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Reading the Gospels in 2026: (5/8) Luke 17:1-19

May8

A 5-day per week study.

May 8 – Reading Luke 17:1-19

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Lord, increase our faith!” “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed…”  Luke 17:5-6a

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review: Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus, who both died and had very different fates.  The rich man wanted to warn his brothers about that horrid place, but Father Abraham told him, EVEN IF someone would return from the grave, they would not listen.”  We have such hard hearts!

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Vss. 17:1-5.

“Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come.”

Jesus states a fact: we will all face many temptations every day. Some will come from within ourselves, from our sinful desires, and should be resisted. But many subtle or even gross temptations to sin will come via the ungodly people around us. It’s a given.

However, what Jesus adamantly forbids here is for a believer to tempt someone to sin.  He’d be better off dead!

We say, “I’d never do that!” But think about it. What about those “innocent” fun activities that escalate into sinful indulgence or gross misconduct?

Jesus then turns the picture around from temptations to your reactions.  “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times a day, and turns to you in repentance, YOU MUST forgive him.”

And what was the disciples’ reaction?  “Lord, increase our faith!” They weren’t sure they could do what Jesus said.

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Vss. 17:6-7.

Jesus reacted by telling them they didn’t need MORE faith. They need to USE their faith, not desire MORE.  What they had already possessed would move trees and mountains elsewhere. No, the faith they had at that moment was sufficient.

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Vss. 17:8-10.

Next comes a curious example that falls crookedly on our modern-day sensibilities. We have people who work for us, but most of us do not own servants and/or slaves.  We pay our workers for their jobs, and don’t really expect them to go over and beyond what they’ve been hired to do (without negotiating).

So, put your imagination back to Jesus’ day, and see what you can learn about “unworthy servants.”  (Meaning US????  Whoa!!!)

“Will any of you (speaking to a broader audience now)  say to your servant who has been plowing or keeping sheep and has come into the house, ‘Come at once and recline at the table?’”

Can’t you almost hear them laughing at such a notion?

“No, you will rather say, ‘Prepare supper for me. Dress properly and serve me while I eat and drink.  After THAT, YOU will eat and drink.’ Does he then thank the servant for doing what was commanded?”

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Wow.  Doesn’t this go against our natural inclinations, especially in the U.S.?  Your hardworking man slaves all day in the heat, and THEN he’s supposed to come in, cook your meal, and serve you BEFORE he can take a bite???  Yes.  And he doesn’t even expect a ‘thank you.’

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So, what was Jesus saying?

The point is that a slave/servant should not expect special reward for doing what his duty in the first place was.

Now recall the standards Jesus set for believers in verses 1-4.

  1. Believers had better not tempt others to sin.
  2. Believers must forgive a repentant brother AS MANY TIMES as he sincerely repents.
  3. Believers should USE the faith they already have rather than ask for more.

The above “duties” are the minimal things that believers are expected to do. No special merit for obedience should be expected.

Whoa.

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Vss. 17:11-19.

(This incident happened sometime later, maybe after He’d raised Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus from the dead, and He had retreated into the country to avoid the Jerusalem authorities who wanted to kill Him right then.  Luke 19 tells of Jesus’s triumphal entry at Jerusalem and His subsequent death, at His OWN timing.)

Anyway, when Jesus and His disciples entered a village, they were met by TEN LEPERS who stood at a distance calling.

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

These men believed Jesus could heal them if only He would.  Jesus saw their faith.

“Go and show yourselves to the priests.” He called to them.

Huh?

A strict law was established for dealing with “healed” lepers.  They had to go to the priest, show them their now clear skin, and do some tests. In a certain time, they’d return, and if they were still healed, the priest would take them through the ceremonial cleansing ritual and then give them a clean bill of health.

These men knew the routine and left, believing Jesus had healed them.

Then, one of the men looked down at his hands and feet and SAW the miracle. Gratitude and worship filled his soul. He turned back, praising God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks.

He, among the ten, was a Samaritan.

Jesus was amazed that the Samaritan, among the Jews, had returned to thank and praise God.  A foreigner, and one hated by Jews at that.  HE had been “converted,” I am sure.  Not only a “clean body,” he now had a “clean soul” as well.

Jesus looked at him and said, “Rise and go your way, your FAITH has made you well (“saved you” like the woman with the issue of blood. See Mark 5:34).

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(What a glorious story! “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.? Ephesians 2:8-9.  Others look down on this man with disdain.  A Samaritan, pooh!  But this man received Jesus AND healing: a double miracle.  And he praised and worshiped God.

Wow.  When is the last time I fell to my knees and proclaimed my worship and praise for my Savior and God loudly?)

