“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
– Luke 18:14
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you think that it was like to be one of Jesus’ disciples? What do you think that Jesus did when He was with His disciples? What do you think that Jesus’ disciples learned from being 24/7 with Jesus? A lot can be learned from what Doctor Luke wrote – in what is now Luke 18, in the letter that he sent to his friend Theophilus about what it was like to be one of Jesus’ disciples, what Jesus did with His disciples and what Jesus taught His disciples. Per what Doctor Luke wrote in his communique to Theophilus, Jesus was to His twelve disciples a consummate teacher, to rugrats a compassionate advocate, to a rich guy a confrontational hardnose and to an infirmed guy a considerate miracle worker. Jesus used parables – which were made up stories, to teach His disciples how to deal with real life situations. A couple of Jesus’ prayer focused teaching parables or allegorical narratives begin this chapter. Jesus uses a widow in the first parable who is constantly pleading with an indifferent and unsympathetic judge to give her justice over a guy who Jesus refers to as being her adversary. Even though the judge has no reason to do what the widow is leaning on him to do, but because of her dogged perseverance in asking him to do what she wants him to do and because he just wants to get her off his back, the judge finally relents to the widow and . . . which is – per Jesus, how God will respond to His specially chosen/elected guys, gals and kids who are day and night incessantly and persistently crying out to Him about an explicit something that only God can do something about. Jesus uses a Pharisee and a tax collector in the second parable who have gone into the temple to pray. A Pharisee per Jesus will stand where guys and gals can see him and hear him praying – which will be about himself and how glad that he is that he is not like guys who are robbers, evildoers, womanizers and even like the tax collector who went into the temple with him plus he wants the guys and gals to know how good that it is that he fasts twice a week and that he gives a tenth of all he that earns or is given as a tithe to God. The tax collector in the meantime – in Jesus’ parable, finds a place away from where guys and gals can see him, he does not look up in the direction of heaven and he beats his chest while asking God to have mercy on him as he knows that he is an appalling sinner. Jesus tells his disciples that in God’s eyes the tax collector has it all over the Pharisee. Jesus tells his disciples in verse 14 why: “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”” Your grandmaa and grandpaa are planning to go this afternoon to the wedding of one of the guys – Alec Billing, who was on the World Race squad that your grandmaa and grandpaa were coaches. During the four weeks that your grandpaa was in Thailand with Alec’s World Race squad, Alec would often ask your grandpaa if he could talk with him. Often when your grandpaa thought about Alec while he was on his World Race, your grandpaa would think of Alec in the context of this verse because of how confident that Alec came across to your grandpaa. Even though your grandpaa told Alec that he often comes across to him sounding as if he is ‘exalting’ himself, Alec still seemed to want to spend time with your grandpaa. Because Alec over the past year or so has been working in Adventures in Missions office here in Gainesville, Georgia, your grandpaa has several times had the opportunity to spend time with Alec. Alec’s fiancée – Keri Harmon, is a very sweet young gal who your grandpaa has gotten to know.
Doctor Luke continues in his missive to Theophilus telling Theophilus that after some dads and mas took their babies and/or their little kids to Jesus to have Jesus bless them, that Jesus’ disciples told the dads and mas that they are wasting Jesus’ time as . . . which has Jesus telling His disciples that every guy and gals in order to be accepted to enter into the kingdom of God is to become like a little kid. Doctor Luke then segues immediately to a wealthy ruler who is living out the laws and commands that God – as God the Father, gave through Moses at Mount Sinai to His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals – which have become by this time the Jew people group guys and gals, were still observing. This rich dude wanted to know what he has to do so that he might have eternal life. When Jesus tells the well to do guy that he needs to sell everything and give the money that he gets from selling everything to the poor, that he will accumulate treasures in heaven, the poor rich guy did being sad as he did not want to sell everything. Jesus’ response to this affluent community leader is that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle – which was probably a reference to a very small gate that was located in the wall that surrounded the city of Jerusalem, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
After Jesus told His disciples that it was time to go to the city of Jerusalem – where He will be handed over to Gentle solders who will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him but that three days later He will rise from the tomb in which he will be entombed – which His disciples are unable to internalize, they headed out. On the way to the city of Jerusalem, Jesus stopped outside the city of Jericho to give back sight to a blind beggar. How would you like to have a coach – like Jesus, who will routinely say and/or do something completely unpredictable?
Luke 18 (1160)