresented by certain programs that I have seen, I think to myself, "Boy, there are some strange birds that have landed in our tree that pass themselves off as spokespeople for the kingdom." So, yes, it will grow, but not all growth is good growth. 

Now, this brings us to the second parable, which is yet again, another description of the kingdom of God. Whereas the first parable accentuated the external nature of the kingdom, this second parable gives us a glance into the internal nature of the kingdom. 

In v.20-21 we read, "20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."

This second object lesson used here is yeast. Yeast was kept and used to bake bread. When we put the yeast saved from the previous loaf, into the loaf, the whole loaf is permeated, causing it to rise up. The old saying is, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."

The growth of God's kingdom is never fast, but over time He permeates our existence. Whereas the dough is illustrative of the world, the yeast is illustrative of the kingdom. It's hidden in the world. The world, they can't even see it. 

But while they don't see it, God is influencing the world through our lives, through our story the Lord is giving us with Him. Lives being touched, lives being changed, and just like yeast that permeates, the Lord is reaching and changing lives around us through our yielded lives. And sometimes we are aware of it.

The difference between religion and a personal relationship with God is like night and day. Religion is rules-based, harsh and stifling. In contrast, our relationship with the Lord Jesus is personal, open, warm and liberating. An egg broken from the outside is destroyed, but an egg broken from the inside causes life.

God changes a society through hearts that have been changed. He changes our hearts by revealing His heart in and to us. A few years ago there was an article on the quest of American farmer to produce the biggest, reddest, and most luscious-looking strawberries through cross breeding and genetic modification. They succeeded! American growers engineered huge, red strawberries that delighted the eyes, but not the mouth. In the process of focusing so much on the looks of strawberries they sacrificed their flavor and sweetness.

The same is true of the human heart. This process, the winning of the human heart by God, is slow and methodical. In a progressive way God wins our hearts as He reveals His heart to us.

God changes lives one heart at a time. And, He does not put a price tag on His love. This is how He works. In a progressive way, God accomplishes the changing of our hearts by revealing Himself slowly and daily. As we encounter impossible moments and we commune with Him, He works in our lives, all the while revealing Himself to us. As this happens, we grow in our trust of Him and we give Him more and more of our hearts.

Luke 13:10-17

 Click here for the Luke 13:10-17 PODCAST

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. ~ Luke 13:10-17

When we confront religion, whether in us or someone else, we confront much more, we confront Satan, himself. Religion was Satan's idea from the beginning. It was he who told the couple that they could be like God and man has been following that lead ever since.

According to Luke 13:10, the Lord Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, and it was the Sabbath. It was there the Lord Jesus came into contact with this lady who, for eighteen long, painful years, had an illness caused by a spirit. In fact, according to v.16, Satan was the cause of this woman's illness. She was doubled over and could not stand up straight.  

When the Lord Jesus saw her in v.12, He called for her and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Without even confronting the demon, the Lord Jesus ended the lady's illness. He initiated this event and nothing is mentioned about her faith. The text doesn't even say she came to be healed. It appears she was going about her day as she always did.

That day, the Lord Jesus healed her independent of her will or her faith. He was known to heal with or without faith. He healed people from demon oppression and possession. And He always healed immediately. He healed this lady, as others, completely, instantaneously, and permanently. 

In v.13 we read, "Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God." He didn't need to put His hands on her. Of course, according to the Law, she was unclean, due to her sickness. He touched her to communicate to her her value.

In v.14 we read, "Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."  

This ruler of the synagogue had the responsibility to oversee the synagogue. He was the religious establishment man. He was the typical legalist who had little or no compassion for people. He had just seen this lady who needed mercy, compassion, tenderness and kindness. But, this ruler was indignant. He displayed intense displeasure for all to see.

This man had no heart. He showed no compassion. This compassionless legalist thought it better that this lady continue in her suffering than to have the Lord Jesus heal her on the Sabbath in his synagogue.

Notice the language the Lord Jesus uses of freedom and bondage. The synagogue leader uses the word therapeuo, the Greek word for healing. The Lord Jesus, on the other hand, keeps coming back to the words luo and apoluo, the Greeks words for releasing or loosing her bonds. This indicates something more than physical healing is going on here. Yes, there is healing, but there is also something more than healing happening here. The synagogue leader talks about the finer points of the Law while the Lord Jesus talks about freedom from bondage. The Apostle Paul wrote "It was for freedom we have been set free." The Lord Jesus came to free us from the bondage of religion.

