Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35
INTRO: I’m going to set Luke aside for now and come back to it the first of the year
What we’ll do for the next for weeks is think about Christmas
– specifically, we’ll ask, “What entered the world on Christmas?”
– as we unwrap the answer, we’ll find a bunch of Christmas gifts
So what (or Who) entered the world?
– the gospels tell us that it was Jesus
In Matthew, Jesus is not only named, but he receives a title (Isa. 7:14)
– Emmanuel, “which translated means ‘God with us’” (Mt. 1:23)
– specifically, the God who revealed himself as Yahweh – I am
There are several instances in John’s gospel when Jesus makes an “I am” statement
– we will be looking at four of them
– today, “I am the bread of life” read more…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to youThere was no committee to plan Jesus’ grand entrance into Jerusalem, organize advance rallies, or hang “Jesus is the Messiah” banners. Jesus had to make the preparations himself. No trumpets greeted his arrival, but as soon as he began his descent, the crowds that knew him and his ministry announced him with their voices and provided their coats to give him a red carpet welcome.
When Jesus sent two disciples to fetch his ride, all he gave them was a simple set of instructions. No money, no appointments with important people, and no miracle. However, his instructions called for bold daring on their part. When they began untying the colt that was tethered near the entrance to the village, someone might challenge them and ask, “What do you think you’re doing?”
If that should happen, they were to say, “The Lord has need of them.” That would be their cover. How could bystanders know that by “Lord” the disciples meant Jesus and not the owner?
It is far too easy to get distracted when we are supposed to be doing the Lord’s work. We think we need organizations, funds, months of planning, and hopefully a miracle or two if our efforts are going to amount to anything significant. But there are more resources available to us than we realize. There are plenty of cost-free ways to pursue God’s will that only require faith, courage and daring. Jesus would have it this way, so that he can at all times remain the center of our total attention and devotion.
And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” Luke 22:39-40 (read vv. 39-71)
INTRO: If you have been to Israel, remember what it looked like and felt like when you were on the Mount of Olives
That is where we catch up with Jesus in this story
– what do we learn from being here and witnessing these events?
– but before we make that discovery . . .
Do you have a secret — a secret fear? longing? sorrow? experience? pain?
– the reason we keep secrets is because we don’t trust others:
- that they can deal with it
- that they can help with it
- that they will be able to understand it
Some secrets we keep from ourselves (the Greek word for secret also means hidden)
– so then we remain blind to what drives us – we never figure out why we act as we do read more…
When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” Luke 22:15 (read vv. 1-38)
INTRO: Why are we here this morning?
We want God – we want to belong to Him
– to develop a constant awareness of him and contact with him
– to be inspired, directed, and empowered by him
– to be agents of his love in the world
God has helped men and women who’ve walked this path
– guided them to freedom from other preoccupations
– nurtured their spirits to greater sensitivity read more…
And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. Luke 21:8 (read vv. 5-38)
INTRO: What’s your gut reaction when you hear, someone say, “We’re coming close to the end”?
Or, “These are the last days”?
– it seems that there is always someone announcing the end of the world
– of course, not all of the the doomsday people are Christians
- Do we see more stability, less violence, or improved international ties in the Arab countries where dictatorships have recently been toppled?
- Do the current financial crises in Greece and Italy improve our outlook on the world economy?
- Does the fact that Iran has nuclear weapons capability help us sleep better at night?
We can agree with the “End Times” enthusiasts at least on one point: we face an uncertain future
In Luke 21, Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem and his coming “with power and great glory”
– as we enter the text, we immediately come to two challenges that need to be resolved:
- To clearly understand as precisely as possible what Jesus is saying
- To fit the teaching of this chapter into the rest of his teaching and ministry
– in other words, into the context of the whole story
Draw near to God and He will draw near to youOnly a few moments prior to this scene, the mother of two disciples bowed before Jesus and requested that in his kingdom her two sons would have the honor of sitting one at his right and the other at his left (vv. 20-21). Now two beggars shout at Jesus and they, too, want something from him.
Jesus asked them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” knowing that there was nothing they could ask that he could not give them. When they asked him to open their eyes, his kind heart was moved with compassion, he touched them, and “immediately they regained their sight” (v. 34).
How many people passed the beggars every day without offering them a single coin, a piece of bread, or a cup of water? But Jesus could not pass them by without asking, “What do you want?” Then he satisfied their want, and having received their sight, they were able to follow him.
