Tag Archives: Mercy

The Parable of Essential Trust

Posted on August 30, 2023 | 1 comment

Luke 18:9 He [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This parable is actually titled “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector” but rather than compare the two men I choose to compare their motives.  Many of the parables I’ve studied so far are Jesus addressing the people who cannot see or hear because they have decided they already DO see and hear and are therefore blind and deaf.  

Simple Observations:
— The Pharisee is standing by himself. He is thankful he’s not like “other men.”  He essentially is justifying himself by reminding God how good he is.
— The tax collector has also separated himself.  He’s standing far off from his own people by working for the Roman occupiers.  His request is essentially to trust God’s mercy to help him deal with his sin.

The hardest part about Jesus’s recap of this parable is the truth that everything the Pharisee claims he is doing is essentially good and desirable. There’s not much information about the tax collector other than he’s essentially aware of his sin and believes God still desires to interact with him.  “Essentially” became the motivation and the keyword of my thoughts to ponder what is “more” essential in this parable.  

Point #1: Both men are Jews.
Point #2: Both men are isolated, one by his prestige, the other by his job for the Roman occupiers that betrays his own people.
Point #3: Jesus speaks the truth that will separate the Pharisee and the tax collector even “more:” God is “essentially” more interested in the awareness of a sinner’s desire to trust His mercy than He is in being instructed about the indicators He should use to dispense it.
Amen!

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Posted in Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, 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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Sunday with John — After

Posted on August 28, 2022 | Leave a comment

John 13:21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. ESV

What is the general theme of the passage?
After… the example of service He’s given them, Jesus is troubled in His spirit because of what He knows; “one of you will betray me.” The disciples look at one another, “uncertain of whom he spoke.”  The whispered interchange between “one of His disciples” and Jesus must have been only one of the hushed conversations happening around that table.  Only Jesus and that one disciple know the deadly meaning of that small piece of bread Jesus gives to Judas.  But after taking what looked like a common offering  of friendship to most of his brothers, Judas knows what Jesus knows.   Satan has identified him as the betrayer but Jesus has offered him mercy, not disgrace. “So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out” into the darkness.

What does it say about God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?)
Jesus was troubled in His spirit.  Jesus chose to let Judas know Satan had identified him as the betrayer but with an act of mercy rather than disgrace.

What does it say about people?
The disciples first response was to identify the betrayer.  They clearly did not hear the exchange between the one disciple and Jesus that would connect Judas leaving to the betrayal. 

Is there truth here for me?
I saw truth about mercy in reading and pondering this whole sad story of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus.  Jesus has the power to accomplish His Father’s purposes through mercy, not the public disgrace of exposed sin.   Satan is the one who who relishes that job.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:35-36 ESV

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Sunday with John + Escape

Posted on July 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

John 10:31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make ourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? [Psalm 82:6] 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there. ESV

What is the general theme of the passage?
Jesus is threatened but once again he’s “escaped” the sure death they wish for Him.  “How did that happen?” was the first question I had. The second question was “is Psalms part of the “law?”  This passage seems like a perfect example of God making His point about about the power of Scripture.  Inspired old Words have the same power today, as they did then, to demand thoughtful pauses.  Jesus “escaped” by using His knowledge of the old Words of Psalm 82:6 to effectively push pause in the minds of those Pharisees long enough to get away from them.  He gives them their own law to point out they are accusing Him of the very thing God has declared about them [I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you].  Then…“He escaped…He went away again across the Jordan…there He remained…many came to Him…and many believed in Him…”

What does it say about God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?)
“I have shown you many good works from the Father…” Jesus is confident the basis of His works and His words are from His Father. 

What does it say about people?
From Spurgeon’s Treasury of David: When the dispensers of law have dispensed with justice, settlements are unsettled, society is unhinged, the whole fabric of the nation is shaken.

Is there truth here for me?
Sometimes I find my judgements fall so short of justice that I am unsettled by my own harshness. I realize how easy it is for me to use the Word of God to confirm my judgement instead of pausing to let the God of Mercy confirm His truth that has allowed me to escape sure death.