Miracles do not create faith, they strengthen faith. Only God's Holy Spirit can produce faith. Granted, we must be willing. But, at the end of the day, He does the work. Here's a man who saw a miracle, right before his eyes. Yet, it didn't matter to him at all, because his heart wasn't prepared for it had never been broken.

The religious, trying to make themselves holy through their supposed good behavior, accumulated many rules that they could keep on the Sabbath and convince themselves in spite of the rest of stuff going on in their heart and life, they were OK with God because they kept the Sabbath. The ruler of the synagogue tried to bring a charge against the Lord Jesus. But of course, there's nothing in the law of God that says you can't help somebody on the Sabbath.

So, the Lord Jesus answers this man in v.15-16 where we read, " 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"  

If I had been crippled for eighteen years, I wonder if I would be faithful to worship God week after week in the synagogue. Surely this lady had prayed and asked God for help, and yet she was not delivered, at least for eighteen long years. However, God’s apparent lack of concern did not cause her to become bitter or resentful. 

Ever sensitive to the needs of others, the Lord Jesus saw the woman and called her to come to Him. It may have seemed heartless to the congregation for Him to do this and expose her handicap publicly, but He knew what He was doing. He wanted the woman to help Him teach the people an important lesson about real freedom.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who can set the prisoner free. He spoke the word, laid His hands on her, and she was healed and gave glory to God! That was a synagogue service the people never forgot.

The bondage of the ruler of the synagogue was worse than that of the woman. Her bondage affected only her body, but his bondage shackled his mind, heart and spirit. He was so bound and blinded by religion that he ended up serving the purposes of Satan and opposing the Son of God! 

Of course, the Lord Jesus could have healed this lady on any other day of the week. After all, she had been bound for eighteen painful years, and one more day would have made little difference. But He deliberately chose the Sabbath day because He wanted to teach a lesson about freedom. Note the repetition of the word free.

Satan puts people into bondage, but true freedom comes from trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. The Sabbath that God wants to give us is a “heart rest” that comes through His GRACE and not from our attempts to earn His favor. 

Ah, GRACE, I love it! Someone recently said to me, "Christianity is too easy." I said, "For who?" He said, "For us." I said, "Of course it is, because it was most difficult for the Lord Jesus who earned it for us." When we live not being buoyed by God's GRACE, we deny the effectiveness of the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. The adventure awaits us, so go and throw caution to the wind and be a display of His GRACE before all to see, today!

Luke 13:6-9

Click here for the Luke 13:6-9 PODCAST

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” ~ Luke 13:6-9

We come to the last paragraph in a long sermon that the Lord Jesus gave in the months toward the end of His ministry. In v.6 we read, "Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any." 

In that day, fig trees were very common and very valuable. Fig trees grew to a height of twenty-five feet and sometimes their width was as much as twenty feet.

In this parable, this man had a fig tree in his vineyard. It had been there quite a while. And, he came looking for fruit on it and didn't find any. This fig tree was expected to produce fruit because it was planted in vineyard soil. That was the best place it could have been planted. 

According to Leviticus 19:23–25, fruit from newly planted trees was not eaten the first three years, and the fourth year the crops belonged to the Lord. A farmer would not get any figs for himself until the fifth year, but this man had now been waiting for seven years! No wonder he wanted to cut down the fruitless tree!

In v.7 we read, "So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?" Since the tree had been provided all that it needed to produce fruit, when it did not, the owner wanted to cut it down.

In v.8 we read, "Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it." Understood here is the many opportunities we all have to place our faith in the Lord Jesus. God pursued me for almost eighteen years. It was on the heels of my dad dying, when I was a month away from being eighteen, that I cried out for His presence in my life. And, since my mother died when I was five years old, I was desperate for some help from somewhere. I've often wondered where I would be had I not cried out to Him that October day in 1981.

And then in v.9 we read, "If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down." The word “fine” is in italics which means it is not in the original Greek text. The word "fine" is like a shrug of the shoulders. The literal translation of "If it bears fruit next year, fine! " is “in the coming time.” I don't know how long that time would be. It's open-ended. 

In the Greek, this first “if” in v.9 is a third-class conditional sentence, which is best translated, "If, and it probably won't happen." The structure of this verse explains why there's no fruitfulness because it's an unlikely reality that the tree will bear fruit, and so it leaves us with nothing but a sort of shrug of the shoulders. The people who had heard the message of the Lord Jesus and had seen His miracles should have believed but they didn't.

The primary application of our text is for anyone who has heard the truth for so long and had to date rejected it. The hope of them believing was getting dim, but the heart of God is always willing to respond to any plea of help. And yet, these Jews had some time before His death and departure. They would get more opportunities to believe.

