Category Archives: Wednesday

What Do You Think?

Posted on July 19, 2023 | Leave a comment

Matthew 21:28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.”

What do you think?  That’s what Jesus’s wants to know.  I think there are two unmentioned words missing here; obedience and submission.  Those two missing words have become the unusual twist I needed to ponder more about this parable.  At first glance neither son’s response to the father would be called obedient or submissive.  The first son’s response to what his father asks is “I will not.” He did not want to be obedient!  The father seems to have accepted the son’s “I will not” and moves on to the second son.  The second son’s response is to please the father, “I go sir!”  They both end up changing their minds and flip-flopping to do exactly the opposite of what they said. That is the point in my pondering where Jesus interrupted my neat little devotion about this parable with an interesting observation: this parable is about that flip-flopping not which son was more obedient and submissive.  

Our human process of life is exactly like those two sons.  It’s built of uneven flip-flopping between our words and our behavior.  God has designed a life of faith through belief in Jesus that will change our minds and offer us a dependable “way of righteousness” that can make us reliable in our obedience and trustworthy in our submission…at first glance.

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Posted in Light, Matthew, New Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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The Barren Fig Tree

Posted on July 12, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 13:6 And he [Jesus] told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

There are answers [?] that reveal deeper meanings in this simple story.  They all start “in the beginning” with Genesis and the three trees mentioned in the Garden of Eden; The tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil AND the fig tree.  The fig tree is an enduring symbol the Bible uses as part of its story of God’s provision [Genesis 3], peace [Micah 4], prosperity [Joel 2], and all the way to the end of the story [Revelation 6] to complete the long planned-for harvest of fruits in that vineyard.

There are two men in this story; an owner [God] with an expected result and a vinedresser [Jesus] with a plan.  The owner desires the fig tree but he relies on the vinedresser to plant and care for it.  Figs and grapes are often grown together because they both thrive in similar conditions and that’s probably what the owner wanted that tree planted. The whole point of adding the fig tree [gentiles?] to the vineyard was that it would provide additional fruit for the owner’s pleasure.  Its broad leaves would benefit the vineyard by protecting the fruit of the vine [God’s relationship with those He desires?]  from wind and scorching sun [the harsh circumstances of life?].   The vinedresser’s advice to the owner is “let it alone this year also”…I’ll dig around it, add fertilizer and give it my special attention.  It takes 3+ years for a fig tree to produce fruit [Jesus ministry was at that 3-year mark]. “Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good [salvation?]; but if not, you can cut it down.” [judgment?] “And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord”[a] to fulfill the desire of God; “the dwelling place of God IS with man.”[b] [the new Eden?]

[a]Leviticus 19:24
[b]Revelation 21:3

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Posted in Leviticus, Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Revelation, Wednesday

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The Watchful Servant

Posted on July 5, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 12:35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 

Jesus speaks the curious words of verse 39 about the Master not knowing the time the thief has chosen to break into his house.  Jesus is revealing the limitation of His human identity as “master of the house” until the moment He returns again to affirm His divine responsibility as Master over it which is equally curious.
— The Master has been away at a “wedding feast” but will return.
— The servants are responsible to the Master; t0 keep the “lamps burning” while they wait for His return.
— The servants must respond “at once” when the Master knocks.
— The servants will be blessed for “being awake” and prepared.
— The Master’s response to the servants on His return is to assume His divine responsibility as “server” to the servants.
— Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Philippians 2:7 ESV)

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Posted in 1 Kings, Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Philippians, Wednesday

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The [3] Loaf Prayer

Posted on June 21, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 11:4b-13
He said to them,  4“…And lead us not into temptation.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity [yet to preserve his good name] he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” NIV

There’s an interesting combination of ideas in this chapter that begins with the disciples request of Jesus in verse 1; “Lord, teach us to pray.” And He does — right through verse 4: “And lead us not into temptation. ” The “threes” caught my attention because of this request being at “midnight” — the scary dark time, the “shameless audacity” of the request in question [that the NIV footnotes is “yet to preserve his good name”] and those “three loaves.”  There was only the one man asking and one guest so why “three loaves?” There’s three other familiar words in this parable that echo Matthew 7: ask, seek and knock! Those three words are the sensible basis of most prayers. They’re the parameters of [1] relationship with God that is based on His Holiness not ours, [2] trusting His desire to meet our needs and [3] His willingness to grant us direct access to Himself. Here’s a BIG idea to ponder about prayer that may explain that request for a third loaf. Jesus wants us to approach Him free from this flawed reasoning. “Perhaps we shouldn’t bother Him with our petty needs. Or perhaps we should come apologetically and timidly, afraid to let Him know what is really on our minds. Maybe once we’ve let our needs be known, we should back off and not bother God again.”[a]

Jesus is teaching us how to pray the [3] Loaf Prayer
[Loaf 1] Ask because of our relationship to the “Friend”
[Loaf 2] Seek the courage to persist in trusting He will respond
[Loaf 3] Knock because “how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him…And lead us not into temptation.”

