Luke, Part 2 – Taking the Nations Back
Luke, Chapters 9 – 14
Refton BIC App users, Click Here
What’s your point of view? Perspective is something that focuses our attention. It drives our sight to one particular spot by using the elements around it. Each of us have a perspective in life, whether we realize it or not. Our experiences have shaped the way we think; the way we look at the world, our decisions that we make, and even how we treat people comes down to our perspective (our worldview) in life. So how does this apply to the Bible? Well, the biblical authors had their own worldviews as well. I know I spoke about this last time, but this is a point that we can’t afford to miss. If we want to understand the Bible, then we need to allow ourselves to view the world through the author’s perspective.
I’m convinced that there is absolutely no argument here. The Bible simply cannot mean what we want it to mean. We need to allow it to speak for itself so that then we can begin to figure out how its truths apply to our lives. Why? Because the Bible is a work of literature, written by incredibly smart people whom God inspired over time.
As we’ve already seen, Luke is intentionally laying out a case for Christ. Jesus is gearing up for a dramatic reversal on a cosmic level. His human and non-human enemies were growing in number. So, Jesus appoints twelve of His disciples as Apostles. He even gives them authority to perform the same kinds of miracles that He was already doing. These events helped Luke to naturally grow a literary tension that he doesn’t want his readers to miss. Things are about to get real, as Jesus shows the world that the forces of evil have no power over Him.
Let’s Review
Last time I made the point that there are four reasons as to why I think Jesus told His disciples and others not to openly talk about certain miracles or what they had seen. Here are the four reasons:
1. Jesus wanted to keep the crowds to a minimum because otherwise He couldn’t get into the towns (Matthew 8:4, Mark 1:44-55, Luke 5:14; Mark 7:36)
2. Jesus didn’t want everyone thinking that He was the Messiah because they would expect a conquering king (Matthew 16:20, Mark 8:30, Luke 9:18-21, 36; Luke 4:41)
3. Yahweh’s plan of resurrecting Jesus was a secret and Jesus needed to keep it that way (Matthew 17:9, Mark 9:9; Parables Luke 8:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 ESV)
4. Jesus needed to instigate the forces of evil so that they would actually kill Him (Luke 8:39; Mark 9:2-8)
We’ll see as we continue to study Luke’s gospel that this is a major theme.
Luke 9:18-50
A Mountain Top Experience
One day while Jesus was praying, He looked up and asked His disciples who were with Him, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” Some were saying John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others said that He must be one of the prophets of old, risen from the dead. Looking at His disciples, Jesus said, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered Him, “You are God’s Messiah.”
This event is also documented in Matthew 16:13-18. Matthew tells his readers that Jesus and His disciples are in the region of Caesarea Philippi, which is located in the northern area of Bashan, an Old Testament region that was known as the “place of the serpent.” Yep, from Luke’s point of view, this is in reference to that divine serpent in Genesis 3, whom we call Satan. Not only that, but Caesarea Philippi is located at the southwest base of Mount Hermon. This mountain was known throughout history for pagan worship of gods such as Pan, Zeus and Baal. In fact, archaeologists have uncovered more than 20 temples at Mount Hermon, which are the sites of ancient cults that were dedicated to “the celestial gods” (Arav, Mount Hermon, 159).
So, when Jesus says to Peter, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18), Jesus is not saying that He will build His church with Peter as His starting point. The reference to rock is referring to Mount Hermon. How do we know? Because it’s not only where they are, but also that Mount Hermon was called “the gates of Hell” due to the mass of pagan worship that occurred in its caves. Besides that, Mount Hermon looks like a big rock. Some disagree because Peter’s name in Greek sounds like the Greek word for rock, but that kind of word play is a far stretch when compared to the geographical evidence.
What’s the significance? Dr. Mike Heiser, an ancient Semitic language scholar, puts it well. He says:
“The theological messaging couldn’t be more dramatic. Jesus says he will build his church—and the “gates of hell” will not prevail against it. We often think of this phrase as though God’s people are in a posture of having to bravely fend off Satan and his demons. This simply isn’t correct. Gates are defensive structures, not offensive weapons. The kingdom of God is the aggressor. Jesus begins at ground zero in the cosmic geography of both testaments to announce the great reversal. It is the gates of hell that are under assault—and they will not hold up against the Church. Hell will one day be Satan’s tomb” (Heiser, 284 – 285).
