Video Notes: This
video clip was filmed at Tel Dan at the far northern end of Israel. It has a
long and tragic history.
·
In the OT, the
tribe of Dan left its God-given inheritance which included Joppa (and what is
now modern day Tel Aviv) on the Mediterranean Coast (Judges 18:29-31). They considered
the Philistines too strong to drive out.
· Trusting God would
have showed great courage and faith, but they bailed on God and invented their
own religion with some stolen idols and a priest who was thoroughly snared by
ambition.
· They killed the isolated
and unsuspecting citizens of Laish and rebuilt the city for themselves.
·
“The sin of
Jeroboam”: After the death of Solomon, Jeroboam became king of the northern 10
tribes of Israel. He turned his back on God’s offer and set up golden calf
idols in the south at Bethel and in the north right here at Dan.
· We must not make
up our own religion. It is crucial that we trust and obey God as he has
revealed himself, not as we would fashion him to be.
· The Northern
Kingdom of Israel repeatedly refused to listen to God’s prophetic call to
repentance and eventually was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire. The Israelites
that were not killed were deported and other captives, pagans from many lands
were planted into the land in their place. This was a common practice in the
ancient world. The people imported by the Assyrians mixed some Jewish beliefs
with the pagan beliefs and it was this group of people that became known as the
Samaritans. Later, after the southern kingdom of Judah (who had been conquered
and taken into captivity in Babylon for 70years) returned and began to rebuild
the walls of Jerusalem, the Samaritans were their bitter enemies led by
Sanballat (Nehemiah 4).
· Dan is left out of
the lists of the tribes of Israel in the Book of Revelation most likely because
of their pervasive connection with idolatry.
Text: This week we’re covering Luke 9:37-62 which contains a number of small sections aimed at
preparing the disciples for the journey of spiritually mature service: the
deliverance of a demonized boy, a second reminder that Jesus’ own death was
approaching, Jesus settled an argument and dealt with the disciples’
restriction of ministry in the name of Jesus, a mini-rejection in a Samaritan
village on the way to a larger rejection in Jerusalem, and finally a perplexing
series of dialogues around the commitment necessary to following Jesus.
Other passages to read: There are parallel passages to
these pericopes in the other gospels:
·
Deliverance of a demonized boy: Matthew
17:14-20; Mark 9:14-29
·
Jesus’ approaching death: Matthew 17:21-23;
Mark 9:30-32
·
Jesus settled an argument: Matthew 18:1-6;
Mark 9:33-37
·
Anyone not against us is for us: Mark 9:38-41
·
Fire from Heaven: 2 Kings 1
·
Dialogues around the commitment necessary to
follow Jesus: Matthew 8:18-22.
Pastor Randy’s Sermon
Notes: "Thoughts
Along the Way"
1. What Greatness looks like (v. 46-48)
“An argument
started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47
Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside
him. 48 Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my
name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he
who is least among you all — he is the greatest."
2. Love your enemies (v.51-55)
As the time
approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for
Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan
village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome
him, because he was heading for Jerusalem
- James 4:1-3 “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”
- John 3:17-18 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
3. Give it your all (v. 57-62)
As they were
walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you
go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 59 He said to
another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let
me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury
their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God
Points to ponder: In your study this week, you might want to
think about one of these questions:
·
If Jesus had given the disciples power to
cast out demons in v.1, then why were they unable to deliver this boy in v. 40?
Are there any clues in the parallel passages as to why Jesus was so blunt in
his assessment of the generation?
·
What would help them to understand Jesus
words in v. 44? In what way were they concealed?
·
How could someone be casting out demons in
Jesus’ name in v. 49 when the disciples had just failed to do the same?
·
Why did James and John get so angry over the
Samaritans’ failure to show hospitality?
·
Jesus’ answers in v. 60-62 may seem harsh
outside of their cultural context. You may want to take time to investigate
this issue further. Is there any political statement included here?
Questions to ask
ourselves: The
following questions are intended to help us move towards greater application of what we learn about
Jesus…
·
Are we willing to admit our doubts (Mark
9:24) and choose to trust Jesus to meet our most impossible needs?
·
Is there something that Jesus has been trying
to teach us (over and over) that we seem unable to learn? Is there something we
are afraid to ask Jesus? Ask it anyway! Take time to ask the Holy Spirit to
cause it to “sink into your ears” that you might finally perceive it and act on
it in obedience.
·
Honestly, in the last few arguments you have
had, wasn’t it, deep down, about this very question in v. 46, “Who is the
greatest?” The Journaling blog this week focuses on this issue.
·
Do we have to be in control for ministry to
be right and good? How can we begin to put Jesus statement in v. 50 into
practice this week?
·
How do we respond when people oppose the work
of Christ or speak disrespectfully of him? Do we react like James and John whom
Jesus called “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:15)?
