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 […]
There is no reason to be a hypocrite. That’s the overarching message of the first twelve verses of Luke 12. Hypocrites are hypocrites because they care about themselves and the opinions of others more than they care about God, His love, or His judgment. And while there are dire ramifications to this kind of duplicity […]
This is the second awkward meal involving Jesus and a Pharisee that Luke records. Before (7:36-50), the meal was dinner. In this text, it’s lunch. Regardless of the time of day, it’s pretty much a given that planning a get-together around food for Jesus and a Pharisee is not going to end well. In both […]
American presidential elections are amazing, aren’t they? They truly are unique in the world. No other country on earth has election seasons that last as long, consume as much money, or dominate as much media as ours do. Our campaigns last the better part of a year and seem to go on forever. They divide […]
In this text, Jesus answers a question with what most would agree is His most famous parable. The parable of the Good Samaritan is very familiar to any believer and recognized even by those who know next to nothing about the Bible (or who may not even realize it’s from the Bible). The term “Good […]
In a replay of what He did with the twelve (Lk 9:1-6), Jesus sends out a large group of disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God. He sends them to prepare the way for Him as He travels to Jerusalem. In so doing, He teaches us that there is urgency in proclaiming the good news; […]
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