When people request to meet with me, I could ask, “What do you want?” but there is precious little I can give them. A slice of time, a bit of wisdom, a prayer is about all I have to offer. In fact, there were times when the first thing a counselee said to me was, “I know you can’t do anything for me.” They were right. But when Jesus asks . . . well, that’s a different story.
O Jesus, Son of God, You are all that we need. What do we want, Lord? We may say, “Money to pay bills,” when what we really want is a peace and that cannot be purchased for any amount of money. Not knowing our own hearts, we ask for the best gift, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.”
And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent. Luke 20:26 (read 20:20-21:4)
INTRO: We are down to the final days of Jesus’ public ministry and they are filled with conflict – one confrontation after another
Luke makes it clear what Jesus’ opponents are trying to do: “in order to catch Him in some statement”
– their intention is either to accuse him to the (Roman) governor (20) or shame him in public (26)
We are used to reading about the skirmishes in this chapter and being amazed at Jesus’ wisdom
– but I think we usually miss something truly profound in his responses read more…
. . . and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” Luke 20:1-3 (read vv. 1-19)
INTRO: Perhaps the most critical question regarding Christianity is, “Why Jesus?”
Why not another teacher? Or simply God?
Luke uses a confrontation between religious leaders and Jesus to raise this question
– the rest of the story is built around the answer
Chapters 20 – 21 form a single unit, which we could title, “Jesus Teaching In the Temple”
– this unit was introduced by the word “approach” (three times in chapter 19)
– Luke indicates the beginning and end of the unit by making references to Jesus teaching in the temple (20:1 & 21:37-38)
– then the next unit begins in 22:1, where once again the word “approach” signals the new section (this time, the approach of Passover) read more…
When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes . . .” Luke 19:41-42 (read vv. 28-48)
INTRO: We have been in the gospel of Luke for almost a year and for a majority of the time we’ve been on a road-trip with Jesus
Various sources of tension have expanded the plot as we’ve traveled along:
- people trying to figure out who Jesus is – and a few of them coming to faith in him
- Jesus’ mission to people on the margin of society
- his conflict with the religious classes
- Jesus’ own dark predictions about what will happen to him in Jerusalem
But now Jesus has reached his destination
– this is the point in the story where everything should resolve
Luke has developed the plot to create the impression now that Jesus has reached Jerusalem, something big is about to happen to him
– but something even bigger is about to happen to Jerusalem
Verses 28-36, We’re so used to hearing this story, we miss one important fact
It is unlike anything else in the story of Jesus – he never went for this kind of attention
– the pace of the story changes when he reaches the villages on outskirts of Jerusalem
– more details are given, and the preparations made for his entrance build suspense
– we are taken back to the importance of fulfilled prophecy as in the beginning of Luke’s gospel
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a cold, the foal of a Donkey. (Zech. 9:9)
In fact, Luke began his narrative in the temple and that is where it will eventually end
– it was necessary for Jesus to return here – and Luke makes his return BIG
Verses 37-40, For one brief moment, Jesus is the center of attention in Jerusalem
The slogan shouted by the crowd was specific and can be found in Psalm 118
– in times of celebration, pilgrims to Jerusalem would be greeted in this way
– according to the Midrash – people who lived in Jerusalem would welcome the visitors:
Jerusalem: “Save us, O Lord! (Hosanna!)”
Pilgrims: “So be it, Lord!”
Jerusalem: “Blessed is he who comes in his name!”
Pilgrims: “We bless you from the house of the Lord!”
The crowd changed the greeting by directing it to Jesus
– they also added something, which is a variation on the angel’s song in ch. 2
The Pharisees appear in the story one last time – and true to form they tell Jesus to rebuke his disciples
– some believers are always eager to hand out rebukes
– to squelch innovation or anything that doesn’t fit their system
– they are like the people described in Jeremiah who “handle the law” but do not know God (Jer. 2:8)
As we’ve seen before, people who try to tell Jesus what to do, never succeed
– “the stones” – I’m tempted to relate this to John’s statement in 3:8
– the point here: this event is of such cosmic significance that it can’t be silenced
– the people were responding to a divine impulse that ran through the created world
Verses 41-44, Here we come to the heart of this whole episode
I’m going to return here in a moment
– for now we just want to notice what happens when Jesus sees the city
– it is blind – has no idea of the seriousness of its present condition
– no idea of the meaning of this historic moment
– and no idea that the course it is on will lead to its total destruction
Verses 45-48, Jesus makes himself at home in temple, the heart of Jerusalem
Money-changing and selling ritual animals were legitimate services
– but like other legitimate services, they easily could be abused – especially when
- culprits are able to monopolize the services
- it has the advantage of providing a convenience or resolving desperation
- it caters especially to foreigners
Had the temple become too much associated with money and finances?
