Thoughts From Luke - Day 103

                                        Luke 24:1-12


On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.
⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

        As we studied Mormonism in Sunday School this week, I am once again amazed that anyone believes this. From the wearing of special underwear to protect you from Satan, secret handshakes and signs, and holding your arm at a right angle to divert floods and lava flows, to Jews crossing the ocean long before Columbus and becoming the Native Americans, the star Kolob, skin turning lighter when you become a Mormon, and the Garden of Eden being in Missouri, the teachings of the Mormons baffle the mind. I am so glad that Christianity has archaeologic, philosophical, and manuscript evidence that enables us to make an intelligent case for our beliefs. One of the best cases to argue is the resurrection. If this didn't happen, to explain how this hoax was pulled off takes much more faith than believing that it truly happened. But even with the evidence we see three reactions to the presenting of the case for the resurrection.

         The first is seen in verse 11 - unbelief "because their words seemed to them like nonsense." It is sort of like Felix telling Paul that his great learning has caused insanity. Paul writes to the Church of Corinth and talks about how spiritual things aren't grasped intellectually and ends the discussion with

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power"

       Even with all the proofs for the resurrection, http://thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2016/08/apologetics-week-8-resurrection.html  , the concepts of sin, atonement, sacrificial death, being born again, and others can't be intuited. These have to be spiritually discerned. This is probably what our Mormon friends would say about their religion and this is probably why they believe such crazy things. To us their words seem like nonsense but they would probably say that if you convert you will understand them. However, the difference is that once you receive Christ and the gospel, then apologetics can defend Christianity. If you receive Mormonism, apologetics still can't defend the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and The pearl of Great Price. So the bottom line is that as you go out to share Christ, don't be discouraged, even though it makes perfect sense to you, if people don't get it. Witnessing needs to be preceded by much prayer for the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of the blind that Satan has blinded.

       The proof of this is seen in the women. Even though they saw everything, they were "wondering what happened". Then an angel came and spoke to them and they remembered and understood Christ's words. You see, it took a supernatural touch to understand. John Piper talks about this in his book, Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ. He talks about William Tyndale, who was burned at the stake by the Catholic Church for translating the Bible into English which gave the every man access to the scriptures. The Catholics didn't want the people to know that so many of their teachings weren't in the Bible. Meanwhile, there was another great religious mind that wrote prodigiously on Christianity named Erasmus, who was accepted and revered by the Church. Although his writings were true, compared to Tyndale's they were a lightening bug as compared to a lightening bolt. They were intellectual fodder lacking power because he never had the "supernatural touch" like Tyndale that invaded his soul and transformed his mind. The women that day went from knowing about Jesus to knowing Him and could say, like Thomas a few days later, "My Lord and My God."

        Lastly, we see Peter. He heard the words, didn't understand them, but was inquizitive enough to check it out. It left him still wondering because he had not received the supernatural touch like the women, but it put him in a position to believe. When we witness, we pray that the Holy Spirit would be going ahead of us preparing hearts and minds. But even if people don't get saved, our hope and prayer is that we would have planted a seed that would make them think and explore and seek the truth. Our words, testimony, presentation, arguments for should be at least interesting and wooing enough to, when we leave, make them run to the tomb and "wonder".

        We will see some more responses to the resurrection in the upcoming verses, but I say, especially to me, don't stop telling of the wonders of Christ just because you get a lot of blank stares. Keep sharing. Some of it will hit home and change lives forever.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 102

                                                             Luke 23:44-56

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
⁴⁷ The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶ Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.


          How do you respond to disappointment? I don't mean little disappointments like your baseball team lost, but I'm talking about life affecting blows. Maybe you lost a job which you saw as your career path. Maybe your boyfriend/girlfriend dumped you and you saw a future life with them. Or maybe you thought your cancer was gone and you were just told it was back (I have a patient and a best friend who both just received that news) This passage shows how a number of people responded and maybe you can identify with some of them and get some hope from this account in Luke - "for the sun stopped shining".