[a] Approaching God

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Posted in Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Prayer, Wednesday

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The Good Samaritan

Posted on June 14, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 10:25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “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.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”  29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.  32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 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.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” ESV

This parable begins with a question, not out of curiosity but to test Jesus.  “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus is not troubled by being tested nor does He consider the lawyer’s question a sign of ignorance.  In fact He assures him that the lovely words he’s memorized from the Shema are the truth to live by.  I know all about having faith based on the “right” memorized words and how wide the gap can be between them and the power of faith behind them, until we recognize Jesus came to bridge that chasm with His parables.

Part 1: The Test — The Memorized Answer  — The Assurance
There is a hangover flaw of sin in the heart that makes us content to be confident in the memories of what we already know; to just put our head down and move along to avoid any messy, uncomfortable challenges.   But our challenge as students of the Bible is to dare to test Jesus.  Jesus’s challenge is to dare us to learn beyond our memorized answers.  Jesus knows our reality better than we do. His encouragement is to acknowledge the truth of what is already memorized and to create a new structure of learning that supports the desire to think and remember more.  

Part 2: The Attackers — The Victim
Don’t miss Jesus’s identification that these attackers are “robbers.” They are thieves who will attack an unprepared traveler without mercy to steal everything and leave their victims behind with nothing but their nakedness, and near death.

Part 3: The Priest — The Levite — The Samaritan
The ordained, respected one passes by “on the other side” to insure he will be clean enough to perform the rituals and sacraments required of him somewhere else.  Next, one of God’s own chosen tribe, singled out for special service to assist in worship chooses to pass this unclean man by “on the other side” too.  “But a Samaritan”…the outcast…is the one who remembers compassion and interrupts his own journey to make caring for this defiled, broken man his business. 

Part 4: The Unlikely Neighbor — The Result…Mercy
Martin Luther King noted that the priest and the Levite asked ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ The Good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I don’t stop to help him, what will happen to him?’ a  Mercy that prompts action is what turns memorized answers into truth that reveals faith.

a  https://www.jesus-story.net/the-good-samaritan/

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Posted in Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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The Sower

Posted on June 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

Old Testament cross references are added by current evangelical scholars and pastors but they’ve made it possible to see how influential those “old” resources were to the New Testament and to Jesus in particular.  I’m playing the role of “traffic light” today. I’ve copied the NLT cross references to this parable in green and added them in order of their appearance in the text.  You can tap on the link an it will open the reference for you.  Jesus’s familiar words are in red letters.  It’s a fairly new experiment for me to read Old Testament references as the “go-to” truth that backs up the New Testament, then “stop” and ponder how that old evidence is what makes both Testaments of the Bible one “whole.” The whole truth is Jesus spent his life learning the evidence of those old truths and based His simple stories for us on them…wrapped in the mystery of thought.  

The Parable of the Sower:
Luke 8:4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 (Isa 55:10 & Amos 9:13)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among (Jer 4:3) thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded (Gen 26:12)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so (Isa 6:9 & 10)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it (Isa 58:2 & Ezek 33:31)with joy. But these have no root; they (Hos 6:4)believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and (Hos 14:8)bear fruit with patience.

The Simple Mystery…
The sower has a source that supplies good seeds. Once given those seeds can’t be returned.  They must either produce fruit or they will be wasted.  Ground that may seem useless can be made to produce fruit that fulfills the purpose of those seeds; growth and nourishment.  Sowers can learn to prepare soil for the seeds and when that happens “The time will come,” says the Lord, “when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested…” There is one little catch that is the mystery behind the simplicity of this story.  It’s more than the simple repetition of the familiar activity of sowing and reaping that results in the growth that produces blessing. The mystery requires the sower giving conscious and purposeful attention to all the details of the process of preparing the soil to produce an abundant harvest.  The secret of the Kingdom of God is His good seed becomes mature fruit that blesses both the sower and the reaper with more good seed.  “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.“

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Posted in Amos, Ezekiel, Genesis, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Light, Luke, New Testament, Old Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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Paid Debt

