Day 34

John 9 & 10

Who is blind and what is life?

Jesus healed the blind man because He came to work the works of God and the works of God are not theological disputes and assessing blame, but opening the eyes of those born blind. And we’re all born blind, you know.

David was a One Thing man — “One thing I seek.”

Mary was a One Thing woman — “One thing is needful.”

Paul was a One Thing apostle — “One thing I do.”

The man born blind was a One Thing witness — “One thing I know.”

And what was the one thing he knew? “Once I was blind, but now I see.”

In chapter 10 verse 21 the people asked this question: “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Absolutely not. And if all we put in our head is the recycled lies of demonic deception that are the daily fare of our lust-driven, greed-driven, pride-driven culture, then we will never see. And we will never live. We’ll be blind and dead and not even know it.

Jesus came to give sight to the blind and abundant life to those whose lives have been ravaged by the thief.

Listen to what Jesus says (John 9:39 & John 10:10 MSG)…

I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.

A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

So, what does it mean to really see and really live? It takes Jesus to do both. And the more you are filled with Jesus’ truth and Jesus’ life the more you will really see and really live.

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John Nine is about who really sees and who is really blind.
John Ten is about who really lives and who is really dead.

Blue Babylon
(with apologies to Zimmy)

Babylon is fallen, is fallen
Haunted by every unclean and hateful bird
Babylon is fallen, is fallen
Baby, there’s a bird’s nest in your hair

You’re dying but you don’t know it
You’re already dead, but nobody told you
I see dead people
I’m looking at you

Words are coming out of your mouth
But they’re falling on the ground
Your words are dying
They fall from a dead mouth

The blindman is breaking out of a trance
But the hollowman dreams on and on
Your hollow horn plays wasted words
Wasted words from wasted lives
They’re all wasted
Middle-age wasteland

Willy told us about Othello and Desdemona
Zimmy sang about the poor boy in the hotel called the Palace of Gloom
Othello told Desdemona, “I’m cold, cover me with a blanket.”
So where is that poison wine? You gave it to me, I drank it

But in my death I saw a redeeming vision
Sour wine pressed to pallid lips upon a Tree
I awoke from my dream a deadman walking
I left Babylon and I won’t look back, I can’t go back

You don’t know me
But I know you
You don’t see me
But I see you
You say you see
But I know I’m blind
You trust your eyes
But they just tell you lies

Colonel Klink thought he knew
But his monocle was not enough to see
Sergeant Shultz knew better
All he would say was, “I know nothing”

Your boots are stuck in Babylon
Make it a memory and not a destiny
The harlot’s chalice is full of malice
It’s been weighed in the balance
But there is another cup that will cure your ill
Drink from it deeply and grace will fare thee well

–Blindman at the Gate

Day 33

John 5 & 6

One of the great discoveries to be made in the Gospel of John is the primacy of the Father-Son relationship of the Living God and His only begotten Son. The great ambition of Jesus was to fully obey His Father and the highest priority of the Father is to honor His Son. Heaven and hell hang in the balance by how we relate to God’s Son whom the Father has sworn above all things to honor for His obedience.

He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Our relationship with God is entirely predicated on how we honor or dishonor the Son of God by our obedience or disobedience to Him. God will honor His Son in two eternal ways: By welcoming all who honor His Son into His everlasting Kingdom and casting all who dishonor His Son into everlasting hell.

Jesus’ sole ambition in life was to do the will of His Father. He did not seek to do His own will or to do what seemed right to Him; He only sought to do what the Father was doing.

The Son can do nothing of Himself, but whatever He sees the Father do.

In the early days of my ministry I ran myself ragged trying to convince certain people get on fire and stay on fire for Jesus. They demanded my constant attention and even then it seemed to be a losing battle to get them to maintain any real interest in the things of God. I felt like the guy in the circus spinning plates.

Then one day God asked me this question, “Do you see Me doing anything in their lives?”

My honest reply was, “Not really.”

God’s reply was, “Then leaves them alone. Work with the people that you see Me doing something in their lives.”

I have learned that fruitfulness in ministry does not come from good ideas, or noble ideas, or compassionate ideas, but from identifying what God is doing and cooperating with Him. Our job is not to do what we think is best and ask God to bless it (which is what most ministry amounts to), but to perceive what God is doing and cooperate with it. This is the style of ministry modeled by Jesus.

John’s holy obsession is to present to us Jesus as God. John is determined that we perceive the greatest truth in history: That Jesus is God — the Eternal Word who was made flesh. John never leaves this theme, but returns to it over and over.

