LUKE-In the Steps of the Savior (Page 2)
Many of Jesus’ followers were first disciples of John the Baptist. John played a unique role in the pronouncement of the coming Messiah—the Christ. John had been preaching that the kingdom of heaven was coming soon, but even he did not fully understand what that would look like. Having been thrown into prison by Herod the tetrarch (Luke 3:19-20), John was unable to go to Jesus himself. When he heard all that was happening through the ministry of Jesus, John sent some of his disciples to Jesus to confirm that He was truly the promised Messiah. We should remember that John was the one who proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” when he saw Jesus approaching him to be baptized in the Jordan River (John 1:29). But just like any other sinful man, John was having some doubts about this because Jesus’ ministry was not what he (or anybody else) expected. John the Baptist needed confirmation from Jesus to help alleviate any doubts he might have about the ministry of the Messiah.
Jesus, having just given His ministry manifesto in Luke 6 in the Sermon on the Plain, is now demonstrating His love and power to those who were beginning to follow Him. In this passage, there are two miraculous healings that take place—first was the servant of a Roman centurion and second was the only son of a widow. In each instance, Jesus demonstrated His authority thereby confirming His authority to teach as He did in Luke 6, but the motivation to perform these miracles seems to be two-fold—the first miracle happened because of the faith of the centurion and the second because of Jesus’ compassion for the plight of the widow. We learn a lot here about Jesus’ character in this passage.
As Jesus was concluding the Sermon on the Plain, He asked, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46) It’s a question that should challenge us to think deeply about what it means to follow Jesus. Can you simply claim to follow Jesus but not do what He says? Or is there more to it? As we consider this question, examine your life to ensure you are building your life on the right foundation.
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). If Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, then why would we—as citizens of His kingdom—live according to the principles of this world? Should we not live according to His kingdom principles? So as we continue our study in the Gospel of Luke this morning, I want us to pause and notice five principles for life in the kingdom of God.
It isn’t difficult to love someone who already loves us. In the same vein, it isn’t hard to do something nice to someone who has already done something nice for us. In this sermon, we are looking at the passage from Luke 6:27-36 where Jesus calls us to love our enemies. The world still adheres to the thought “eye for an eye”. Jesus is calling us to show an Uncommon Love towards those who hate us in return.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word counterintuitive means “contrary to intuition or to common-sense expectation (but often nevertheless true).” So to say something is counterintuitive does not mean that it is faulty, absurd, contradictory or unreasonable—it just means that we do not readily understand it because it goes against the way we normally think. The fact is: most aspects of the Christian faith are both counterintuitive and counter-cultural! Most of the concepts that we will be considering today will be contrary to what our intuition or common-sense are telling us, but nevertheless is true! We’ll be looking at four different issues in this passage. First, we’ll consider, why did Jesus need for extended times of prayer? Why did He need partners in the ministry? Why would people go to a man wondering around in the desert to be healed? And why would Jesus teach the things He did to the crowds? What He said made no sense at all from their perspective!
One of our Christian brothers in Ukraine related a story that a Russian tank approached the point there where they were helping people. The Russian soldiers got out of the tank and said, ‘We’re out of gas, but we’re also out of food and water, and we’re freezing.’ And so the Ukrainian believers that these Russian soldiers are fighting against gave them water, food, hot tea, and even let them use their cell phones to call their families back in Russia.” The prayer request of one of our leaders in Ukraine was: “Pray for us. Pray for our people. But pray that we will have opportunities to reach the Russian soldiers with the gospel.” There is no way to explain their attitudes and actions except to point to the work of God in their hearts! The sign that you follow Jesus Christ is that you love one another. What an amazing display of love by these Ukrainian believers!
As we continue our study through Luke—“In the Steps of the Savior”—I do not want us to forget the context in which Jesus is saying all these things. Anytime we seek to understand the meaning of a text, we must first examine its context, then its next larger context, and eventually in light of the overall teaching of Scripture. The Old Covenants pointed out our need for a Savior, and the New Covenant shows us all about that Savior. It is my prayer that we will come to an understanding of this new covenant and the promises of God that are found therein.
Unseen forces… invisible sources of power… Whether we’re talking about the gravitational force of the earth or the ultraviolet rays of the sun, we may not be able to see them, but we can definitely see their effect in our lives! As we continue our study through the Gospel of Luke, we will consider a passage today where Jesus’ power and authority came into question. Let’s study this passage to see what happened and to hopefully see the effects of the unseen power that courses through Jesus’ being.
In our text today from Luke 5, we encounter a situation that I’m almost certain none of you have ever experienced. Sometimes it can be difficult for us to understand something if we do not have any personal experience that can connect us to that thing or event. In our passage today, we are introduced to a man who is suffering from a highly contagious skin disease—referred to as leprosy in Scripture. When we think about lepers—and the pain and suffering that they must have undergone as a result of their disease—we probably feel sorry for them. But that was not how they were treated in the first century A.D. Let’s look at how Jesus broke the cultural norms to reach out with compassion to the dregs of the society.