        First there were the people in verse 48 that were there, I believe, to see the most incredible sight ever and it didn't happen. I don't know exactly what they were expecting to see - maybe the sky opening up, angels coming down and releasing Jesus from the cross. putting a spectacular robe on Him and leading him to the "capitol building" where He would overthrow the government. Maybe they expected a lightening bolt disintegrating the cross and killing those who put Jesus on the cross, and Jesus standing on the ashes in kingly attire. All I know is that they were expecting more than an anticlimactic death just like any other human. They thought He was something special that was going to change their lives and it turns out that He wasn't. They beat their breasts and went away. I think their response to disappointment was depression. It was like - "that plan for the future failed looks like it is time to start over".

         I think the disciples kind of felt that way because in John we read that they went back to fishing. However we also read that they stood at a distance and observed. It was like, "OK, I'm devastated - I never thought things would turn out this way. Yet because we knew Jesus, I'm going to see if something happens even when it is too late." What was He up to here? Several things - First He was tearing the curtain in the temple from the top to the bottom. His death atoned for our sins so that we can have direct access to God. We can have the relationship with God that we were created for back in the Garden. Not by our efforts (tearing from bottom to top, but by His efforts (top to bottom) is our access to God attained. If this disappointment of losing Jesus didn't take place, no one could have forgiveness of sins. Not only that, secondly, Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” What is He saying? I think this is pointing to the fact that Jesus was trusting the Father to resurrect Him in three days. He was saying I gave up my life, I'm entrusting You to give it back again". What did His death do for mankind? While people were beating their breasts while they left, Jesus was making a way to defeat the grave. He was bringing about eternal life!

        You see, when we are disappointed that things didn't turn out the way we thought they should have turned out, or like if we were God, how we would have done things - take heart! If you know Jesus and have a personal relationship with Him, He is up to something (Rom. 8:28) Don't lose all hope, just observe from a distance and maybe in this lifetime but certainly in the next, you will see how our disappointments are turning out for His glory and your good.

     

Thoughts From Luke - Day 101

                                                Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”


         I remember back in '92, on my first Medical Mission trip ever, we were in Soto La Marina, Mexico and I had 2 High School boys from the youth group with me. One day, one of the boys proudly announced that he had just bought this beautiful, hand woven hammock and he had only spent $23. The next day, the other boy came to the room with the same hammock and proudly announced that he had just bought it for $7. What was the true cost of the hammock? The lowest price! I love this passage of scripture because it tells the lowest cost, the true price of salvation. We tend to add a lot of things to salvation like Baptism, joining a Church, studying your Bible, good works, speaking in tongues, ,,, and while all those are good, the thief on the cross experienced none of those and yet was promised eternal life with Jesus. Let's see what it takes to be saved.

       All of mankind is represented by these two thieves. On one hand you have people who are lost and aren't going to Heaven. The first thief wasn't any worse than the other thief, they were both bad. That is the condition, as human beings that we find ourselves in - sinful and deserving death. The first thief, however, didn't believe that Jesus was God or worthy of worship. He was more concerned about the present life than the Kingdom of God and only wanted Jesus if Jesus would meet his needs. He wanted to use God to benefit himself. He wasn't interested in surrendering control of his life. From recent studies, we could conclude 93% of the population of the U.S would fall into this thief-dom.

       The second thief, who is the one that is saved and receives assurance of that salvation, demonstrates the true cost of salvation. He...

  1. realizes he is a sinner and deserves death

       "  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God " Rom. 3:23
       "   For the wages of sin is death..."   Rom. 6:23

  2. realizes that Jesus is the only hope for forgiveness of sins and eternal life

       "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

    3. humbled himself asking for mercy from the Lord and King, Jesus

    ' I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’  Luke 15:18,19

    4. publicly proclaimed his allegiance

    “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven."   Matt. 10:32

       Who do you identify with? There is no third category, no free agent status in life; you are one or the other. If you fear you are thief 1, cry out to Christ today to forgive your sins. Humble yourself before Him, surrendering your future to His hands and then tell someone!

Thoughts From Luke - Day 100

                                                     Luke 23:31-38

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.


         Today we are doing a Sunday School class on Jehovah Witnesses. To be honest, when I see them coming to my door I relate to the Far Side cartoon where the possum family says, "Here come Jehovah Witnesses. Quick, play dead." To be fair, my main problem is my own that I have in mind what my daily schedule looks like and I don't have 45 minutes to carve out. If I knew I could make some headway and talk them out of this cult and into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, I would gladly do it but they usually have someone with them, well schooled in every argument that is as set in their ways as I am in mine and there are no positive results, at least that I can tell. And then there is the verse...