 

 

 

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (5/1) Luke 14:15-34

May1

A 5-day per week study.

May 1 – Reading Luke 14:15-34

Read and believe in Jesus.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  Luke 14:35

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review –

Jesus, invited to dine by a wealthy Pharisee, accepts. But before the meal begins, a crippled man suddenly appears. Okay, it’s the Sabbath, and Jesus knew what they were up to. He quickly healed the man and sent him on his way. Then, He asked them a sharp question that they couldn’t answer.
After that, Jesus watched the guests and the host and told two parables that made them all uncomfortable.
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Vss. 14:15-24.

Jesus, still at the Pharisee’s dinner among other posh guests of the religious leader’s ilk, hears one of them burst out with…

          “Blessed is EVERYONE (meaning, “we righteous Jews”) who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!

The guy probably wanted to sound ‘magnanimous’ to his fellow guests after Jesus had said ONLY the humble would be exalted, ONLY the compassionate would be rewarded, and that reward is from GOD, not from man, after the resurrection. (yesterday’s parables)

That prompted another jarring story from Jesus in answer to the man’s declaration.

No, not EVERYONE will be blessed to dine in God’s kingdom. And Jesus begins…

“A man once gave a great banquet and invited MANY.”

You can picture the well-fed guests leaning back to listen, perhaps finishing their final sips of wine.

“At the time for the banquet to begin, he sent his servants to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’”

The guests nodded. In those days, a formal invite would be sent out first. Once it was acknowledged with “I will attend,” they would later receive a final call right before the feast was served.  The guests would immediately come.

But in Jesus’ story…

“When the final call was sent out by messenger, the guests ALIKE began to make excuses. Huh?

          “I just bought a field, and I have to go see it.”

          “I have bought a yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them.”

          “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.”

These are not reasons but excuses.

Surely the men would have checked out the land and the oxen BEFORE buying them.  And a “new wife” was only a valid excuse for a soldier at wartime. He could be excused to spend a year at home (and hopefully to father a child) before going off to fight.  This was a banquet!

The guests, hearing Jesus’ words, “maybe,” were feeling uncomfortable now.  Sure, they might have made an excuse in the past, but none so blatant as THESE! The host understood, didn’t he?

“The master of the house became angry and told his servant to ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.”

Every jaw at the table dropped.

“The returning servant said, ‘Sir, what You commanded has been done, and still there is room.’”

          “And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and to the hedges, and COMPEL people to come in … that my house may be filled.”

The guests around the Pharisee’s table, who believed every one of themselves was worthy to eat at God’s table in the Kingdom, were shaken. The poor, crippled, blind, and lame?  Sit at the lavish table with THEM???  And GENTILES!!!  NO. WAY.

Jesus then quietly, with all seriousness and warning, said…

“I tell you … NONE of those men WHO WERE INVITED shall taste my banquet.”

“Okay, Jesus,” the host might have said, “time to go. Thanks for coming and all of that…no, the servants will take care of the mess…and oh, here are your sandals. Bye.”

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Vss. 14:25-27.

In the rest of chapter 14, Jesus shows how, not crowds, but true disciples are His aim. No half-hearted followers who just want to be with the “in” crowd, Jesus was looking for those few who meant business, who, in order to be His disciple …

“…would hate their own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yes, even their own lives (in comparison to the love they would have for HIM).

“…would bear their own cross (a willingness to die) and follow after HIM.

(Check out Matthew 10:37-38 for more understanding of this “hate.”)

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Vss. 14:28-33.

Here, Jesus gives two examples of “counting the cost” before deciding you want to be His disciple.

  1. A builder who wants to construct a tower just doesn’t begin with supplies on hand, but draws plans, makes material lists, prices labor … all BEFORE he digs the foundation. Why?  Because he doesn’t want to get halfway done and run out of money.  How EMBARRASSING!!  He would become a laughingstock!
  2. OR, a king who goes out to fight another king in a war. He first counts his troops and weapons, then decides whether his army of 10K can actually stand a chance against the enemy army of 20K. If not, well before the initial clash, he will send out a delegation (with an appeasement?) to seek peace.

Jesus was telling this huge crowd to examine their own hearts and see if they REALLY wanted to follow Him. (After all, remember, Jesus was heading for the cross.) Were they actually willing to give up ALL but Him?

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has, cannot be my disciple.”

It was not so much about giving up all their possessions as an absolute, unconditional surrender.  Their commitment to Him was to be without reservation.

(Wow. It’s serious business to want to give your life to the LORD. You may not have to live in poverty or die a martyr, but you should be willing to.  Am I that committed? Praise God, He sends His Holy Spirit to convict us and give us the power!)