John is not interested in giving us a complete narrative of Jesus’ ministry — Matthew, Mark and Luke have already done that. John chooses to focus on episodes from the life of Jesus which reveal His divine identity. We see this in the episode of Jesus walking on the water. Jesus walked on the sea (for three or four miles!) to reach His disciples in the boat. When the disciples saw the figure walking on the water they cried out in fear. Jesus calmed there fears by saying, “It is I”, or rather, “I AM.” I AM — The personal name of God (Yahweh or Jehovah). Who walks on water? God walks on water…

God alone spreads out the heavens,
And treads on the waves of the sea
-Job 9:8

Jesus Himself pressed the issue of His divine identity. After Jesus fed the five thousand, they sought to make Him King (for all the wrong reasons). The next day Jesus challenged them with words like this…

The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives His life to the world. I AM the bread of life.

When the multitudes that popularized Jesus for a free lunch but rejected Him for His “hard sayings” had all left, Jesus asked His disciples, “Do you also want to go away?”

Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

Capricious crowds will follow Jesus while He is “popular” — but committed Christians have burned all their bridges because they have come to know who Jesus really is: The Son of God.

John 7 & 8

All of John 7 and 8 occur during the Feast of Tabernacles, six months before the crucifixion.

Here’s something to plug into your thinking regarding John 7:8. The Essenes observed a different festival calendar than the Pharisees and Sadducees. There is reason to believe that Jesus’ brothers sympathized with the Essenes and observed their reformed calendar, while Jesus continued to observe the traditional calendar. Bargil Pixner in his excellent book With Jesus Through Galilee: According to the Fifth Gospel* sheds some light on this.

* So you don’t misunderstand: By “the fifth gospel”, Pixner means this, “Five gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in the bible and one you will find in the holy land. Experience the fifth gospel and the world of the four will open to you.” A tour of Israel is an encounter with the “fifth gospel.”

In John 8:14 Jesus says two things about Himself that the secularist can never say, and it strikes at the heart of post-modern purposelessness (which seems to lead inevitably to nihilism)…

I know where I came from and where I am going.

(Note to self: Preach on this.)

The last half of John 8 is all about the deity of Christ.

In John 8:24 Jesus says,

If you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.

Do you have to believe that Jesus is God to be saved? Yes! It does you no good to believe in a fictional Jesus, a Jesus of your own making or the false Jesus of heresy. The Jesus that saves is the Jesus that is God. The I AM. The Jesus of the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses is not God. Their “Jesus” is a lesser, created being and this false Jesus cannot save. You must believe that Jesus is God.

In John 8:41 Jesus was scandalized by an ugly rumor that probably dogged Him all of His life: The vicious lie that He was born of fornication. Other ancient sources say the rumor was that Jesus was conceived by an immoral liaison between Mary and a Roman soldier. Satan is a rumormonger. His name means gossip. Gossip comes from the pit of hell.

I find Jesus’ challenge in John 46 very interesting…

Which one of you convicts Me of sin?

Jesus lived a perfect life. I like to challenge skeptics to find fault in Jesus. If they are honest, they will have to say what Pilate said, “I find no fault in this man.” We easily find fault in everyone, but we can find no fault in Jesus. Jesus is God.

And any doubt to Jesus’ claim of divinity is absolutely obliterated when He said,

Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.

AMEN!

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Song of the day…

Jesus is Jehovah to Me

I can tell you’re a sincere man
And I’m tryin’ my best to understand
But your words are confusin’, it seems you’re abusin’
God’s Word that’s there in your hand

Now a Christian you say you are
But that’s stretchin’ the Truth much too far
‘Cause in Christ I doubt you believe
And Jesus is Jehovah to me

Jesus is Jehovah to me
He’s Lord and He’s King of Kings
Almighty God is He
Jesus is Jehovah to me

Now we both have said that the Lord’s commin’ back
And you’ve more than once stated that fact
Now it seems rather odd, if your prophet’s of God
Your dates have been so far off the track

Now the Watchtower can only deceive
But from Jesus you can receive
God’s Spirit comes in, and you’re born again
Singin’ Jesus is Jehovah to me

Jesus is Jehovah to me
He’s Lord and He’s King of Kings
He’s more than a man, He’s the great I AM
Jesus is Jehovah to me
If you’re really “Awake”, You’ll make no mistake
Jesus is Jehovah to me

From the album “Daniel Amos”
Words and Music by Jerry Chamberlain, Marty Dieckmeyer, Terry Taylor
1976 Maranatha! Music

(Any Daniel Amos fans out there?)