Luke explains that “Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.” They were to keep the plan of God a secret. What was the plan? We talked about it in the last blog post, but Jesus lays it out here in verse 22 as well. He says, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” There’s the plan. However, did the disciples really understand what He was talking about? I don’t think so, and we’ll talk about that in a little bit (Luke 9:45).
So, what does Jesus do next? Well, after about a week, He takes Peter, James and John up this mountain! It’s my belief that this is where the famous Transfiguration happened. Scholars differ on the exact location. Church history tells us that the Transfiguration happened on Mount Tabor. I don’t take Mount Tabor as a serious option because the first person to make this claim was Emperor Constantine’s mom. To be frank, you didn’t want to disagree with her. The other thing to consider is that Mount Hermon is the only real mountain in the area. Standing at 9,166 feet above sea level, it can be seen even at the Dead Sea, which is about 120 miles away. It’s actually the highest mountain in all of Syria. But if this is the mountain, then why did it take the disciples so long to get there? Matthew and Mark record 6 days, and Luke records 8. There could be symbolism going on between the gospel accounts. The days could also be be due to the mountain being 28 miles long and 15 miles wide. It could also be that Jesus and His disciples decided to hang out in Caesarea Philippi for a while! Or, perhaps some combination of these explanations. None of the gospel writers are specific to the mountain’s location, which leads scholars to conclude that Matthew, Mark and Luke’s readers would have all known the mountain to which they referred. Considering all of that, along with the theological implications we discussed, I am persuaded to conclude that Mount Hermon is the best option for where the Transfiguration took place.
What happened on the Mountain?
When they stopped hiking, at some point Jesus began to pray. Luke records that “the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” Then Moses and Elijah appear in “glorious splendor” and began talking with Jesus. What did they talk about? His exodus. Yep, that’s the Greek word for “departure.” He wasn’t talking about the impending trip back down the mountain because Luke says the fulfillment of His departure (or exodus) will occur in Jerusalem. This departure is what Jesus was talking about in Luke 9:22 when He said that He must die and then be raised to life. Considering that and the parallel to Moses’ shinning face on Mount Sinai, I think it’s safe to conclude that something big was happening here.
Peter, James and John fell asleep while Jesus was praying, but when they woke, they saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Peter offered to make three “tents” (shelters, tabernacles). Luke clues us in that Peter didn’t know what he was saying. As Peter was speaking, “a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.”” The voice was God the Father. He was solidifying the authority of Jesus. After God the Father spoke, they found that Moses and Elijah were no longer there. Then Luke tells us that “The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.”
I classify the Transfiguration event as Luke’s first literary climax of his first gospel. Think about what happened. Jesus is declared as the Messiah at the foot of the mountain; the very place that was the epicenter of pagan worship. Jesus proceeded up this mountain with three of His disciples and was greeted by God the Father who ordered the disciples to listen to Him because Jesus was His Son. This could have happened anywhere. But Jesus chose the one place that would really get the attention of the evil spiritual beings. His purpose was to provoke them into killing Him, which was the fourth reason we discussed as to why Jesus often would ask His disciples or others to keep quiet about what they had seen. The thing is though, He planned to raise back to life, effectively conquering death, and this was the part of the plan that the evil spiritual beings did not know! If that’s not enough, He proceeds to drive out a demon when He came down from the mountain! This was further provocation. People were amazed that Jesus was able to heal the demon possessed boy!
While everyone was talking about it, Jesus turned to His disciples and asked them to listen carefully to what He had to say. He said, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” There’s that “Son of Man” phrase that we talked about in the last blog. This goes back to that Daniel 7:13-14 passage where Yahweh God gives authority over the nations of the world to the “son of Man.” Jesus was trying to get them to understand, without Him clearly spelling it out and revealing the plan, that He was going to die – and that He had to die!
As I said earlier, the disciples did not understand what Jesus was talking about. Why? Luke tells us that the plan of Yahweh God was “hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it.” Why would it be hidden? Because if the secret of the resurrection got out to “the rulers of this age,” as Paul puts it, they would have never crucified Him (1 Corinthians 2:8). Paul was talking about the spiritual beings who were once put in charge of the nations but then rebelled against Yahweh God by accepting the worship of humans (Deuteronomy 32:8-9; Psalm 82).
Luke 9:51 – 10:24
Time to Pack
Things are getting intense. Jesus is literally facing death. Satan and the other spiritual beings and demons that follow him are preparing to get rid of Him. Luke gives his readers a statement that almost seems like things are about to conclude, and yet we’re not even half way through His document! He says, “As the time approached for him [Jesus] to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). We’ve hit the first climax of Luke’s narrative, and from here through the end we will be building to the final climax.