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Vss. 14:34-35.

          “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? ”  It’s only good for keeping footpaths free of weeds.

Okay, TRUE salt (like a true disciple and his love for Christ) cannot lose its saltiness (flavor and preserving power).

But the salt around the Dead Sea can be contaminated with gypsum and other minerals that cause a flat, metallic taste and aren’t good as a preservative. This is like the majority of the people of the “crowds” following Jesus.  Just “fluff.”   And He knows it.

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/30) Luke 14:1-14

Apr30

A 5-day per week study.

April 30 – Reading Luke 14:1-14

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled … and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 14:11

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – Jesus is ministering in Perea, answering questions with hard responses. His “face” is always set “towards Jerusalem and His death.”

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Vss. 14:1-6.

          “One Sabbath…”

Already, you know that Jesus is going to anger the religious leaders.  The Sabbath was (so to speak) “their” day.  They had so many minute rules about what you could and couldn’t do, or eat, or where to go, it was like being bound to a pole with ropes! And gagged.

          “Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. They were watching Him carefully.”

We presume Jesus was invited – many of the rulers asked Him to dine with them – and Jesus accepted.

They did this in order to “catch Him” with some minor rule of theirs that He might not have observed.

He did it to “teach” them what they should have already known.

          “And behold!! There was a man before him who had dropsy.”

 (He had super-giant, swollen, water-filled ankles and feet from kidney or liver disease.)

Did the Pharisee, or one of his scribes, “just happen” to bring this poor man before Jesus?

(Seems suspicious to me.)

They must have spoken to Jesus (like, ‘Oh, poor man, what a sad condition he’s in.’), because Jesus “responded” by saying,

          “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

Notice that “They remained SILENT.” 

Why?  They certainly had an opinion about it.  You can almost feel them waiting with bated breath….

Done with their nonsense, Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way.

Then Jesus turned to the Pharisee and his friends, and asked,

          “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”

          “And they could not reply to these things.”

(Yeah, right!)

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Vss. 14:7-11.

“Now Jesus told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they chose the places of HONOR … saying to THEM…”

Was this at the same dinner He’d been invited to?  Had the man’s healing taken place before they all came to the table to eat?  If so, Jesus was carefully “watching them” this time.

He saw that some were choosing (maybe even elbowing others to get) the “places of honor” (near the inviting Pharisee? Or near Him?)  So, Jesus told them a parable.

(Perhaps before the appetizers arrived?)

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone MORE distinguished than you be invited, and the host say to you, ‘Give your place to THIS person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.”

Perhaps Jesus, having their attention, paused to look at each around the table. Did they squirm?

          “But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so then when your host comes in, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ THEN you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.”

Silence.

Then Jesus wraps it up with “the moral of the story.”

         “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

(Then, I imagine Jesus reaching for the bread and raising His eyes to Heaven before breaking off a piece, dipping it in the sauce, and beginning to eat.)

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Vss. 14:12-14.

Then, not to exclude His host from His wisdom, Jesus speaks another parable.

         “When you give a dinner or banquet, do not invite your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or rich neighbors, lest they also invite YOU in return and you be repaid.”

Did His host, the Pharisee, glare at Jesus?  Did the guests raise their eyebrows and secretly grin?

“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind…

Was Jesus thinking of that man He’d just healed?  Where was he at the table?

          “Then you will be blessed, because they CANNOT repay you.  For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Again, awkward silence, as perhaps Jesus passed the next dish to His neighbor…

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(Jesus will continue in the next verses tomorrow with more “banquet parables.”)

 

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/28) Luke 13:1-21

Apr28

A 5-day per week study.

April 28 – Reading Luke 13:1-21

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath Day?”  Luke 13:16

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review – Jesus told the crowd that they knew the signs of upcoming weather: a cloud in the west means rain, wind from the south means heat …. but they didn’t know the signs of Jesus’ coming.  Get prepared!

Vss. 13:1-9.

Do political persecution and natural disasters indicate judgment by God?  Does this mean people who suffer in this way are MORE sinful and deserve to experience violent deaths?

Yes and no.  It could.  God sometimes brought destruction on wicked sinners.

But Jesus told His questioners that these victims (of Pilate’s anger, and a faulty tower) were NOT more sinful.  And THESE “pious” tattlers were not morally superior to have escaped such fates.  And, in fact, if THEY did not repent, they would also perish.

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Jesus then told them a parable about a barren fig tree (picturing Israel, which lacked all fruit of righteousness). After three years with no fruit, the “owner” wanted to cut it down, saying, “Why should it use up the ground?”

(This could have pictured the years Jesus had been ministering among them. There were some who honestly believed, but the majority of Israel were rejecting Him.)