Day 32

Well, it’s like this…

I spent the morning with my Russian drusjkis (pals), Dmitri “Paul” Poliakoff and Georgey “Gera” Alexeev. I love these guys — they are full of Jesus and a ton of fun. They left my house a little past noon; Paul is ministering in St. Louis tomorrow and Gera is ministering in Chicago.

As I type this I’m listening to Songs From the Other Side of The World by Gerasim & Parks (a.k.a Drusjki) — Gera’s latest album. I love it! It’s all in Russian, but it blesses my spirit.

After they left I came to my study to prepare for tomorrow’s message on the miracle ministry of Jesus. I just got done. It’s past 8:00 now. Tomorrow is Day Light Savings Time Sunday (Spring forward!). So, you know what? I’m going home. I owe you a blog on my thoughts from John 5 and 6. I’ll do two tomorrow after church.

Expect Miracles!

BZ

P.S.

Happy Faith Day!

That’s what I call April 1. It was 20 YEARS AGO TODAY that God spoke to me in my despair and said, “Preach faith and your church will grow.”

I did and it did.

God is good.

Day 30

Introduction

In the first twenty-nine days of our sixty-one day odyssey we journeyed through Matthew, Mark and Luke — the synoptic gospels (so called because they are “similar”). The synoptics cover roughly the same events, only from slightly different perspectives. The Gospel of John is altogether different. John wrote his gospel as much as forty years after the other gospels. By this time there was no need for John to cover the same material as the other three gospel writers. John’s gospel is much loftier. It contains the profound insights of a man who was the most intimate of Jesus’ disciples. Matthew, Mark and Luke wrote their Gospels during the heady days of the first two decades following the Resurrection. By the time John pens his gospel, the mood is different. John’s gospel doesn’t have the same sense of rush and breathless excitement as the Synoptics (especially Mark — the first gospel written); instead John’s gospel has a depth and maturity that makes you want to read it very slow and meditatively. John is not particularly concerned with the chronological order of his gospel and at times it’s hard to distinguish from Jesus’ words and John’s commentary. But since it is all the inspired word of God, it doesn’t really matter.

Picture yourself sitting with the aged Apostle John; maybe by a fireside with a cup of tea. His hair is white and his face is marked by time, but his eyes are bright and his mind is sharp. He is talking to us about Jesus. Sometimes he is telling about Jesus, sometimes he is quoting Jesus, sometimes he is commenting on deep spiritual truths, and they are all mixed together so you are not always sure what parts are the “words in red.” It doesn’t matter. You know the Spirit of God is speaking through this lone survivor of the original Twelve. He has outlived the rest by decades and you get the distinct impression that God has allowed it to be so in order that we might receive treasures of immeasurable worth from this venerable man of God.

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The Gospel of John begins with a grand introduction,

“In the beginning was the Word.”

This is an intentional echo of Genesis 1:1. The message is simple: Jesus brings a new beginning. The first chapter of John is primarily about introductions. John introduces Jesus as the Logos, the Word, the express image of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Eternal Son.

John introduces the prophetic forerunner, John the Baptist.

We are introduced to half of the disciples: four by name (Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael) and two implicitly (James and John).

We have John the Baptist’s formal introduction of Jesus as the Messiah to the Jewish nation,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

This was the answer to a two thousand year old question. When Abraham and Isaac were walking up the Moriah ridge to offer the sacrifice (presumably at the highest point, which is now known as Skull Hill or Golgotha),

Isaac said to his father, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?”

Abraham answered, “God will provide for Himself the lamb.” (See Genesis 22)

For two thousand years Israel waited for the fulfillment of Abraham’s prophecy. John the Baptist identified Jesus at the very beginning of His ministry as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

The next day John the Baptist gave a very clear testimony to the identity of Jesus,

“I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

This will be the Jesus that John focuses on in his gospel — Jesus the Divine Son.

Each of the four gospels presents Jesus in a particular light,

Matthew gives us Jesus the King.

Mark gives us Jesus the Servant.

Luke gives us Jesus the Man.

John gives us Jesus the Son of God.

John 1:19 through John 2:11 covers five consecutive days.

Day 1 (Friday) John 1:19-28 “I am not the Christ.”

Day 2 (Saturday) John 1:29-34 “Behold, the Lamb of God.”

Day 3 (Sunday) John 1:35-42 Andrew and John begin to follow Jesus.