Posted on May 31, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 7:36  One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40  And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly”…49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

There is a Pharisee whose life is set apart to reveal himself as a good man — he’s the host.  There is a woman apparently known to nearly everyone as a “sinner.” She’s the mystery guest.  There is an itinerant teacher named Jesus.  There are so many unanswered questions about this scene.  Why did Jesus agree to go?  I wonder if He was the “celebrity” guest the “good” man had invited to his dinner to intrigue the other guests. How did this sinful woman get in there?  Why wasn’t she thrown out immediately?  This event was probably planned by Jesus Himself so everyone in attendance, had a chance to evaluate Him firsthand and He could teach them one of His biggest truths about sin and forgiveness.

“Say it Teacher” was the good man’s odd response response when Jesus asks to speak. He’s just seen this exchange between Jesus and the mystery woman and suspects Jesus is unfit to teach anybody.  The sinful woman’s extreme act of love had become the lesson Jesus needed to illustrate His story and prompt them to question. …“Who is this, who even forgives sins?”  This is Jesus, the one who by the power of God has the authority to forgive sin of any size so the heart can learn to love God freely and without the obligation of debt.

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Posted in Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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New Wine

Posted on May 24, 2023 | Leave a comment

Matthew 9:17
17 Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Mark 2:22
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
Luke 5:37-38
37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 

— When I began to study for this parable it seemed like it was only a short add-on to the more important idea from last Wednesday’s parable, the Wedding Guest.  Many were looking for a long expected savior.  Jesus spoke this parable to identify Himself as something new God was doing. There were “old” expectations way back in Genesis 49:11 and Deuteronomy 32:14, describing the coming of one who’s investment would be in “the blood of grapes.” 

Those were old words made new by Jesus identifying Himself as this “new” way God was going redeem and preserve His people…IF they could accept what He was doing and that this “new wine” could not be contained in old expectations and regulations.  There was an odd word in the ESV version of Deuteronomy 32 that described the wine as “foaming.”  The ancient process of wine making seemed like it’s own verification of this parable to me. There was a personal involvement in making new wine.  It took the whole body’s weight for the feet to press the grapes by gently breaking their skins but not destroying the seeds.  Those seeds were a vital part of the flavor of the resulting juice as the process continued foaming and fermenting to finally become the “new wine” that makes those old words from Deuteronomy the reality that today it’s Jesus that “nourishes and sustains its branches while they[we] develop their[our] fruit.”

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Posted in Deuteronomy, Genesis, Light, Luke, Mark, Matthew, Parables, Wednesday

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Wedding Guest

Posted on May 17, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 5:33 And they [the Pharisees and their scribes] said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.  ESV

It seems quite a few cared about why Jesus’s disciples were not fasting.  Let’s assume a good definition of fasting is a discipline to abstain from an ordinary practice [eating in this case] in order to direct the focus away from that practice to something very different; a connection to God in a private and humble way.  If you’re doing it right who will ever even know or notice?  This group of people has noticed and Jesus cares about that.

I’ve never heard anyone call fasting a celebration or a wedding a discipline but it seems clear what Jesus has in mind in this parable is to teach us to consider both focus and timing.  There is a time to abstain from some ordinary things to focus on His presence in us being about more than adding a new patch to what is wearing out so it will last a little longer.  And there is a time to remember we’re in His presence as honored guests at an extraordinary celebration. “Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it.”a

a Colossians 3:10 MSG

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Posted in Colossians, Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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The “More”

Posted on May 10, 2023 | Leave a comment

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” ESV

Jesus is telling this story about people.  In this case it’s pretty obvious the good choice would be building on the rock but it’s “more” than a story about good/bad options.  It’s a story for everyone whether they’re wise or foolish.  Each hears these words…each built his house and on each the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house.   There’s “more” to consider here if the two builder’s circumstances were not what made the difference in their outcome.

This parable is not a story about the danger of circumstances. The danger Jesus is warning about is our destiny if we trust more in our belief rather than the truth of His Words.  Recently I’ve discovered something new about how the Bible can tell me “more.”  It was a surprise to me to discover if I’d been doing a word or topical search and copying the verses I found I could then read those verses as a story of their own without the references and Voila! I found “more” from His Word.  So here’s “more” for today.

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.a  So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, ‘the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.’  They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”b

a Deut 32:4
b 1 Peter 2:7

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Posted in Deuteronomy, Light, Matthew, New Testament, Old Testament, Parables, Wednesday

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