The gardener pleaded for the tree. “Let me dig around it and put on manure this year. Then, if it should bear fruit next year, well and good! But if not, then cut it down.”

(Jesus’ life and death, and glorious resurrection, plus the apostles’ preaching at Pentecost and beyond, represented the “digging and fertilizing” year. But for the most part, Israel still rejected their Messiah.  And, in less than 40 years, Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed, and the Jews taken captive into Roman slavery.  The “barren fig tree” would be cut down. But…a stump would remain, guarding living roots.)

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Vss. 13:19-21.

Skip the incident of the women in the synagogue for now, and go to two more of Jesus’s parables, which seem to connect with the fig tree (representing Israel) parable.

Jesus here compares the Kingdom of God to a grain of mustard seed, which a farmer plants. It grows tall enough that birds can safely build nests (and raise their young) in it.

The second parable is similar. A woman (perhaps, the farmer’s wife) takes some leaven (yeast) and works it into “measures” of flour in order to bake some nice, soft bread.

The small mustard seed and the leaven (in this case, NOT representing sin, but a good baking ingredient) both grow and influence for good.

These parables illustrate 1) the inclusion of Gentiles in the Kingdom of God (the birds) and 2) the unstoppable pervasiveness of the Kingdom of God (or the Gospel) in the world (like leaven in the dough).

Yes, Israel would reject their Messiah, but this would open the doors for the Gospel to spread to ALL peoples of the world.  PRAISE GOD!

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Vss. 13:10-17.

Jesus is back in a synagogue on Sabbath Day, teaching as He normally does.

There was a crippled woman also in attendance. She had been “bent over from the waist” for EIGHTEEN YEARS!   A “disabling spirit from Satan” had caused this.

The woman was quiet, probably resigned to her permanently bowed state.  She did not come forward to ask Jesus to heal her. She did not try to touch the “hem of His garment.”

But Jesus saw her.

He called her to Him.

He said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.”

And He laid his hands on her.

Immediately, she was made to stand straight, AND SHE GLORIFIED GOD.

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BUT, the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on THOSE DAYS and be healed, and NOT on the Sabbath Day.”

It had probably NOT been the woman’s intention to come for healing. She was probably worshiping and listening to the teaching as the others were.  JESUS had called HER over.

This hypocrisy infuriated Jesus, and He lashed out at them, perhaps pointing an accusing finger.

“You hypocrites!  Does not each of YOU on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?  Ought not THIS WOMAN, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?

(In other words, was she (a Jew, like them) not better than their animals?)

Of course, when He said this, all those accusing “adversaries” were put to shame (and angered all the more).

However, all the people REJOICED at all the glorious things that were done by Jesus.

 

 

 

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/22) Luke 12:1-21

Apr22

A 5-day per week study.

April 22 – Reading Luke 12:1-21

Read and believe in Jesus.

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness…”  Luke 12:15a

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The Gospel according to Luke 

Review –

Jesus confronted the arrogant religious leaders and spoke SIX WOES on them for their greed, pride, and self-righteousness, and their neglect of justice and the love of God.  They respond with renewed energy to “catch Him” in something.

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Vss. 12:1-3.

Even though there were “many thousands of people gathered together around Jesus, so many that they were trampling one another,” Jesus spoke to his disciples first about the disgruntled Pharisees and scribes they’d just left.

He said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

(The hypocrisy or ‘teaching’ of the Pharisees was their over-concern about externals and ceremonies and what people saw and thought of them, but not matters of the heart.)

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Vss. 12:4-12.

Jesus also warns them about persecution by the religious hypocrites, thinking perhaps of His own upcoming death.  “Don’t fear those who can kill the body and have nothing more they can do.  Fear Him who, after He has killed, has the authority to cast into hell.”

Jesus continues to “His friends” with a gentle, “Not a single near-worthless sparrow is forgotten by God, so you are not to fear.  Are you not of more value than many sparrows?”

And again, when any of His own are persecuted by rulers in the synagogues and by other authorities, they are not to be anxious or try to defend themselves. “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you shall say.”

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Vss. 12:13-15.

Then, right in the middle of Jesus’s teaching, and changing the subject completely, a man calls out loudly,

“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!”

Okay, someone in this family has died, and there is a dispute over the inheritance. (No sorrow or grief about the loss is noted at all.) The money, lands, and goods are all that fill these two brothers’ hearts.

 

First, Jesus says, “Man, who made ME a judge or arbitrator?” 

Then, probably seeing the greed and covetousness in the man’s heart, Jesus continues with a warning, a parable, and a startling truth to ponder.

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The warning:

“Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

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The parable:

“The LAND of a rich man produced plentifully.”

