Will Your Religion Save You?

Luke 23:13-25

     Neither Herod nor Pilate find any fault in Jesus that is worth death. Pilate actually argues with and tries to reason with the religious leaders to let Him go. But they are beyond the point of reason. They will not be satisfied until Jesus is crucified. The guilty will go free and the perfectly innocent will be condemned.
     They are going to get rid of this man who has gotten in the way of their religion. They way they performed their religion was more important to them than anything. The system they had created could not be compromised. That would threaten their power, self-importance, and self-actualization to God. Without their system how could they be on God's good side. Their system was going to help them be leaders in the kingdom of the Christ, so they thought. Their system blinded them from seeing God's Word made flesh.
     What have we added to God's word to help us live better? Is there anything in our religion that we consider more important than following Christ? If you are a pastor, is your salary or power more important than leading the flock you've been entrusted with more important than God's Word? If you are a part of the church is your comfortable American system of worship more important to you than surrendering all to follow God's Word? How well do you know the Word? Do you know the difference between the Word and your own mechanisms or desires? Would you ask God to show you? God forbid that we would set the Word aside to pursue our own religious ideas or ideals. The religious leaders are completely lost and don't even know it. Jesus is the Word, and He isn't lost.

The Death March Begins for Life.

Luke 23:1-12

     It has only just begun, but even the events in these twelve verses would exhaust a man. After the kangaroo trial with the religious leaders, they take Jesus over to Pilate (the Roman ruler who could sentence Jesus to death or other punishment) to try and get Him sentenced to death. Jesus has just gotten done sweating drops of blood in the garden and probably has not received any food or water, not to mention sleep, and has now been interrogated several times. He is forced to walk across the city between Pilate and Herod while being mistreated along the way. Despite the false accusations, Jesus is remarkably still found innocent at this point, but the religious leaders are not going to rest until Jesus is dead. He has pointed out their hypocrisy, embarrassed them, and threatened their power over the people so He must die one way or the other. They are going to kill the Christ because He hasn't met their needs. He wasn't who they wanted Him to be and He didn't play by their rules.
     How often do we leave Jesus because He doesn't answer prayer the way that we would like, or because He hasn't given us the life we would like? How often do we deny Him by the way that we live because we are embarrassed or afraid to step up to the plate and live boldly and openly for Jesus the way that we know we should? Jesus can forgive us, no matter what we've done and lead us to life if we will only follow His lead. So will you follow? In this passage Jesus is being lead all over town by sinful men but He isn't lost. He's on His way to pay for your sin.

Everyone seems to be Lost except the One who looks Like He should be

Luke 22:54-71  
     Peter does the exact thing that he promised he wouldn't, he denies Jesus not just once, but three times. Confused and scared he grasps in the dark for a way out and lies. Finally the rooster crows and the weight of what he has done comes crashing down on him and his and Jesus' eyes meet. He flees the scene and weeps bitterly.
     Meanwhile the rest are nowhere to be found. Jesus is alone. He is being mistreated and pushed around by the religious leaders who are holding some sort of "trial" in the dead of night. He gives them what they want. He will not refuse the designation of Christ because that is who He is and they will see to it that He receives a torturous death because of it. He is not the Christ they were looking for, at this point He is hardly the Christ anyone was looking for, but He is the Christ who will bring salvation to all nations. All who will receive Him and His sacrifice. He will go the distance, He is determined, He will obey the Father, He is not lost, He will save those who are. Will you follow the one who is not lost?

Love Wins, Jesus Submits, God Will be Just

OK everyone, I'm making up for three days here and getting back on the wagon. The following passage is three days smashed into this one post.