– during Roman assault on Jerusalem, rebels entered temple and burned the debt records archived there
What Jesus points out in the verses he quotes is related to his reason for weeping over the city
– the temple was a contradiction: what it was designed to be and what it had become
– “you have made it” – they were responsible for the change — they had made it a robbers’ den
This section ends with Jesus teaching in the temple under shadow of his enemies
CONC: Let’s return to the passage for an ariel view
Luke has structured the first part of the story around Jesus’ “approach” to Jerusalem
– he uses the word three times and in each stage it draws a verbal reaction:
- 29, Bethany, “Why are you untying the colt”
- 37, the descent of the Mt of Olives – a dual reaction
1.) The crowd, “began to praise God joyfully”
2.) The Pharisees, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples” - 41, the city, he wept over it
– and as I’ve said, this is the heart of this episode
Imagine standing nearby when Jesus caught sight of Jerusalem — we’re watching him cry
– what is tearing him up inside?
– the contradiction between what God meant for the holy city to be and what it was
Jerusalem had another name, “Zion”
– Zion was a dream, an ideal – a society of humans where heaven coexisted with earth
– in the same way paradise could be a garden, Zion could be a city
– this was the creative vision God had given to the psalmists and the prophets
But the leaders of Israel had lost the vision, the dream of Zion, and so it became something else
Now imagine Jesus weeping over a human life
– God had a design for this man, but he took a different road – made himself something else
We come to intersections where we can take one road or the other
– from the road we take, we can’t see the other – we do not know what might have been
– “If you had known . . . hidden from your eyes . . . you did not recognize”
– its tragic when we have only one view of our life and it’s a false one
Jesus weeps over the person who ruins a life that could have been meaningful
I have not done everything I’m capable of accomplishing
– the question is, Am I moving in the right direction? Or am I moving further from God’s dream?
What are verses 45-48? They are hope!
- Jesus moves into the heart of what is wrong and shakes it up (greed, etc.)
– this is not a permanent change – it’s up to them to carry on what he started - Jesus gives them the instruction they need to no longer be unaware
– awareness is vital to the process of change
– we must bring awareness to our situation in life
What was Jesus teaching them? He was teaching them to dream
“Creative passion in life depends on the ability to dream, no matter whether the dream be of a society or a great man. A teacher who does not know how to teach us to dream, to conjure up ideal visions, is not worth of the name.” Helmut Thielicke
The NASB did not translate verse 48 literally – the people were not “hanging on to every word he said”
– they were hanging on to him – attentive to his teaching, yes
– but Jesus is salvation and it is by hanging on to him that we move into a position where it is possible to fulfill our destiny
Draw near to God and He will draw near to youJesus could promise James and John they would drink from his cup of suffering and sorrow, but he could not promise them seats of honor in his kingdom–other than what he had already guaranteed (Mt. 19:28). While he was on the road of the condemned, they were trying to travel the road to greatness (see vv. 117-19).
There was trouble in Jesus’ small community–ten disciples against two. How did they express their indignation? Were voices raised? Were insults thrown back and forth? A rift occurred that broke up the tight team and got each one thinking only of himself. If we assumed that having the perfect leader eliminates internal conflict, we need to think again.
What did Jesus do about this infighting? He redefined what it meant to be great or first in any sort of social group. Until this conversation, the only model of roles and ranking in families, communities, or organizations the disciples knew were those they observed in their world. Without exception, the person with the most power also wielded the most influence and was accorded the greatest honor and the best service.
The structure of worldly systems would prove useless to the disciples. The greatest in Jesus’ kingdom do not ambitiously climb over others, but become servants to everyone else.
O Jesus, our Lord and Savior, thank You for redefining the social constructs that have shaped our thinking. Your model restores unity among us. If acceptance in Your kingdom meant we had to claw our way to the top, few people would make it. But anyone can become a servant. You have redefined our reality. The goals of our brothers and sisters are our concern as well. Now . . . how can we help?
Daily Meditations From the Scriptures