The man thought to himself, “What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store MY crops?”

Then he snapped his fingers. “I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all MY grain and MY goods.”

Pleased with the plan, he leaned back and said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry!”

But God said to him that very night, “Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared … whose will they be?”

(Obviously argued over by his descendants!)

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The truth to ponder:

“So is the one who lays up treasure for HIMSELF, and is not rich toward God.”

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Jesus will continue on the topic of wealth and anxiety in the next study.

 

 

 

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/16) Luke 10:38-42

Apr16

A 5-day per week study.

April 16 – Reading Luke 10:38-42

Read and believe in Jesus.

“You are anxious and troubled about many things….”  Luke 10:41a

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The Gospel according to Luke 10:38-42

Review – Last time, Jesus and a knowledgeable Jewish lawyer butted heads. (Guess who comes out dizzy with a large swelling on his forehead?) The two “great commandments” and the “Good Samaritan” story are explained.

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Vss. 10:38-42.

“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village.”

Jesus and His disciples continued walking along the road towards Jerusalem. The village they came to was Bethany, about two miles from the holy city on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.

“And a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

And she had a sister called Mary…”

Martha was probably the oldest of the three siblings and had inherited the house. Mary, along with their younger brother, Lazarus, lived with her. She was an “in charge” type of gal.

“Mary … sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching.

But Martha was distracted by much serving.”

Two sisters with two personalities. Martha, as “head” of the household, felt responsible for making everything perfect for the Master. She slaved in the kitchen. Maybe she even dusted and straightened things up in the room where Jesus (and his men?) sat. Who would help her serve the meal? Who would pour the wine?

And who knew where their little brother was!

“And she went up to Him (Jesus) and said,

‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone??? 

Tell her then to help me!’”

Wow, Martha was even bossing Jesus around!

Her “do you not care” question reminded me of the disciples in their boat during a storm, while Jesus slept.  Frantic, they had asked Him whether He cared if they perished in the storm!

Yes, Jesus cares. (1 Peter 5:7, “casting all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.”

Jesus answered her firmly, but with great love. First, He identified her “heart” problem.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.”

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(I’ve felt like Martha. So many things to worry about, so many things that I need to ‘fix’. I get stressed, and then resentful that I must do everything myself. No one helps! It’s not fair!   Just…like…Martha.)

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Jesus shows Martha what will calm her heart and soothe her anxious spirit. He points to her sister, sitting at His feet, listening.

“…one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion.”

The ‘one thing’ that Martha was missing, the ‘thing’ that would solve all her worries, the ‘good portion’ that Mary chose, is Jesus Himself. Putting everything else aside and listening with an open heart to Jesus’ words.

And, like Mary, it should be Martha’s and our first choice.

“…this will not be taken away from her (Mary).”

Did Jesus continue to look lovingly at Martha, waiting?  Did she sigh and smile a little?  Did she take off her apron and settle down at Jesus’ feet beside Mary? Did she then look to Jesus, her face and heart now calm?

I like to think so.

And there was time later, during general fellowship, for Mary to help Martha serve Jesus and the disciples … perhaps a simpler meal.

Service is good. But Jesus and His word are “gooder.” 😉

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/15) Luke 10:25-37

Apr15

A 5-day per week study.

April 15 – Reading Luke 10:25-37

Read and believe in Jesus.

“And who is my neighbor?”  Luke 10:29

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The Gospel according to Luke 10:25-37

Review – Jesus sent out 72 disciples to towns on His way to Jerusalem, to prepare them for His coming. The 72 return, with joy. Woe to the cities in Galilee that He ministered in for 3 years, and who remained indifferent. REJOICE THAT YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN!

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Vss. 10:25-29.

Perhaps this next section takes place in a synagogue on the Sabbath.  We see a “lawyer” (a Scribe, expert in The Law) STAND UP to speak.  It’s as if Jesus has been teaching, and he stands up to argue.

To TEST Jesus, this knowledgeable man asks, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He had no interest in eternal life, only to catch Jesus in His words.

Jesus turns it back on him.  After all, he IS an educated man. “What is written in the Law?  How do YOU read it?”

The man answers quickly, proving that indeed he DOES know the law of Moses. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”  (Deuteronomy 6:24-25.)

The scribe must have preened when Jesus said, “You have answered correctly.”

Then to answer the man’s original question, which HE had probably forgotten all about, Jesus continued, “Do this and you shall live.”

This pompous scribe just could not let Jesus have the last word.  Maybe standing a little straighter, the lawyer looked around at the listeners and said with a smirk. “And WHO is my neighbor?”

