Thoughts on Luke 8:1-8

Hi, all.

This Sunday the plan is to study together the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8). Jesus told this parable ‘that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.’ The word translated ‘to lose heart’ can also mean to grow tired, weary, or exhausted. I suspect that most of us have experienced times when we wearied of praying for something, even something very good that we knew would be glorifying to God. So, this parable has meaning for us. Here are some things to be thinking about:

— The parable itself is simple: The Judge is basically wicked. He even says of himself (in v4) that he did not fear God and did not care what anyone thought of him. Thus, the judge is a perfect example of someone who could refuse even a worthy widow, indefinitely. 

The Widow is relentless, who ‘kept coming to him’ (v3). We do not know much about her, except that she had an ‘adversary,’ that she sought justice, and apparently that she had no path to justice except through the unjust judge.

In the end, the widow wins out. The judge relents and grants her justice. The message is simple: If even this unjust judge will relent—who has no reason or inclination to be merciful—how much more easily and quickly will God answer the prayers of His saints? 

Some people struggle with comparing God to the unjust judge. Is it hard for you? If so, why? If not, can you understand why some people have a hard time with the comparison?

— The things Jesus says after the parable are the hardest to grasp, for me. The promise is that God will give justice to His elect ‘speedily’ (v8). But, does the coming of God’s justice always seem ‘speedy’ to you? And, if God’s justice always comes ‘speedily’ then why is there any need for the disciples to be told to persevere in prayer? If it comes speedily why would you ever lose heart or grow weary in praying? How do you put these things together?

— At the end of verse 8 Jesus says, ‘Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ This sounds despairing to me. Why would Jesus doubt the presence of faith on His return? Why would He tell that to the disciples? How is this helpful for us?

May God bless the rest of your work week. See you Sunday.

Love,
Jim.

Thoughts on Luke 17:20-37

Hi, all.

This Sunday the plan is to study together Luke 17:20-37, where we get the first round of end-times teaching from the Lord Jesus. It seems probable to me that Jesus spoke to His disciples often about coming persecution and the end-times, so that they would learn and remember, but the bulk of what we have preserved in the Gospels is found only in Jesus’ teaching near the temple in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’

In contrast, the context in Luke 17 is initially an exchange with the Pharisees about the Kingdom of God, and this is followed by teaching to the disciples about the Day of the Son of Man, and about the way that judgment falls on people. Here are some things to be thinking about:

— In verses 20-21, the Pharisees were asking Jesus about the coming kingdom of God. Exactly what they were asking is not clear. It may be that they were asking again about signs, or perhaps they wanted a clear statement from Jesus about whether the kingdom was coming soon. In either case, they probably did not expect Him to say what he did: ‘The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’

The first edition of the NIV translated this phrase as, ‘the kingdom of God is within you,’ and the ESV has that translation in a footnote. Which do you think is correct? Is the Kingdom in the midst of us, or within us? If you consider that Jesus is saying this to the Pharisees, does that change your thinking about the meaning?

— Then, starting in verse 22, Jesus addresses the disciples: ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.’ Waiting for the coming of the Son of Man sounds hard, but the coming of the Son of Man sounds hard, too, as it will be like Noah’s flood and like Sodom and Gomorrah. The pictures of judgement here are stark, with death for most people. But Jesus says that we will long for His coming. That is, the second coming of Christ is explicitly associated with judgment, and with rescue.

Can you compare this with what you have read in Revelation? How is it that rescue and judgment go together?

— A key verse in this passage is 32: ‘Remember Lot’s wife.’ She was the one who ‘looked back’ as they were fleeing the destruction of Sodom, and was turned into a pillar of salt. The context in Luke is verse 31, which says, ‘On that day [when the Son of Man is revealed], let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.’

What is this ‘turning back’ about in Luke 17? When the Son of Man is revealed—with signs as obvious as lightning lighting up the sky from horizon to horizon—how might a person react that would be ‘turning back’? What is the warning for us?

May God bless the rest of your work week. See you Sunday.

Love,
Jim.