This tree reminds us of God’s special goodness to Israel. God waited three years during the Lord’s earthly ministry, but the nation, at large, did not produce fruit. He then waited about forty years more before He allowed the Roman armies to destroy Jerusalem and the temple, and during those years, the church gave to the nation a powerful witness of the gospel message. Finally, the tree was cut down.

In the end, according to Romans 11, the ax cut them down. Those who bear no spiritual fruit through a relationship with God by means of Jesus Christ will be cut down and they will suffer torment forever. 

The judgment is near. The sand of the hourglass is running out fast. The events of our day are lining up with the days God refers to in His word as the end days. You, my friend, need to come while you have the time, while you have the opportunity.

God is gracious and long suffering toward people and does more than enough to encourage us to repent from our way of making it and believing, and thus, bear fruit. God has every right to cut us down, but in His mercy, He has spared us. Yet we must not presume upon the kindness and patience of the Lord, for the day of judgment will come.

It is significant that the parable was left “open-ended,” so that the listeners had to supply the conclusion. Did the tree bear fruit? Did the special care accomplish anything? Was the tree spared or cut down? We have no way to know the answers to these questions, but we can answer as far as our own lives are concerned! Again, the question is not “What happened to the tree?” but “What will happen to me?”

God is seeking fruit, the evidence of His presence in our lives. He will accept no substitutes, and the time to repent is now. The next time you hear about a tragedy that claims many lives, ask yourself, “Am I just taking up space, or am I bearing fruit to God’s glory?”

The only way for you and me to bear fruit is due to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He actually produces the fruit. And, the Bible instructs us that if we will believe in the Lord Jesus and receive His free gift of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit will make our spirit alive to Him. I trust you have done this, my friend. 

Luke 13:1-5

Click here for the Luke 13:1-5 PODCAST

1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” ~ Luke 13:1-5

Our text today begins with, "Now there were some present at that time." This is the third interruption in this long discourse the Lord Jesus is giving here. He was interrupted in Luke 12:13 by a man who had a question. He was interrupted in Luke 12:41 by Peter who had another question. And here in Luke 13:1, He is interrupted a third time by some people who have a question. 

In today's text, the man's question came with a story. In v.1 we read, “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.” These Jews were asking the Lord Jesus if there was a connection between the way these worshippers from Galilee died and their sin. Now, remember, the Lord Jesus had closed out Luke 12 by talking about the fact that a person who is going to go to court, who is guilty of something, better settle with his accuser before he gets to the judge or the judge is going to expose his guilt, put in prison until he pays every last penny that is owed. Translation? We better settle our case with God before we get to the judgment because when we are before God at the judgment, it will be too late. We will be turned over to eternal punishment. 

So judgment is the theme in the context. And that peaks the interest of these people. Now, this incident of “the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices” had just happened. Pilate had sent his soldiers to find the Galileans and he has them slaughtered while they are offering sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem. And, it is very likely this tragedy happened during the Passover. 

Furthermore, Pilate would have been in Jerusalem at the Passover because that's when the city was bulging with all the pilgrims and possible trouble. The Galileans were notoriously rebellious, so apparently there were some Galileans who had done something of a rebellious nature against Rome and they were tracked down in Jerusalem. They were tracked down by Pilate's men, found at the temple offering sacrifices and then they killed them.

And so in v.2 we read, "Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?'" The Lord Jesus calls their conventional theology into question here. They thought the reason this happened to these people was because they were the greatest sinners in Galilee. Their theology said, "bad things only happen to bad people." Granted, there are built-in judgments to sinful behavior. If I became an alcoholic, there is a built-in judgment. It's called cirrhosis of the liver. But, we are not talking about individual issues here. We're talking about group calamity.

In v.3 we read, "I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Essentially, we live in a fallen world and God has not chosen to prevent bad things from happening to good people. This is not to say that He is the cause of the calamity, He just doesn't prevent it every time. There are times He does prevent things from happening, but not always. And, we conclude that when calamity strikes, it doesn't mean that those victims of the calamity are deserving of the pain or at fault in any way. God does not operate this way.

In v.4, we are presented with another calamity, the tower calamity. The Lord Jesus brings up another recent event at that time. In v.4 we read "Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?" 

The Jews down in Jerusalem tended to think of the Galileans as inferior. The Lord Jesus directs their attention to their city. Those in that tower weren't doing anything wrong. This event happened at Siloam which is a section in the southern part of Jerusalem. And there was a spring in the area outside the wall called Gihon and it had an abundance of water and that water was brought into the city of Jerusalem through a tunnel that Hezekiah built. The water came through the tunnel and filled up the Pool of Siloam. After the water came, a scaffolding fell over and landed on the people watching or walking by, and they were crushed and they died.