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Posted in John, Matthew, New Testament, Old Testament, Psalms, Sunday

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Poetry by the Book Finale – Galatians 6:11-18

Posted on December 22, 2021 | Leave a comment

Poetry: Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style, rhythm and structure.a

See with what LARGE letters
I am writing to you with my own hand —
THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
BE WITH YOUR SPIRIT, BRETHREN.
I bear on my body the marks of Jesus
by which[through whom]
the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
HENCEFORTH LET NO MAN TROUBLE ME.
FAR BE IT FROM ME TO GLORY
EXCEPT IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
PEACE AND MERCY BE UPON ALL WHO WALK BY THIS RULE.

Those who want to make a good showing in the flesh
would compel you to be circumcised
that they may glory in your flesh.
They desire to have you circumcised
in order that they may not be persecuted
for the cross of Christ.
NEITHER CIRCUMCISION
COUNTS FOR ANYTHING
NOR UNCIRCUMCISION
BUT A NEW CREATION!
AMEN!

a My poetry structure was created from the RSV Bible using sentences and phrases verbatim.

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The Source

Posted on May 26, 2021 | Leave a comment

John 5:13 The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

How many people’s lives have been changed by Jesus and they don’t know it?  I wonder how often Jesus has stepped into someone’s life with an act of unrecognized mercy that was attributed to luck or fortune?  Why did healing happen to someone who had no apparent knowledge of Jesus?  This is such an unusual story to me.  A body had been physically healed but it was only later that Jesus “found” the healed man to wake up his mind to the source and the purpose of what had happened to him.  That’s the message of this one verse.  The mercy of Jesus doesn’t come with strings attached but it’s an incomplete blessing until it becomes the wake-up call for our mind to recognize Jesus as the source of all mercy.

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The Third Chapter – Titus

Posted on October 25, 2020 | Leave a comment

Titus 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [ESV]

>§§§>

3:4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [ESV]

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Posted in New Testament, Stand Alone Scripture, Sunday, Titus

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Second Chance: James 2

Posted on June 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

James 2:5-7 & 12-14. [NIV]

√ Re·new·al: the replacing or repair of something that is worn out, run-down, or broken

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?…12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

It’s only a few days until the celebration of our nation’s freedom. We’re in another time of turmoil about freedom now, but this time it’s not our own.  This time we’re confronted by the object lesson of current events demanding we consider who deserves to be free, what freedom demands of them and how much we’re willing to invest of what God has given us so they can be free?  We are dependent on the mercy of God triumphing over the judgment of men as we struggle to find answers to those questions.  Many others fought in 1776 for the freedom we celebrate this week but here’s God’s challenge for us to consider now.

“Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

Our challenge is to have mercy for the reality of physical need not judge the integrity of their desire to be free of tyranny and oppression.  Our nation was built by many other people who were judged ineligible and exiled from their home, but by the mercy of God’s grace they were given a second chance to invest their lives and resources “in order to form a more perfect Union.”  Were they perfect?  Of course not! 

This is the truth of freedom then…and it’s still the truth of freedom now. God will hold us accountable for our actions “because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.”  It makes no earthly sense that “mercy triumphs over judgment” but it makes no heavenly sense that we have exploited the poor and honored “the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong.”  

Lord help us!  Help us this July 4th of 2019 to “speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.”  Lord make us so “rich in faith” that we can honestly promise we’ll invest our blessings in others seeking freedom and in your truth that “mercy triumphs over judgment.”

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The Red Thread – When Jesus is Present

Posted on September 27, 2017 | Leave a comment

You probably know the story in Mark 5:1 – 20
Jesus is confronted by a demon possessed man of great strength. This man lived in the tombs, and had broken free of his chains and irons. Night and day he wandered among the tombs and in the hills crying out and cutting himself with stones. The demons begged Jesus to let them come out and go into the pigs and they all rushed into the lake and drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported to the town’s people who went out to see what had happened. They saw the healed man sitting there, dressed and in his right mind and they were afraid. They pleaded with Jesus to leave but the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus tells him “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.

Jesus knows when evil is present and evil is clever enough to try to use God’s name in an effort to play on Jesus’s sympathy. Jesus is interested in more than just confronting evil – he must destroy it in order to save a man from the demons that bedevil him and give him the courage to speak of how much the Lord has done and the he has shown.

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Posted in Mark, The Red Thread, Wednesday

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