Day 4 (Monday) John 1:43-51 Philip and Nathanael meet Jesus.

Day 5 (Tuesday) John 2:1-11 The Wedding in Cana and Jesus’ first miracle.*

* John 2:1 “On the third day.” The “third day” means Tuesday. This is how we identify the previous four days. Tuesday was always the day for weddings in Israel. In the six days of creation the third day is the only day in which it is recorded, “Good saw that it was good”, twice (see Genesis 1:10, 12) Since the third day, or Tuesday, is the “doubly good” day, it was the day for weddings. This is true in Israel even today. Our Israel tours always arrive in Israel on a Tuesday and we usually go from the Tel Aviv airport to a park in old Jaffa (Joppa) overlooking the Mediterranean, and there are always weddings taking place in the park.

John chapter 2 is centered around two divergent events: The turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana and the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem. In one Jesus makes wine from water and the other Jesus makes a whip from cords. In these two events we see the full spectrum of Christ: The compassionate Christ and the confrontational Christ. To discover the Unvarnished Jesus, we must see Him in both aspects.

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My good friend Dmitri (Paul) Polikoff from St. Petersburg, Russia will be spending the next couple of days at our house. Paul will be with us in church Friday night.

(He’s 14)

Day 29

For the third time in our Two Months of Discovery we find ourselves treading upon the holiest ground of all. The Garden of Gethsemane, The Courtyard of Caiaphas, Pilate’s Praetorium, The Via Dolorosa, Calvary. These places have been sanctified beyond reckoning by the blood of Jesus. And what shall we say about holiness of the Garden Tomb where the body of Jesus laid from Friday evening till Sunday morning? If ever there were holy ground, surely this must be it.

Our journey with Jesus today began on one mountain and ended on another. We began at the Last Supper in the Upper Room on Mount Zion in Jerusalem and we ended Luke’s Gospel watching Jesus disappear into the clouds as He ascended to heaven from the crest of the Mount of Olives.

Our salvation has a geography. It has a geography because we are saved by events, not ideas. Events happen in a place. I have been to these places and I’ll never be the same for having been to them. The places testify to me that what Jesus suffered was real. These places remind me that the resurrection is the greatest fact in history.

I was talking with a man yesterday who knew I’d been all over the world and he asked me, “Of all the places you’ve been, which is your favorite?”

I replied, “Paris is beautiful, Rome is wonderful, India is exotic, Sydney is stunning, but without a doubt my favorite place is Jerusalem.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of Jesus.”

Day 28

The three chapters of Luke 19, 20 and 21 take place over approximately three days as Jesus enters into the final week before His death. Most of Jesus’ teaching during this time takes on an eschatological tone. Jesus prophesies events concerning the immediate future of Jerusalem and He prophesies even more regarding His Second Coming and the final establishment of the Kingdom of God as a political kingdom on earth.

The purpose of the Parable of the Minas was to correct a misunderstanding of the disciples that “the Kingdom of God would appear immediately.” Instead of neglecting strategic effort and idly awaiting the final appearing of the Kingdom, the parable teaches us to “do business” until the King comes.

Interestingly, Jesus based this parable on a real historic event. With the death of King Herod in 4 B.C., Herod’s son Archelaus traveled to Rome to receive commission from Caesar to reign as King of Judea. (See Matthew 2:22) As with the nobleman in the parable, the reign of Archelaus was protested by the Judean citizens. Jesus knew history well enough to use this as a backdrop for an important parable.

The parable concludes with the king returning and slaying those who opposed his reign. When Jesus returns to set up His throne at His Second Coming, He will bring awesome judgment on those who oppose His reign. This is the central theme of the battle of Armageddon and the judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry is a kind of humble foreshadowing of what will be the most glorious event in human history: The return of King Jesus to set up His throne and rule the nations from Jerusalem. This time Jesus will not come lowly upon a donkey, but He will come in glory upon a white horse. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers in Luke 20 is also prophetic in nature. Jesus is announcing that the Kingdom of God is no longer going to be resident in Israel as a political nation. Tomorrow I will be watching the general elections in Israel with great interest as I understand that Israel has a special place in the covenants of God and in His prophetic agenda; but I also understand that the political nation of Israel is not the custodian of the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven.