Before Jesus and His disciples officially set out on their journey to Jerusalem, He “appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go” (Luke 10:1). Your Bible might have a footnote that mentions some manuscripts say 70 instead of 72. This is because Luke is pointing back to the table of nations found in Genesis 10. We discussed last time that these numbers reflect the same areas because the 72 represents two regions that were divided. This link should put in our minds the event of Yahweh God giving the nations over according to the number of the sons of God (spiritual beings; Deuteronomy 32:8). It’s yet another symbolic detail that lets us know that Jesus is in the process of taking His nations back!
So, Jesus gives these disciples authority to heal the sick, drive out demons, and let everyone know that the kingdom of God is near. When they came back to Jesus, they said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” Rather than giving them a pat on the back, Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:17-20).
A couple things to note here are the fact that scholars are in disagreement as to when Satan actually fell from heaven. However, they are in agreement that it did not happen before the fall of man in Genesis 3! The idea that Satan fell with a third of the angels from heaven, before the fall of man, comes from Milton’s Paradise Lost, not the Bible. Some might point to Revelation 12:4 where the “dragon” swept his tail and a third of the stars of heaven were cast down to earth, but that passage is in reference to the birth of Jesus.
The other thing to notice is that celebrating their authority to cast out demons was not what Jesus wanted His disciples to do. Rather, they were to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. If they were to celebrate their power, they would be focusing on themselves rather than the One who gave them the power.
Luke 10:25 – 14:35
Road Trip!
It’s at this point that Luke gives us various teachings and parables as Jesus goes from town to town on His way to Jerusalem. We could go all the way into chapter 19, but I’ve chosen to stop at the end of chapter 14 since the bulk of 15 through 19 is parables.
This section begins with one of the most well-known parables in the Bible: The Good Samaritan. However, chapters 10 through 14 are mostly teachings. I won’t address every teaching, but I will give you the main ideas of those I’ve selected. Before we get into it, let’s talk about the difference between a parable and straight forward teaching.
What’s a parable?
Leland Ryken, an expert in this field, says that parables are filled with “religious meaning.” Regarding their literary nature, parables “are the indisputable example of fiction in the Bible.” This means that if what you are reading is a parable, then scholars across the board agree that the events it describes are not actual events that happened in history, but are fabricated stories that are used to “teach basic Christian doctrine and morality.” They serve the same purpose as our sermon illustrations today, except that, again, they are not real events.
Parables can be simple or complex. The Good Samaritan is an example of a “relatively complex story with a skillfully designed plot, elaboration of setting and dialogue, and subtle characterization.” Simple parables look more like metaphor or simile. One example is where “Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed” (Ryken, 403).
Why would Jesus use so many parables?
I can think of a couple reasons. First, the disciples asked this question in Matthew 13:9-11. Jesus said to them, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” Why not? Because, as we discussed last time, if everyone knew these secrets, God’s plan to take back the nations, then the evil spiritual forces would have never crucified Him (1 Corinthians 2:8). The second reason is that people resonate with stories. If the teacher can somehow connect with their students in a way that relates to them, then a head and heart change can occur. These parables weren’t all about keeping hidden secrets. We’ll see as we go along that they were also used to illustrate teaching points.
Jesus also used a straight forward approach to teaching. This is where He simply tells it like it is. A good example of this is when the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1-13). They have a question and He has an answer. Knowing whether or not a passage is a parable or straight forward teaching is an important part of your Bible study. For example, Luke 16:19-31 is about the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus describes the rich man in Hades, or Hell, in torment. He looks up and sees Abraham and Lazarus far away and begs them for a drink. Is this story a parable or straight forward teaching? The majority of scholars see this story as a parable, which means that it’s very likely that this story didn’t actually happen. So, the question we should be asking is: If this event didn’t happen, what was Jesus trying to teach? And why would Luke include this parable where he did (Jesus said and did a lot of things, and not everything is recorded in the Bible)? These are the kinds of questions that we need to be asking ourselves within our own personal Bible study.