·
People outside the church often see us as
“against them”. How can we live and love like Jesus this week? Are we really
committed to following him or just talking a good game?
Quotes &
Commentary:
We are using “Traveling Grief,” as a metaphor for
the daily struggles we face every day, which often serve to reveal our own
false trusts and wrong priorities that need to be brought to light and dealt
with if we are disciples of Christ. It is in this sense that all things work together
for good…in order to conform us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).
Sometimes it takes considerable heat, pressure, and some sanding!
“Luke’s other great book, the Acts of the Apostles, also includes a long
travel sequence (the journeys of St Paul, eventually arriving in Rome).
Travelling in obedience to God’s call is one of Luke’s central pictures for
what it means to be a Christian. Following Jesus is what it is all about.”
(N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, WJK, 117.)
As we launch into this section journeying from Ch. 9
to Ch. 19 we find these lessons stated at the beginning have weight throughout.
Discipleship is…
- Not about our power, but about our belief in his delivering power.
- Not about our plan, but about his divine purpose.
- Not about our ambition, but about his humble example.
- Not about our control, but about his name changing lives.
- Not about our judgment, but about his mission of mercy and grace.
- Not about our priorities, but about his invitation to follow now.
In regards to v. 51-56 where Jesus was not received
by the Samaritan village,
“All James and John can think of is they are now in the place of Elijah
in the Old Testament. If they meet opposition they want to call down fire from
heaven (2 Kings 1:10-12). But that is not what Jesus’ journey is like. It’s not
a triumphant march, sweeping all resistance aside. It is the progress of the
gospel of the kingdom, and we know from Luke 4 that means the message of
love—of a grace so strong, so wide-ranging, and so surprising, that many will
find it shocking.” (N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone, WJK, 118.)
Previously on Ponderables:
- When Jesus asked who the crowd thought he was, how
could the crowd have come to those conclusions?
- John the Baptist: it is possible because
Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom of God as well as the coming
judgment. Yet Jesus’ methodology was very different from John’s and John
is not recorded as performing any miracles. Since John and Jesus were on
the scene at the same time it would be ludicrous to think Jesus was John.
Perhaps they simply thought he was in the spirit of John.
- Elijah: In Luke’s gospel many of Jesus’
miracles are seen to be similar to those of Elijah and performed in
similar locations.
- Jeremiah: perhaps because of his
weeping over Jerusalem and his awareness of the sin of the people and the
coming judgment.
- One of the other prophets: perhaps
because he taught with authority or because he lived out the Word of God.
He did nothing the he didn’t see the Father doing and said nothing that
he didn’t hear the Father saying. He certainly was completely prophetic
but not merely prophetic.
- Does Jesus deny the title of “Christ” or “Son of God” (in the Matthew’s longer account)? No. Which leads to the question, "What are the ramifications of this?"
- What did it mean to be the Christ? The common understanding was that the Christ, the Messiah, was the chosen Deliverer who would rid Israel of the oppression of the gentiles, namely the dreaded Romans, and establish an enduring kingdom
- How did Jesus’ understanding differ from that of the disciples and the common cultural view? He came as the Suffering Servant, who would die for their sins so that they might be liberated spiritually not just politically.
- Could Jesus have been any clearer about what would happen to him? Not really. He repeated himself several times but it was such a radical shift from what they were expecting they just didn’t get it until after Jesus rose from the dead. It really makes me wonder whether there is something that Jesus might be trying to tell me today that I just keep failing to grasp. That’s why we really need the Holy Spirit to remind us of all Jesus has said.
- What does it mean to take up your cross daily? It means we live in light of who we are in Christ. It means dying to everything that we once considered being our primary family, home, and identity. Disciples daily remind themselves that they are pilgrims whose home is in Christ…not in anything the world has to offer. All the glossy “junk-mail” the world sends is addressed to the old person who has died to the world and has been raised in Christ.
- What did Jesus mean in
verse 27, that “some standing here will not taste death until they see the
kingdom of God”? “Taste of death
surely means ‘die’, but it is not clear what the coming of the kingdom of God means in this
context. Some maintain that Jesus was referring to the parousia [Jesus’ Second Coming] and
that he was mistaken. But this does not fit the language used…Plummer
notes seven possible interpretations of the words: the transfiguration,
the resurrection and ascension, Pentecost, the spread of Christianity, the
internal development of the gospel, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the
second advent. He holds that the reference to some standing here means special privilege as opposed to
people in general. This rules out
all of the seven except the transfiguration and the destruction of
Jerusalem, of which Plummer prefers the latter." [most commentators opt for
the Transfiguration] (Leon Morris, Luke, Revised Edition, Tyndale New
Testament Commentaries, IVP, 187.)
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