Read Luke 13-14
Wait what? If I were them, I would be saying “What are we doing here then? I would rather eat. I’m here because You said fast and come sing. And then I get here and You’re like, ‘I hate your songs, and I hate you fasting.’” It doesn’t make sense, right?
But WHY does God say that? His accusation is “Because your hearts aren’t here. You do not esteem Me. You have even taken this and made it about you.”
The Pharisees and those who knew the law were especially guilty of this, because it was what they knew to do. They took the law and followed it to the letter, but Jesus came and showed them that what He had to offer them was more than religion – it was love.
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast (Luke 13:18-20)
At this point in Jesus’s ministry Jesus had been fulfilling all the signs the Jews had demanded, but when he did he was humble and would even tell those he performed his miracles on not to tell others. This is not what the Jews expected from the Messiah. They wanted something more grandeur, and “in your face.” To respond to this Jesus is basically like “your vision of the Kingdom is too small, let me tell you what it is actually like.” And so he says “It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” This is the exact opposite of a mighty, powerful God coming in and flashing his greatness. The image Jesus paints is of something small, like a seed or a little bit of yeast, that with time creates something beautiful, something much greater than it was on its own. Notice in both analogies there is someone who plants the seed and works the dough. That is the beauty of sanctification. We don’t come to him ready-made and perfect and THEN begin to do his will. We come to him with our burdened heart, our heavy baggage, our brokenness and shame. It is then that He refines and works our hearts to make them look like his.
Jesus at a Pharisee’s House (Luke 14:1-6)
Before this point Jesus had healed seven men and women on the Sabbath, which was against the law. The Pharisees didn’t know how to react to this so they set up a trap. They invited Jesus to eat on the Sabbath at the house of a “prominent Pharisee.” There, Jesus was being “carefully watched” to see how he would react when asked to heal a man with dropsy (whom the Pharisees most likely would not have invited otherwise to the house). If Jesus healed the man, then he would have broken the law; if he did not heal the man, then he would be without mercy or compassion. But to Jesus, God in the flesh, he knew the hearts of these men and turned the trap around so that it was on them by asking them first, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”, which left them silent. At this point Jesus made it more real to them by saying “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day will you not immediately pull him out?” This has nothing to do with the Sabbath or the law. What Jesus was trying to show these men was that a father would forsake all laws to save what is precious in his sight. Jesus yearns for us to look at others and see their hearts and to care about the state of their souls because that is how he looks at each of us.
The Cost of Being A Disciple (Luke 14:25-34)
The blessing, or the problem, that comes when Jesus has your heart is that your life changes. He becomes your way of life, your worldview, your purpose if life. The beginning of this portion starts off with “large crowds were traveling with Jesus.” It’s all the people that were intrigued by the healing, all those who jumped on the bandwagon, but also all the first time hearers of redemption, salvation, and hope. Verses 26-35 are Jesus basically telling this large crowd, “You wanna follow me? It’s not easy.” He makes the most piercing remark when he says “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, is brother and sisters – yes , even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.” And with that remark he gives them analogy after analogy about how in order to truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ you have to consider and plan for what is coming ahead of you, be ready to give up everything, and be willing to let God start and finish the work in you. If any of those three criteria are not met, your following Jesus is futile.
Reflection
In the song Orphaned One by Kayla Nichols, the lyrics are in the perspective of God speaking to us. I thought the words “my love, my love will find you where you are” perfectly summed up what Luke 13 and 14 were trying to show us. That is:
- God wants our hearts right now, just as we are, and He will do the rest
- God’s love is what enables us to look on others with love
- God’s love will carry us through to do His will, even if that means giving up the ways of the World
My prayer is that this Lent is a time of growing in your affection for the Father, a time of true adoration of His perfect love that constantly pursues us, and a time of growth that I hope will make you strong enough to have been one of the few in that large crowd that stayed to be a disciple of Jesus.
Orphaned One Video and Lyrics:
Orphaned one, lift up your eyes- Priya Mathew
I've given you my name
You are mine
I know well the sound of your cries
And you won't be denied
For I'm by your side
For all my glory will shine upon your face
My justice and my mercy will reign over this place
Oh, my love, my love will find you where you are
I've placed my beauty as a crown upon your head
I'll exchange your filthy garments
And you'll be clothed in white instead
Oh, my love, my love will find you where you are
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