 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵ Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶ and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Tim. 2:24-26

  ... which I tend to violate because I see them as adversaries and tools of Satan taking people to eternal damnation, rather than lost people who Jesus loves and died for. Is it possible He loves them as much as me? The last conversation I had with them ended in "If I'm wrong then I will just cease to exist. If you are wrong you will spend eternity in Hell. I hope you are certain about what you believe." Let's look at the above verse - not exactly kind or gentle was my approach.

      In this passage we see the crucifixion (on a cross not a stake) unfolding and despite everything that these people, who are tools of Satan, are doing and have done to Him, Jesus looks on them with love and compassion and intercedes to the Father for them. He says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Can we see lost people like that? Can we see ISIS like that? Can we see the LGBT activists like that? There is always hope for them and their souls until they take their last breath. These are simply people who Satan has in their grasps and instead of feeling anger towards them, I should shed tears for them like Jesus did when He looked on Jerusalem, the city where all the atrocities against Him would occur.

     Lord help me see past the agenda and love the people that you created and died for knowing that You want to spend eternity in Heaven with them too. Amen

Thoughts From Luke - Day 99

                                                      Luke 23:26-31

As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
    and to the hills, “Cover us!”

³¹ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

 

 

            There is an expression we use - "When the cat is away, the mice will play". Have you ever seen that play out? No doubt you have. Probably the earliest memories we will have of this is in school. The teacher would get called out to the office and tell the class to work on an assignment while she was gone, and the moment she leaves the room we all go crazy. Then a few minutes later, she would come back and say she heard us half way down the hall and proceed to ball us out and punish us with an assignment. It doesn't change much as we get older. When the boss is present, we work a lot harder. When he is absent, our work deteriorates.

 

          The boss of the universe arrived on our planet 2000 years ago, and wasn't recognized. He was like that show Undercover Boss, where He got to see what was really going on in men's hearts without pretense. What did He see? Just in these last few chapters he would see an innocent person being whipped, beaten, spit on, mocked, falsely accused, and led to the cruelest execution imagined to satisfy a crowd and due to peer pressure. He would see soldiers commandeering a man, in the midst of his work day, to carry someone's cross for them just because they had the right to tell anyone to do whatever they wanted them to do, because they were in power. He would see friends betraying friends and places of worship turned into ways to make money.

 

          Jesus tells the women who were grieving for Him that if all this evil is going on while the boss is present, evil will not be restrained when He leaves. They had better run for cover because no one will be safe when that happens. A common view is that people are basically good and when they act evil it is probably due to some flaw in their upbringing or society has failed them. Maybe if they received proper education we could remedy evil. Unfortunately this is not true. Another misconception is that religion is the leading cause of trouble in this world and if we just get rid of religion, the world would be a better place. Pilate felt he could stop a riot by getting rid of Jesus and in the twentieth century, many societies have tried to do the same. From the Russian, Cambodian, and Chinese communists to the French Revolution and Nazis, societies that get rid of God will be just as, if not more evil. Mankind is evil and needs a change at the core and this is what Christ came to bring. By taking all the evil and sin upon Himself at the cross, He gave all mankind an opportunity to be free from our sin nature and be reborn with the life of Christ inside of us. We can accept this free gift of salvation and someday leave this sinful world behind or we can reject it and experience what it is like when God removes His goodness completely from this world. That will be Hell. You see, even though this world is extremely evil, there is so much goodness poured down from God, that we have sunshine, picnics, birthday parties, fireworks - everything that is good in life is from God. That's why we are appalled when people are brutally killed or children abducted that we cry out, "Where is God?" "Is He powerless"? "Doesn't He care?" Don't you see that this would be the norm except for the goodness of God? Do you want to see that day of evil? Do you want your friends to see that day? Spread the good news of salvation. Receive the good news of Christ in you and the forgiveness of sins.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 98

                                         Luke 23:12-25

That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
¹³ Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”
¹⁸ But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹ (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
²⁰ Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ²¹ But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
²² For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”
²³ But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ²⁴ So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵ He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.