Luke 22:1-53

     By the end of this passage Jesus is going to be betrayed and handed over to the religious officials but at the beginning of the passage this event is still looming. Jesus has one final meal with His twelve disciples, a passover meal. He takes the symbolism in the meal and makes a new covenant. The bread and wine will be a symbol of His body and blood which are about to be given for the entire human race past, present and future. He, being God yet sinless man is the only one who can make this happen and His preparing to do it. His sacrifice will sufficient enough to forgive our sins if we repent and accept it and we will share in Jesus' Kingdom.
     Even in this solemn moment the disciples are not prepared to deal with the magnitude of what is about to happen. Some are still concerned about who will be the greatest among them, others are going to deny ever having known Jesus and still another is already in the process of dealing Him to the religious leaders. Jesus knows that this is going to be hard for them and Him, so what does He do? The same thing that He always does when difficult things are on the horizon. He prays to the Father and we can learn from this. He is honest about the suffering that is before Him, and would rather not have to pass through that challenge. But nevertheless, He is willing to submit to the Father's will, even if it is hard and painful for a time. Jesus also prays for His friends who are about to have their faith shattered before it is rebuilt. He loves them and us and goes to the cross for us, in submission to the Father's will. Thank God for a Savior who is doing what we could not, living the perfect life so He could die the perfect death! Because of this we can share in His kingdom! Because of this we can know His mercy and grace no matter how far we have fallen.
     So, will you now follow Jesus to the cross and accept Him as the sacrifice for your sin? The sin that must be paid for in order to satisfy the justice and wrath of God? Will you accept His love to be on the right side of His justice? No matter what you've done you can repent and walk the walk because of Jesus. Will you follow before it's too late? Will you take the bread and wine so that you can walk in newness of life? Just about everyone in the story is lost at the end of this passage except for Jesus, He doesn't get lost.

You have a "Zombie Survival Plan", but do You Have a "Jesus Is Coming Back Plan"?

Luke 21:20-38  

     Oi! How does it all fit together? I'll be honest, I don't think I know exactly and many who say they do don't really know either. We do know that Jerusalem was sieged by the Romans in 70 AD and Jesus is probably at least prophesying about this event. He seems to continue on to other events that happen later however when He will ultimately return like the Son of Man (see Daniel 7). Some theologians call this "telescoping" because in the same discourse we see Jesus prophesying about something close and then something further away.
     Jesus wanted His original audience and us to be ready when things go down. In order to do so we need to be looking around and paying attention as well as getting ready. Just like many of you might have a Zombie Survival Plan, you need to have a Jesus is going to come back Apocalypse plan. You don't want to not be ready, that would be bad, worse than a zombie apocalypse. So get ready now. Don't know how? Follow Jesus, you will definitely need Him in your survival plan, He'll get you ready. Just remember, following Him isn't always easy but you can be sure that He is never lost.

They may take your lives, but they cannot take...your SALVATION!

Luke 21:5-19

     So now Jesus has been in Jerusalem for a little while, and He hasn't exactly started recruiting an army or killing Romans with lasers from His eyes or anything like that. The passover is getting close, people are starting to crowd around the city and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. The people praised Jesus' entrance but what now? He says two things here that are not going to make His followers very happy. One, the temple is going to be destroyed. That means worship as you know it will cease to exist, like when the nation was exiled. People would naturally wonder how this could be part of the Kingdom plan? Two, you will be persecuted by religious and civil governments alike, even your closest family will betray you. Again, this doesn't exactly sound like the results of a conquering king. People are starting to wonder about this and it wont be long now before they feel foolish for following Him and turn on Him.
     Through it all, Jesus promises to be with them. He promises to give them the right words to say at the right times. Some of them will die for Him, but they will not die in vain and their souls will not be touched. Jesus will guard their souls and their endurance will prove their faith. Jesus is the pre, and better, Braveheart. "They may take your lives but they cannot take your SALVATION!" or something like that. Anyway, many at this point think that Jesus is coming in for a crash landing, but what they don't realize is that the crash is according to plan and will produce the greatest victory of all time. Victory over sin and death. Jesus isn't lost, and those who follow Him wont be either.

Jesus Keeps Poking. Is He Really not Lost?

Luke 20:39-21:4

     Jesus continues to poke at the religious leaders. Not only are they asking the wrong questions but they also have the wrong answers, especially concerning Him. Their idea of who the Christ was and what He would look like had some holes in it and Jesus points this out with His example of the Christ being a son of David. Jesus was of course both David's Lord and also from his kingly line as far as being born from Mary. The scribes hadn't figured this out. Jesus doesn't stop here. He further points out how hypocritical they are and gets rather specific. Again, He is embarrassing those in power and they won't let it go for long. But Jesus knows this. He knows that He is not what people expect Him to be and that they will resent Him for it. He knows that His death march is imminent and that these leaders will play a major part.
     Still, they have a sliver of a window of time left to repent. If they would listen to Jesus now it's not too late. They could still follow Jesus, though it would cost them their pride, wealth, and comfort. In contrast Jesus points out the meager offering of a poor widow. Someone who had no one to protect her for provide for her and yet she gave freely and willingly of all she had. She only had God to trust and for her that was enough. How much do you need? If Jesus called you to trust Him with everything you have, including your money, security, family, and social status would you give it to Him? Would you walk with Jesus even if it meant giving everything? Are we so blinded by our wealth and our comfort that we don't even realize that this is what Jesus is asking for? Are we so arrogant to think that we are His blessing to the nations when we give less than 10% of what we have? Jesus puts His money where His mouth is and asks us to follow. Do you believe that Jesus isn't lost?