(Jesus will answer the lawyer’s query in true debater’s form, with another question, forcing him to a begrudging answer. Then Jesus will speak AGAIN to this lawyer’s initial question.)

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Vss. 10:30-37

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho…” Jesus began.

As soon as the people realized Jesus was going to tell a story, they settled back to listen. Probably even the contentious lawyer sat down.  All of them were familiar with that dangerous road through the Judean wilderness.

“… and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.”

Several nodded, clicking their tongues. Yep.

“Now by chance,” Jesus continued, “…a priest was going down that road.

You could feel the listeners’ tension rise. A priest? That poor man was … bloody! The priest couldn’t touch him without becoming ceremonially ‘unclean!’

“When the priest saw him, he passed by on the other side of the road.”

They nodded.  It was tragic, but it was the way of things.

Jesus continued. “So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

The listeners were uncomfortable, but, well, a Levite had to also stay ceremonially clean to minister in the Temple. It was a sad situation. They looked at their hands in their laps.

“But a Samaritan…”

Heads flew up.  What?  How dare Jesus speak of a despised half-breed Samaritan!

“…as the Samaritan journeyed, he came to where the man was, and when he saw him … he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 

“And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back’.”

Grumbling began among Jesus’ listeners; outrage mingled perhaps with a touch of guilt?  No one spoke.

Jesus looked to the pretentious lawyer and said, “Which of these three, do YOU think, proved to be a ‘neighbor’ to the man who fell among the robbers?”

Hardly able to get the words out, the learned man said, “The one who showed mercy.”

Jesus leaned back, softly answering the man’s FIRST question about what he should do to have eternal life.  “You go and do likewise.”

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Wow.

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/14) Luke 10:1-24

Apr14

A 5-day per week study.

April 14 – Reading Luke 10:1-24

Read and believe in Jesus.

“”  Luke

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The Gospel according to Luke 10:1-24

Review –

In the last lesson, the disciples didn’t seem all that “spiritual.”  They argued about WHO was the greatest among them.  They tried to stop a person who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name JUST BECAUSE he wasn’t a part of “the Twelve.”  And James and John wanted to call down FIRE FROM HEAVEN on a Samaritan town because they wouldn’t let them stay there overnight.

Then, three men that Jesus called to follow Him turned back because it conflicted with their lifestyles.  What disappointments for Jesus as He steadily walked towards Jerusalem and all that would happen there.

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Vss. 10:1-12.

Jesus appointed 72 others of those who were following Him to go on ahead.  Their mission?  They were to prepare the people of the towns on the way to Jerusalem for Jesus’ visit.  Not for accommodations, but their hearts.

Jesus told them that the harvest in these towns was huge.  People’s hearts were ready to hear “good news.” He also told these missionaries to pray to God for even MORE workers.

Like when Jesus sent out the Twelve, He gave these workers instructions.

  1. They were to go out in pairs. (Two are stronger than a lone witness in any situation.)
  2. They were to carry no extra supplies (be self-sufficient), but to go in faith that God would use the townspeople to feed and house them.
  3. They were to announce their purpose right away. “Peace be to this house.” (They were not promoting a Messiah of insurrection.)
  4. Like their Master, they were to heal and preach that the kingdom of God had come.
  5. And … if the town did NOT receive them (like that Samaritan town in the previous lesson), they were to shake the dust off their feet as they left, as a sign that the kingdom of God had come near them, and they’d refused it.

A town’s refusal to accept His message was not about “them.”  It was a collective refusal of the mercy and grace of God, who had not spared His Only Son but sent Him, as a sacrificial Lamb, to take on the sin of the world and experience the death that was the “earned wages.”

“I tell you it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”

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Vss. 10:13-16.

Jesus then names three towns in Galilee that had, for the most part, rejected His message. (Yes, they had gladly received His miracles!)

Chorazin (inland), Bethsaida, and Capernaum were all at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee.  And even though Capernaum had been the headquarters of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and had never forced Jesus out or tried to kill Him, their hearts had remained indifferent.

It’s kind of a shock that Jesus said, “If the mighty works done in these cities had been done in Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon, THEY would have repented in sackcloth and ashes.” And the people of these cities – because they had had the very Saviour of the world ministering in them for three years … would be held MORE accountable on the day of judgment.

Whoa.  A warning to my country, America, so privileged, with the Gospel, Bibles, churches, and ministries available on every hand. And still the cares and pleasures of this world seem more important.

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Vss. 10:17-20.

The 72 returned to Jesus WITH JOY. They were so amazed that “even the demons were subject to us in Your name!”

Jesus reminded them that HE had seen Satan fall like lightning from heaven (after his rebellion). Jesus was eminently more powerful than Satan, a mere fallen angel. He gave his followers authority over all the enemy’s power.  Nothing could harm them, apart from God’s will.