        It's amazing what peer pressure can make you do. From lynch mobs to riots, we can be influenced to do things we would never even consider doing on our own but somehow because other people are doing it, we participate without a second thought either to fit in or because if everyone else is doing it, it can't be wrong. Think of all the crimes done by the Nazis carried out by normal people who somehow turned a blind eye, and after the war were so horrified at what they had done that many committed suicide. It's easy to accuse them but I bet you have done some things, in groups, that you are ashamed of now, particularly when you were a teen. So before you judge people, like Pilate in this passage, for the things that they have done, remember that by the standard you judge people, you will be judged. I have heard it said, at judgement day, God wouldn't even need the Bible to judge us, He would just remove that invisible tape recorder that He has hanging around your neck, and judge you by the standards that you have judged other people. For me, as a teen, I became friends with a kid who liked to vandalize and steal. I joined in with him because he was my only friend, as my family had just moved to a new city. I did stand up against drinking, sex, smoking, and bad parties though, so I felt that I was a good Christian. It's funny how we see some sins as lesser so we can still consider ourselves good.

       What did Pilate do here? It appears that Pilate wanted to impress Herod and become his friend so he participated in some behavior that maybe normally he wouldn't do. He sentenced an innocent man to death and put a murderer back on the streets because of peer pressure. Legend has it that Pilate could no longer live with himself after what he had done so he killed himself. It appears from this passage and other gospel accounts that such a ruckus and uprising was occuring out in the streets that Pilate, wanting to appear to Herod like he had control of the people to impress him, ended the riot by doing the wrong thing. Herod, wanting to impress Pilate that he could treat people however he wanted, had Jesus beaten and dressed Jesus in mocking clothes. We are not talking about an average joe here, which would have been reprehensible in and of itself, but we are talking the Creator of the Universe, the one to whom Pilate and Herod owed their very existence, unjustly treated and executed due to peer pressure. On a side note, it's fascinating to see that God knows our weaknesses so well that He used them to accomplish His divine purposes. God knew that orchestrating the arrival of Herod, whom Pilate wanted to impress, at just the right time, would send Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Pilate wasn't a puppet used by God but a man, just like us, who desired to be accepted by his peers.

       How far will you go to fit in? How far will you go to be accepted? Just remember, later, when it's all on you and you take the fall for those behaviors, those people who you wanted to impress will be long gone. Do what's right. Impress God.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 97

                                        Luke 22:63- 23:12

⁶³ The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. ⁶⁴ They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ⁶⁵ And they said many other insulting things to him.
⁶⁶ At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ⁶⁷ “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸ and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”
⁷⁰ They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”
He replied, “You say that I am.”
⁷¹ Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

23 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. ² And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

³ So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
⁴ Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
⁵ But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
⁶ On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷ When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ⁹ He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹² That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.


           Have you ever been falsely accused? How does that make you feel? What is the first thing that you want to do? Isn't it to set the record straight? You tell as many people as you can find to listen to your side of the story. You might even post it on Facebook, tweet it, or if you are desperate enough, take out an ad in the newspaper. In this day and age people can rate you as a business on things like Yelp, etc. I just googled my name and saw I have a 4.8 out of 5 rating on some site. That is near perfect, yet it bothers me to see that someone didn't think I was perfect. When I go to the site I see someone says that I like to do C-sections. That bothers me because I have the lowest C-section rate in East Tennessee. See, I am defending myself here, I can't help it.

         Jesus, in this passage, is falsely accused of opposing taxes, subverting the nation, saying He is going to tear down the temple, blaspheming, and being nothing but a powerless wannabe. He is beaten, mocked, ridiculed, vehemently accused and yet He doesn't defend Himself. Why? First of all He knows who the true judge is and the true judge knows the truth about Him. Why do we care so much what people think when God, our audience of one, our judge knows the truth. Secondly, it says in Isaiah that this would happen and Jesus was fulfilling scripture. Jesus knew scripture so well that He would never do anything to violate it. How well do you know scripture? Thirdly, His mission was to die not vindicate Himself. He did not want to prove He was God because He wanted to be crucified for blasphemy. He sacrificed His reputation, His manhood, His integrity for God's cause, to save us. Are you willing to be mocked, falsely accused for the sake of the gospel, or is what people say about you the most important thing to you? Aren't you glad that Jesus loved you so much that He didn't defend Himself but just allowed the false accusations to be heaped upon Him in order that you can have His true accolades undeservedly placed on you!

          Thank You Jesus for taking this abuse so that I might be called a child of God. Amen