These bad things did not happen to these people due to their sin. These things happen in a fallen world. Of course, God has been known to intervene in some cases but not in this one. If all calamity were prevented like this, we would all be prevented from benefiting from the purpose of pain which is to drive us to cry out to God. Calamity is not God's way to single out the especially evil people. Calamity is God's way to deepen our understanding of Him.

In v.3 we read, "But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Then in v.5 we read, "But unless you repent, you too will all perish." The real calamity is not that people die, it is we do not turn to God through the calamity. Just because people live doesn't mean they have escaped judgment. True calamity is that we die and experience the judgment of God because we have not settled our case before we go to court, as we saw back in Luke 12:58.

Pain is a fact of life. Sooner or later pain comes into everyone’s pathway. And when it does how do we deal with it? Do we let it conquer us, or do you stare it down, armed with God's “stubborn joy”? Even in pain God is near. He wants us to grasp the peace that defies pain. He wants to be with us, facing pain with His peace and joy. Only He can show us the path to a defiant peace and joy.

Luke 12:54-59

Click here for the Luke 12:54-59 PODCAST

54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? 57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” ~ Luke 12:54-59 

Could you imagine living in Israel when the Lord Jesus lived there? I would hope that I would have not rejected Him and His message, especially with all the miracles He performed. The sad part of the story is most of the people rejected both Him and His message. 

In Luke 12:54 we read, "He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does." 

This discourse of the Lord Jesus runs all the way through Luke 13:9. It started in Luke 12:1 where we are informed He was speaking to His disciples and then in v.22, the massive crowd had made up its mind by this time to reject Christ. They were following the lead of the religious leaders, who have spread the word that the Lord Jesus was satanic. 

Even though He ministered in Galilee for over a year, when He goes back to Galilee after His resurrection to meet with believers there, there are only 500 who gather with Him, and in Judea when they meet in the Upper Room, there are only 120. So it was a small group of people when Christ was here that really responded positively. Most rejected Him, and so here in v.54, He directs His words to those who rejected Him and His message.

Up to this point, the Lord Jesus has been inviting the people to believe. Here, He begins condemning those who were rejecting His message of salvation. So, in v.54, He uses a simple illustration to make His point. He was saying, "We look out at the Mediterranean and we see a cloud and we say it's going to rain because we all know how rain works. Water evaporates off the sea. It collects in a cloud. It comes over the land and it drops. With only a minimal amount of evidence, we can conclude it is going to rain."

Then, in v.55 we read, "And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is." In like manner, we note the direction of the wind has changed. We feel a hot wind coming from the south, therefore, we conclude it is going to be hot today. 

In v.56 the Lord Jesus gives the application, which reads, "Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?" This was the Lord Jesus' favorite term to describe those who rejected the truth. He called them hypocrites more than He called them anything else and not only the leaders but the people as well. A hypocrite lies about his identity. To be a hypocrite means to deceive somebody about the truth. Hypocrites are fake and they have a phony righteousness. Their religion is external and their hearts are unchanged.

The religious knew how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but they lacked the ability to see the signs of the times. Minimal evidence was required to determine whether it would rain or whether it would be a hot day. Their hypocrisy was in pretending not to have enough evidence about the identity of the Lord Jesus. They forever said to the Lord Jesus, "Show us a sign." And, He was finished with giving them more signs.

We all know how to draw conclusions from evidence, we do it every day. We have been given massive amounts of evidence including the testimony of the angels to Zechariah and Elizabeth the parents of John the Baptist. Then we have the angelic announcement to Mary of the birth of the Lord Jesus and the fact that He was born of a virgin. Then we have the prophesy of Zechariah the priest that the Christ was coming to bring salvation and forgiveness of sins to people through the mercies of God and that He would bring salvation light into this sinful darkness and life to those living in the shadow of death and peace to the alienated and the troubled. 

Then, there is the testimony of the angels to the shepherds that the Messiah had been born, and the shepherds then going to give testimony of what they had heard of the Christ child whom they came to see. Then we have the testimony of Simeon and Anna when Jesus came to the temple to be dedicated and they had been convinced that this indeed was the Messiah, the one who had come for the consolation or the comfort of Israel and the salvation of the Gentiles.