“Nevertheless, so not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

YES!  THAT is the important part. That our names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life. The greatest wonder of all is the reality of salvation – the whole point of the Gospel. (Philippians 4:3, Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 21:27).

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Vss. 10:21-24.

Then Jesus turns to His Father in prayer, rejoicing that “The Lord of heaven and earth had hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and had revealed them to ‘little children,’ for this was His gracious will.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son … and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”

Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Yes, Jesus, we are so privileged. We thank You!

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/13) Luke 9:46-62

Apr13

A 5-day per week study.

April 13– Reading Luke 9:46-62

Read and believe in Jesus.

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Luke 9:62.

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The Gospel according to Luke 9:46-62

Review –

REVIEW – Last week, we ended with the three witnessing Jesus’ transfiguration. Only Jesus could heal the demon-possessed little boy. The disciples did not comprehend His upcoming death and resurrection, nor what it meant to take up one’s cross, deny self, and follow Him.

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Vss. 46-48.

When the disciples began arguing as they walked along, about WHO WAS GREATEST among them, Jesus gave them that “Seriously?” look.

Of course, they still thought Jesus was on the way to becoming an earthly king and chasing out the Romans for them.  (They were thinking of the O. T. prophecies about the reigning Messiah and had forgotten those – especially in Isaiah – that talked about the “suffering servant” who came first.)

Jesus saw a little kid in the crowd that followed them, stopped, took the little one, and stood him right beside Him.  A clear picture of a taller adult, and (perhaps even) a toddler. Jesus rested His hand on the boy’s head.

“Whoever receives this child in my name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives Him who set Me.  For he who is LEAST among you all is … the one who is great.”

Huh?

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Vss. 49-50.

Next, one of the “sons of thunder,” John, came to Jesus with a self-important attitude. “Master, WE saw someone casting out demons in YOUR name, and WE tried to stop him, because he does not follow US.”

Can’t you just picture John preening, expecting an “Atta boy” from Jesus?

“Do NOT stop him,” Jesus rounded on John, “for the one who is NOT AGAINST you is FOR you.”

Huh?

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Vss. 51-56.

The time had come for Jesus to take that final walk to Jerusalem. (He would accomplish much along the way, and indeed, take short trips to Galilee (although his headquarters would no longer be there.)  He would do a lot of teaching and remonstrating in Jerusalem during several “Feasts” and before that final holy week.

BUT His face was now “set like a flint” towards “His hour” and the cross.

However, there is always Samaria.

On the main road from Galilee to Judea, there is a block of land known as Samaria, which must be traveled through – or else avoided by a long roundabout route (the seacoast, or east of the Jordan River).

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 NOTE: Long ago, some destitute Jewish farmers were abandoned there when the Assyrians took Israel captive. Later, Assyria sent a bunch of pagans to the area so the land could be farmed, and produce could be sent back.  These “foreigners” eventually intermarried with the Jews and mixed their idolatrous religion with the one true God’s. They kept ONLY the five books of Moses, plus other pagan nonsense. They even had their own “temple” on Mount Gerizim.

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Jews hated Samaritans and, if possible, avoided them at all costs. That space in the land of Israel was a bone of contention.   However, if one HAD to travel through the area, one COULD sometimes find lodging in a town for a night.

(Remember that John’s gospel tells of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at the well. She was converted, and many in THAT town had also come to believe in Jesus.) 

Perhaps THIS was a different town.  In any case, when Jesus sent a couple of disciples ahead to make a reservation at the local Motel 6, they were rudely rebuffed.

Again, those “sons of thunder” disciples, James and John, got their dander up.  “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”

Could they even do that???

Jesus must be very frustrated with his disciples by this time.  He was seriously thinking of His death by torture, and they were fooling around with petty, prideful nonsense!

He turned on them and REBUKED THEM.

Whoa!

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Vss. 57-62.

As they walked on – the disciples now silent – several people approached Jesus (or He called them over).

  • “I will follow You wherever You go!” proclaimed someone.
  • “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” (a slam on that Samarian town?)
  • No word from the person, as he faded away.

 

  • “Follow me,” Jesus said to a promising young man. (Just like He’d said to Peter, James, John, Levi, and the rest.)
  • “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” (who was probably not even dead!).
  • “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God,” Jesus told him, seeing just another excuse to put off following Him.
  • Did the man obey?

 

  • “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home,” said another, who was probably thinking of a few things he wanted to do first, and the big farewell party to be planned.
  • “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God,” Jesus said.
  • Did he decide it was just too much to ask of him right now?