After Jesus confounds the attempts of the Pharisees and the Sadducees to defeat Him in debate, Jesus presents a conundrum to His opponents by asking them how the Christ could be merely the son and descendent of David, when David in prophetic scripture calls the Messiah “Lord.” Jesus also alludes to the great Father to Son promise of Psalm 110, where the Father tells the Son to sit at His right hand until His enemies are made His footstool. It is evident that in the week leading up to the crucifixion, Jesus is looking beyond His impending death to this great promise from His Father.

Of course Luke 21 is full of prophecy. Some of it has already been fulfilled. Luke 21:20-24 is prophetic of the period from September 4, A.D. 70 (the destruction of Jerusalem) to June 5, 1967 (Jerusalem coming back under Jewish control).

As I read Luke 21:25-26, I have the distinct impression that I am reading about current events and impending calamities. But Jesus instructs us that this is the time to anticipate His soon return.

Jesus closes His eschatological discourse upon the Mount of Olives with an exhortation to cast off the cares of life and the dissipating effects of an indulgent lifestyle and by a devotion to prayer to be living in a state of readiness so that we might escape the great judgment of the Day of the Lord and stand before the Son of Man.

Are you ready?

Are You Ready?
Bob Dylan

Are you ready to meet Jesus?
Are you where you ought to be?
Will He know you when He sees you
Or will He say, “Depart from Me”?

Are you ready, hope you’re ready.

Am I ready to lay down my life for the brethren
And to take up my cross?
Have I surrendered to the will of God
Or am I still acting like the boss?

Am I ready, hope I’m ready.

When destruction cometh swiftly
And there’s no time to say a fare-thee-well,
Have you decided whether you want to be
In heaven or in hell?

Are you ready, are you ready?

Have you got some unfinished business?
Is there something holding you back?
Are you thinking for yourself
Or are you following the pack?

Are you ready, hope you’re ready.

Are you ready for the judgment?
Are you ready for that terrible swift sword?
Are you ready for Armageddon?
Are you ready for the day of the Lord?

Are you ready, I hope you’re ready.

Day 27

I got saved. Everything turned around. It’s been one sunny day after another. And everybody is so nice.

How about a dose of reality?

Jesus says, “It is impossible that no offenses should come.”

Whoa!

So we might as well prepare ourselves to walk in forgiveness. Seven times a day if necessary.

But that doesn’t mean we can go around being offensive and expect no consequences.

Woe!

“Woe to him through whom they do come.”

And if the offense is so severe that it causes one of the little ones to no longer believe (see Mark 9:42), Jesus says it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and thrown into the sea than to face God’s judgment. I’m thinking of pedophile priests and womanizing pastors.

But most things that we take offense over are not nearly so egregious; in fact most issues of offense are just plain petty and we simply need to forgive, forget about it and keep on the journey. The Christian life is dominated by a forward look. Whatever inclines us to look back is a detriment and a danger. Remember Lot’s wife.

Attitude is almost everything. What should be our dominant attitude? Gratitude. It seems that about one in ten of those transformed by Jesus really has an attitude of gratitude. Make up your mind to be the holy tithe of gratitude for what Jesus has done.

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This is the third time in twenty days we have met the would-be disciple known as the “Rich Young Ruler.” His question was simple: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus’ answer is also simple — if you go all the way to the end of His answer — “Follow Me.”

Yuppie: “What shall I do…?” (Luke 18:18)

Jesus: “…follow Me.” (Luke 18:22)

A couple of comments…

# 1. When Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, God”, Jesus wasn’t claiming not to be good…but to be God. The young man had approached Jesus as if Jesus were a mere man. The ruler didn’t yet have a revelation from the Father of who Jesus was. Later this week we will read Jesus saying, “No one can come to Me unless the Father draws him.” Inheriting eternal life requires a revelation that Jesus is God. We will see much of this next week when we are in the Gospel of John.

# 2. The young man could not inherit eternal life by giving away his possessions, but such was the hold of materialism upon his life that it was going to take a radical decision for him to be able to connect his life with Jesus — which is how we inherit eternal life. Jesus didn’t require this of everyone. Jesus said nothing of this to Nicodemus who, according to Josephus, was one of the wealthiest men in Jerusalem. For Jesus to be Savior, He must be Lord.

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For the third time in the Gospel of Luke Jesus explicitly tells His disciples what is going to happen to Him in Jerusalem. He will be betrayed, delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted, spit upon, scourged, killed…and rise again on the third day. How did Jesus know this? By revelation from God? Certainly, but how? Jesus knew these things because everyone of them is prophesied in the Old Testament. It seems as if no one else saw these Messianic prophecies (probably because they didn’t want to), but Jesus saw them.