And then, John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," and the Father speaks out of heaven, "This is My beloved Son," and the Spirit comes and descends upon Him. And then, the Lord Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness, encounters Satan and conquers him and his temptations, is then filled with the Spirit. Then, He goes out and teaches truth, heals the sick, casts out demons, controls nature, and raises the dead. Evidence? How much more evidence is needed? The evidence is rather large and unmistakable.

This is why the Lord Jesus says in v.58-59, "58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

When somebody commits an offense or a crime against somebody and the person offended wants to get it settled, the Lord Jesus is saying, "make it right before he arranges an appearance before the magistrate." The magistrate is the person of power. You'd go and the guy would lay out his case and the magistrate would then remand the thing to the judge and put him to court.

To get to the judge means your guilt is going to have you assigned to jail. And, since the debt cannot be paid, you languish in jail and you die there. The Lord Jesus is saying, "If you've got any sense, you will settle your issues of guilt before you arrive at the judge." 

We had better discern the time or we will arrive at the Great White Throne Judgment. We must settle before we arrive. We do not want to show up in heaven and say, "Well, here I am, God.  I hope the good stuff outweighs the bad." We will never be good enough to pay the penalty of our sin. If we  have settled before we get there, we will not go to the Great White Throne of Judgment, because the Lord Jesus took our penalty while He hung on the cross. Some say, "It is too easy." It is for us, but not for Him. This is why at the Great White Throne Judgment of God, there are only unbelievers.  

God has settled our case by sending the Lord Jesus to the cross to take our punishment. We must trust Him, now. If you don't, you'll get to court and you will pay in full down to the last cent. You do not even have to go there.  Settle your account. Put your trust in Christ right now. 

Luke 12:49-53

Click here for the Luke 12:49-53 PODCAST

49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” ~ Luke 12:49-53

Fire has long been known to be a symbol of judgment. And, the Lord Jesus brought judgment upon sin when He willingly went to the cross. He had to do this because mankind had been hurled into the vortex of sin that has been spinning us further and further away from God since the Garden of Eden.

Now, in order to understand and appreciate the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must have an accurate understanding of the bad news. When Adam sinned in the Garden, he rebelled against God. And, since all mankind was born into rebellion against God, we are naturally at odds with God. Then, God gave us His Law which we must allow to do its work in us before we find ourselves desperate enough for the good news. 

The good news of the gospel is that the Lord Jesus did not wait until we were loving enough before He loved us. He didn’t even wait till we asked Him to love us before He loved us. He loved us when we were His enemies. The greatest display of love, ever, was when He embraced the Father's plan to go to the cross. This love for us births love in us, which forges love through us to those around us.

In v.49-50 we read, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed."

In Luke 2:14 we see that Luke opened this gospel announcing “peace on earth.” The Lord Jesus brought peace to those who were and are willing to trust Him. Yet, the irony here is this: He is the cause of division, even with those in our own families. 

While hanging on that tree, the Lord Jesus purchased the most important type of peace: peace with God. Without having peace with God, there is no knowing the peace of God. And, the Lord knows His peace is precious to those who are rejected by our families.

In v.51 we read, "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division." After instructing His disciples, the Lord Jesus turned and gave a final warning to the people around Him. The religious leaders had rejected His offer of peace and the people were in the process of forfeiting it, as well. There is no kingdom of peace until salvation comes to the heart, so, before peace comes, division must do its work.  

The fire consumes those who reject the Lord Jesus and it purifies those who receive Him. The kindling that started the fire that both consumes and purifies was the Lord Jesus, Himself. But, before He judged anyone, the Lord Jesus had Himself to be judged. He was judged by God as He hung on the cross. God literally judged our sin in His body as He was suspended between heaven and earth. The just for the unjust,  was punished for our sin.

At the end of v.49, the Lord Jesus said, "how I wish it were already kindled." That is to say, "I wish it was over." He was anticipating the event that would separate Him from His Father. He was pressed between the suffering and the purpose, between the anticipation of the pain and the plan, between His own will and the Father's will, but He never wavered after He said, "Nevertheless, not My will but yours be done." 

In v.52 we read, "From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three." The Lord Jesus causes division in families. The gospel becomes a serious problem to people who reject it, and those who believe it are outcasts in the eyes of those who reject it.  

In v.53 we read, "They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

It is obvious the Lord Jesus is the great divider. His cross is the great dividing event in all of history. Once we embraced the Lord Jesus, He became to us the Prince of Peace. 

Let me add, we make a serious mistake when we reduce the good news to its results, the change that comes into the lives of those who believe it. The changes the Lord renders in our lives must not be confused with the gospel itself. The gospel is not a means to an end, it is an end in itself. And, if we reject it, we will spend an eternity separated from Him and all that is good.