What Afterlife are You Living For?

Luke 20:27-38

     When I was younger I used to think that when I went to heaven I would have this huge house with everything I could ever want. It would have all the food that I liked, there would be a big swimming pool and a basketball court and all kinds of other stuff. Part of the problem with this kind of thinking is that I thought that heaven was going to be all about me, when in reality it is going to be all about God. For those of us who are raised to life, the new heaven and new earth will be places of enjoyment, enjoying the presence of God and giving Him glory.
     In this passage, Jesus enlightens the Sadducees about some of the aspects of the afterlife that are going to be different than they expect. This Jewish group didn't believe that there would be a resurrection from the dead and tried to catch Jesus in a logical dead end. If a woman had 7 husbands in this life who's would she be in the next? Jesus first tells them that they shouldn't assume that they will make it to the resurrection of life, and that if they do, marriage is no longer going to be a concern. They will be living only for God and no one else.
     We certainly can enjoy relationships such as the kind that a marriage provides in this life but shouldn't God sill have first priority and first position in our lives even this side of heaven? Are you sure that when you die you will be a part of those who are raised to life to live with Jesus? If we follow Jesus in this life, we will follow Him in the next. As we have seen, following Him is not always easy but we must trust Him, trust His death and resurrection for our sins, trust that wherever He goes, He isn't lost.
 

Will you Trip, be Crushed, or Follow Jesus?

Luke 20:9-26  

   Jesus' death was approaching, and human history would be changed forever. In this parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus says that a new program is about to begin. The religious leaders over the Jewish religion had used and abused the people and will murder the Son of God. God's mercy is long, but their time at the top is over. Stewardship of God's kingdom on earth is about to change. Over the next 50-70 years the people of God will go from being almost exclusively Israelites to predominately Gentiles (non-Jews). God gave them every chance for century upon century, and they still rejected Him, killed His prophets and even His only Son. They trip over Him, Jesus, but He will crush them like a massive cornerstone in the end. 

     The encounter over taxes seems mundane in comparison, but still has a valuable lesson for us to learn. Jesus expects us to honor those in authority over us. This isn't always an easy thing for us to do as independent Americans but how we honor those in authority over us reflects how we ultimately view God and His authority. Do you disrespect our elected officials with your words or actions in front of your friends, coworkers, or children? How well do you honor our government with your taxes? (mailing mine today!) 

     Christian leaders will be held accountable to Jesus Himself for how they steward His kingdom. Servants of the King will be held accountable to Jesus Himself for how they not only obey Him but those He as appointed over them, whether religious or civil. How do you respond to those in authority? How do you lead if you are called to lead? Jesus doesn't get lost. Will you follow Him wherever He may go? 

Jesus is a Rock Star...until He changes the tune.

Luke 19:45-20:8

     If Jesus wasn't a rock star before, He certainly is now. As He teaches in the temple people are hanging on every word. He has come in like a king and people are anticipating that He is about to do something great and powerful. They want to get in on the ground floor and be part of His great empire. The religious leaders are wary of Him. On the one hand if He doesn't succeed in overthrowing the Romans then there will be hell to pay, on the other they do not want to give up their power and position to this upstart who makes them look foolish. They want to bring Him down but He is too popular, for now.
     Even though popular, Jesus is asking for trouble. He messes up the system that the religious leaders have put in place in the temple for swindling people and He embarrasses them in front of a crowd. The crowd loves it for now, but how long will they wait? How long will you wait? How long does it take before you decide the following Jesus isn't worth it? What "excursions" do you take that you think wont really be harmful? What truth do you choose to ignore for the sake of convenience? Jesus doesn't get lost, whether He looks like a rock star or a fool on a cross. He is always in the right place at the right time. Will you keep following?