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Today is my day off. I was in the ministry for over 23 years before I started taking a regular day off. How stupid is that? (Don’t tell me.) Peri and I are headed to KC to hang out on the Plaza. I believe ahi tuna is in my future. Stay happy! Most of the time it’s a choice.

BZ

P.S.

The attitude of gratitude song for today is…

What Can I Do For You?
Bob Dylan

You have given everything to me.
What can I do for You?
You have given me eyes to see.
What can I do for You?

Pulled me out of bondage and You made me renewed inside,
Filled up a hunger that had always been denied,
Opened up a door no man can shut and You opened it up so wide
And You’ve chosen me to be among the few.
What can I do for You?

You have laid down Your life for me.
What can I do for You?
You have explained every mystery.
What can I do for You?

Soon as a man is born, you know the sparks begin to fly,
He gets wise in his own eyes and he’s made to believe a lie.
Who would deliver him from the death he’s bound to die?
Well, You’ve done it all and there’s no more anyone can pretend to do.
What can I do for You?

You have given all there is to give.
What can I do for You?
You have given me life to live.
How can I live for You?

I know all about poison, I know all about fiery darts,
I don’t care how rough the road is, show me where it starts,
Whatever pleases You, tell it to my heart.
Well, I don’t deserve it but I sure did make it through.
What can I do for You?

Great song!

Day 26

I just can’t get over it. I’ve never seen it so clear. I would never have guessed that (so far) this would be my number one discovery from the Unvarnished Jesus: The Pharisees. They’re the worst. They are the absolute polar opposite of Jesus Christ and diametrically opposed to what He preached. They are anti-grace, anti-Jesus, anti-Messiah, anti-anointing, anti-Christ!

The Pharisees were the catalyst for an enormous amount of Jesus’ teaching. In fact, I would say that all of Luke chapters 14, 15 and 16 are about Jesus contending with the Pharisees.

Consider…

Luke 14 opens like this…

Now it happened as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely.

This led to a debate about the legality of healing on the Sabbath and a series of teachings and parables on humility, the Kingdom of God, the cost of discipleship and the worthlessness of salt that has lost its flavor — all directed at the Pharisees.

Luke 15 opens like this…

The tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes complained saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

This led to Jesus’ three parables on lost things: The lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.

The common theme of chapter 16 is the proper use vs. the corrupting influence of material wealth. The chapter opens with Jesus giving the parable of the unjust steward (where Jesus says we should make friends by unrighteous mammon) and it closes with the story of the miserly rich man who went to hell. Right in the middle of the chapter we read these words…

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard these things, and they derided Him

And here’s the amazing thing: Of the three religious parties predominant in Jesus’ day — the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes — Jesus would have identified theologically with the Pharisees. Jesus would have had major theological differences with the Sadducees and the Essenes, but Jesus would have largely agreed theologically with the Pharisees. I’m sure that growing up and prior to His ministry, Jesus associated with the Pharisees and probably would have been identified as an adherent of the rabbinical tradition of the Pharisees. But for all of that, it was the Pharisees who must vehemently hated Jesus and most ruthlessly pursued His murder. And it was the Pharisees who were the recipients of Jesus’ most scathing rebukes. But the difference between Jesus and the Pharisees was not doctrinal. It was a difference of the heart. The Pharisees had orthodox doctrine…but hate-filled hearts. The Pharisees were sound in their theology, but self-righteous in their spirituality. Let that be a sober warning to us.

The highlight of the Luke 14, 15 and 16 has to be the parable of the prodigal son. This may be Jesus’ greatest parable. It may the most powerful revelation of the heart of the Father heart of God. Unconditional love. This is the thing the Pharisees knew nothing about, and it was why their souls were lost and corrupt. They were the older brother, the son who was lost, not outside, but inside the father’s house. They were the one’s who never understood what was going on at the Father’s house…

The Celebration of Salvation…

The Party of Grace…

The Music of Mercy…

The Dancing Redemption…

If you don’t yet understand these things and the father’s extravagance upon the prodigal’s return, you don’t yet understand salvation.

The last time I was in St. Petersburg, Russia I made a special trip to the Hermitage Museum just to see Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son. Instead of viewing hundreds of masterpieces like I had done on previous visits, I went to the Hermitage to see this one painting. It was worth it. Jesus’ passionate parable of the prodigal son was worthy of Rembrandt’s best efforts. Jesus’ lesson on unconditional love brought out the best in Rembrandt, and it will bring out the best in us.

Amen

BZ