Jesus and His followers enter Jerusalem as the end of His ministry and time on earth are in sight. As He nears His death, He does and says things that clearly display His remarkable character. At the same time, He clearly exposes the hypocrisy and lack of character of those who oppose Him. On both […]
Throughout His ministry – now going on three years – Jesus has battled the expectation that He will be a political Messiah, one who fulfills all the prophecies of a triumphant ruler who will lead Israel over its enemies. The expectation stems from a misunderstanding of Old Testament prophecies about His second coming. His followers […]
Jesus and His followers come to Jericho, the last major stop before Jerusalem. The group traveling with Jesus likely grows as other pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for Passover join them. Since Jesus knows the disciples think He’s going to declare Himself or usher in the Kingdom once they reach Jerusalem (19:11), He warns […]
In the first 30 verses of Luke 18, Jesus discusses how believers should respond to His words about the end times and impending judgment from Chapter 17. The Son of Man will come back to judge the world and call His children to glory, so His people should live accordingly. We cannot live like those […]
Chapter 17 is made up of several sections and it’s not entirely clear how or if the sections go together. They are separate vignettes and it’s also not clear if they occur chronologically or if Luke groups them for another purpose. If we were to assign an overall title to the chapter, it would be […]
This is the second of two lessons on Chapter 16. The message of the chapter, told in two parables and a showdown with the Pharisees, is that the disciple of Christ must use the temporary resources of this sinful world to affect eternity. The believer is a steward of what he has and knows the […]
The message of Chapter 16, told in two parables and a showdown with the Pharisees, is that the disciple of Christ must use the temporary resources of this sinful world to affect eternity. The believer is a steward of what he has and knows the rewards of this life are finite, thus it makes no […]
Chapter 15 illustrates the two sides of Jesus’ ministry. On the one side are the sinners and tax collectors – the deplorables of society – who are attracted by Jesus’ compassion and teaching of forgiveness. On the other are the religious leaders – the elite of society – who are threatened by Jesus and horrified […]
Jesus’ approach to ministry is unconventional to say the least. In this passage He notices the huge crowds that follow Him and decides to winnow their numbers by giving them a sobering picture of discipleship. His sales pitch to them is, “Follow Me and your life will be really hard.” It’s not exactly a hard […]
The first 24 verses of this chapter all revolve around a meal. There are four vignettes in this passage, but all take place during a dinner at the house of a prominent Pharisee. Jesus uses the setting to point to a truth that’s repeated throughout Luke and all the gospels: self-righteousness and its associated spiritual […]