So, did the group increase as they walked towards Jerusalem, or did the eager wannabes turn back?

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What is keeping ME from forsaking all and wholeheartedly following Jesus? 

Is it my family with its responsibilities, a fear of losing comfort and convenience, or some bucket-list things I want to do first?  

When will I let go, and seriously give the rest of my years, means, and strength to HIM?

 

Reading the Gospels in 2026: (4/6) Luke 8:1-15

Apr6

A 5-day per week study.

April 6 – Reading Luke 8:1-15

Read and believe in Jesus.

“They are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”  Luke 8:15

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The Gospel according to Luke 8:1-15

Review – While Jesus was at a pompous Simon’s home, a “woman of the city” came and fell at Jesus feet, wetting them with her tears and anointing them with ointment. Simon was disgusted. The woman was forgiven and saved by her faith. Jesus sees hearts.

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Vss, 1-3.

After leaving Simon’s house, Jesus went on through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.  The TWELVE disciples were with Him, AND ALSO some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,

Luke – perhaps because he was a physician – often highlighted, or at least provided more detail about, the women Jesus interacted with than the other Gospel writers did. Here, he names three, but there were “many others” who followed Jesus.

  1. There was Mary, called Magdalene (because she was from the lakeside town of Magdala). Jesus cast out seven demons from her. (And no, this does not mean she was a prostitute, not the woman of the city in the previous account in Luke 7.)
  2. Joanna is an interesting and independent woman. Her husband, Chuza, was King Herod’s household manager. They were probably a wealthy couple, but I wonder how she met Jesus. Was she healed of some horrible disease?  (She could have been the one who supplied Luke with the details of Herod’s house in Luke 23:8 and 12.)
  3. And there was Susanna. This gal is mentioned nowhere else in scripture. Perhaps she was someone Luke knew personally.

These women “provided for Jesus and the Twelve out of their own means.”

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Vss. 4-8.

Here is when Jesus’ ministry takes a turn.  Up until now, He has been teaching plainly about the Kingdom of God. (The sermon on the mount, etc.).  NOW, Jesus begins to use parables to teach.

WE kind of like parables. We like to think about and even debate their meanings. We often teach them to children.

**** However, unlike the analogies Jesus used (you are salt of the earth, light of the world, etc.), parables required more explanation.  Jesus used them to “obscure the truth from unbelievers.”  Doing this was both a judgment and a mercy. They “loved the dark and had rejected the light,” and more truth would only add more condemnation.

Even the disciples were not sure what Jesus meant by these stories.  They would often ask Him the meaning in private, and, of course, Jesus would explain it to them.

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This first one is very well known. The Parable of the Sower (or sometimes, the Soils) would have resonated with the local farmers. They knew this happened to the seeds that they cast out in sweeping arcs from the bags.  They knew that not all the seed germinated and produced a crop.

BUT what the seed and the soil stood for, and what those hinderances to a plentiful crop signified in Jesus’ teaching, was beyond them.

  1. Some seed fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
  2. Some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
  3. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
  4. Some seed fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.

Jesus ended the parable with, “He who has ears to HEAR, let him hear.”

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Vss. 9-10.

When the disciples asked Him what He meant, Jesus said, “To YOU it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but FOR OTHERS they are in parables … so that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not understand.”

Now this seems hard for us to take in. Doesn’t Jesus want the crowds to know and understand the truths He’s teaching?

Well, yes, but hardened hearts do not WANT to understand. They figuratively put up their hands and turn away from the truth. The religious leaders are prime examples.  Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9, where God blinds unbelievers.

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Vss. 11-15.

Then He explains the parable to His disciples.

  1. The seed is the Word of God.
  2. The “packed-down” soil along the path that gets seed but does not take it in are those who have heard, but the devil comes and takes it away from their hearts so they may not believe and be saved.
  3. The soil on the rocks also receives seed, and perhaps the seed springs up quickly “with joy” (it sounds good, but they don’t really apply it to their heart). When testing coms, they fall away.
  4. The thorny soil seems to take in the truth, but the “thorns” (cares, riches, pleasures of life) soon choke out the precious Gospel truth, and they do not mature.
  5. The good soil represents those who hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Ah, it seems so clear after Jesus explains it.

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Vss. 16-18.

Jesus says that even though He was now teaching in parables, His message WAS NOT meant to be kept secret for a few elite disciples.

The LIGHT is to be put on a lampstand so it can be seen.   STILL, only those “with eyes to see” will see it.

And then that cryptic message: To the one who HAS, MORE will be given, and from the one who HAS NOT, even what he thinks that he has WILL BE TAKEN AWAY.

(Those who scorn the light of the Gospel NOW, will have all light removed from them in eternity…..)