Luke Part 36: Principles of the Way of the Kingdom

Text: Luke 9:51-62

This passage continues on with Jesus' teachings about the Kingdom. These teachings have been grouped together for our edification; they are not in chronological order. Also, the people described in these incidents remain unnamed and are not important. Each person's path is unique. We are all going the same direction, yet we have different experiences, experiences, and flaws. These principles must be applied to our own lives as they fit.

This passage contains four incidents from which principles may be seen.

First (v. 51-56), we see Jesus and the Samaritans. Jesus was passing through Samaria and sent the apostles ahead to prepare for Him a place to stay. But the people in Samaria would not receive Him, because of their religious bigotry. The Samaritans were a mixed group of people who had cultural and religious differences from the Jews. The had their own center of worship, so they rejected Jesus because He was going on to Jerusalem, the center of Jewish worship. The disciples wanted to respond by calling down fire, but Jesus said no -- that was not why He came.

The principle to be gained from this passage is that rejection is to be expected. Jesus was rejected. You will be rejected upon sharing the gospel. It is not due to our failure, a lack of providing the correct information to the hearer. Rather, it is due to a moral failure on the hearer's part. What is our response? Not to be angry and wish them harmed, but to love them and continue on.

Next (v57, 58), we have the example of the willing follower. A man tells Jesus he is ready to follow Him, so Jesus explains that he will have to live an unsettled existence.

The principle? We are traveling through this life. We shouldn't be trying to find a settled, permanent comfortable home here. This life here is a short stop. It will not always be a comfortable existence -- we must be stepping out of our comfort zone.

In verses 59 and 60 we have the example of a man who was called to follow Jesus, but first asked to bury his father. Now, in the culture of the Jews, burying a father was the highest responsibility of the oldest son. This was a very important thing. But Jesus taught the principle that nothing -- even this thing -- was to take precedence over the commands of Christ. This was no minor issue, but still it held no comparison to obeying Christ's commands.

The final example (v61, 62) is of a man who wanted to follow Jesus, but first he needed to say goodbye to his family. This was a man with a mixed love. He was saying, "I love the Lord, but I love my family equally." The point here is that our love for Christ must be supreme. Our eyes must be fixed on Christ. We must serve Christ with singleness of heart and singleness of mind.

Note that Christ does not condemn normal life experiences. These things are used as teaching tools, for us to apply these principles and keep proper perspective in our relationship with our families and our Lord.

Luke, Part 16: Jesus heals and casts out demons

Text: Luke 4:31-44

The emphasis in the previous sections of Luke's gospel has been to show Jesus as a genuine man. In this section, Jesus demonstrates His power and compassion.

First, we see His power in preaching. Those who heard him were amazed because He taught with authority. Because Jesus is God, He didn't need to appeal to any other authority; He had authority within Himself and it was evident in His preaching.

How did His audience react? They were amazed, they were entertained, but nowhere do we see that they responded in faith. Hearing must be accompanied with faith for it to have any benefit.

During the preaching, Jesus was interrupted by a man possessed by a demon. This was evidently a particularly foul spirit, because it is identified as an "unclean" demon. Christ showed His power and His compassion in casting out the demon and freeing this man. Note that the demon both knew who Christ was and obeyed Him. Obedience and knowledge are not faith; the demon did not respond in faith but rather through being compelled by the power of Jesus.

The result of this encounter is that the audience is yet more amazed and spread the news of what they have seen all around. As Christians, we should be challenged by the example of these men: they didn't respond in faith, yet the couldn't help but tell of Jesus.

We also see in verses 38 through 41 how Jesus healed a number of people who came to Him with diseases and demon possession. Particularly noted is the healing that Simon's mother-in-law received from a "high fever". In performing these healings, Jesus worked on a very personal level. He didn't just wave His hand over the crown and say, "Be healed!" although He could very well have done that. He cared enough about each person to get involved personally with them as he healed them.

In verse 42, after Jesus has spent all night healing and helping, rather than going to bed, He left to get alone to pray. We see how Jesus constantly lived in prayer. Throughout the gospels (Mark 1:35 for example) we see Him getting away early in the morning for communion with His Father. Note how the early morning, when all is still and asleep, seems to be particularly chosen by Christ for His prayer times -- this is a good example for us to follow.

Finally, at the end of this section, we have the first reference in Luke's gospel to "the Kingdom of God". Throughout Luke, Jesus is referring to "the kingdom of God". This is the same thing that is referred to in Matthew's gospel as "the kingdom of heaven". Jesus' mission on earth was to establish this kingdom. The Kingdom of God is not visible with outward show, with robes, candles and incense. It is a supernatural, spiritual kingdom established in the hearts of God's people. It will be established perfectly in the new heavens and the new earth (Luke 22:30). In this kingdom, God is the King and we are His subjects.

How will we respond to the example of Christ? Will we show Christ to the watching world? Will we have compassion on a dying humanity? Will we we use the small power (our abilities) that God has given us to us to help others?