The Good Samaritan (10:25-37) – Parable
Here is an example of a story within a story. The overarching story is between Jesus and the expert in the law. This is a real event that happened in history, but within this event Jesus tells a parable to make a point. The expert in the law stood up, as was the practice in a synagogue, and asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Luke clues us in on the fact that the expert of the law was not asking with pure intentions. Rather, this guy was trying to trap Jesus. Jesus asked the expert how he reads the law. The guy said, “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, love your neighbor as yourself.” This answer came from two places in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18, respectively). There are many laws in the Old Testament. Some scholars have deduced 613 different laws!
On another occasion, Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment (or law) was, and these are the two that Jesus cited (Matthew 22:36-40). The law expert cherry picked these two laws because he knew what Jesus would say. The problem is, from the law expert’s point of view, he felt that the word “neighbor” in Leviticus 19:18 was only talking about his fellow Israelites. He also knew that Jesus would take this word to mean all people. I think that the law expert was thinking that once everyone in the synagogue realized Jesus was advocating the idea of loving everyone, they would throw Him out of the synagogue. But rather than say what the law expert expected, Jesus began to tell a parable.
When you read the parable on your own, you’ll notice that the main ideas tied to the time period of the event are explained as follows:
After Jesus was tested by an expert in the law about inheriting eternal life, Jesus emphasized the meaning and action of loving God and your neighbor through a story about a person who showed mercy on another despite their cultural differences.
The overarching truth that we can learn from this in our own modern context is this:
Jesus calls us to set aside our differences because if we cannot love one another, then we cannot love God in the way that leads to eternal life.
Listen to what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that we need to accept the beliefs and practices of other people. I’m not saying we are given permission to berate people or discriminate against one another. I am saying that followers of Jesus are called to love people for who God created them to be. From a biblical perspective, our identity – who we are as a person – is not defined by the things we do. It is defined by who we follow, and I will talk more on that as we wrap up the gospel of Luke in the later chapters.
All of this goes with the immediate context of the story, but Luke is also developing a wider story arch which shows us that Jesus came to include in the kingdom of God every person who had a believing loyalty in Him. Your race, gender or where you came from didn’t matter. If you had a believing loyalty in Jesus, then you were on the side of life – and this life is eternal!
Teaching on Prayer (11:1-4)
Jesus prayed a lot! And Luke tells us that one day He was praying in a certain place. When He finished, His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, just like John taught His disciples. A parallel passage to this event can be found in Matthew 6:9-13. The two are very similar – in fact, your Bible might have footnotes in this Luke passage that say some manuscripts include more than what the translators chose to include. This goes into textual criticism, which is a rabbit trail that we don’t need to go down. Just know that both of these passages are saying the same thing. So, let’s look at what they say (I’m choosing to include the omitted parts in Luke; the same phrases that Matthew does include):
Our Father in Heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
may your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
If you’ve been attending church for a while you’ve probably heard this prayer before. I’ve highlighted the words and phrases that I want to examine a bit closer.
“Our Father in Heaven”
There are a few things to notice here. The first is the word “our.” This is a sign of loyalty. To whom are they loyal? The Father in Heaven. They call no other god their father. Yahweh is the One they serve. He resides in what some call God-space. That is to say, in the ancient worldview, God was somewhere above the dome of stars. The third thing to notice is the word “Father.” Yahweh God is not often called Father in the Old Testament, however, that is Jesus’ primary way to refer to God. This is intimate language. Other gods of the nations would not have referred to those that followed them as sons and daughters. Yet we can call our God, Father.
“hallowed be your name”
The word “hallowed” means to be holy, and unique. God the Father is unlike any other being. He is set apart, unique from the rest of His creation. He is the One who causes Himself to continually be holy. His name, Yahweh, means “the self-existing one.” It was first introduced to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. Simply put, Yahweh God is unique among all beings because He is the only one who causes Himself to exist. Also, His “name” is often personified in the Old Testament (Exodus 23:20-22). In fact, “the name” “even blurs the lines between two separate beings: Yahweh and the angel of the Lord” (Heiser; Click here for a good article on this).
“Your kingdom come”
This is a huge theme that Luke is laying out for his readers. Now that Jesus is here, the kingdom of God is here! This is what the Israelites had been waiting for! Although, the way Jesus is inaugurating the kingdom of God is not how they expected.
“Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”
God the Father has representatives in Heaven and on earth. His representatives in Heaven are the spiritual beings who are loyal to Him. They make up His divine council (Psalm 82:1). Believers, or followers of Jesus, are His representatives on earth. This is what it means to have God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). We are imagers of Yahweh God – We are His representatives on earth to the rest of the nations (more on this later in Luke’s gospel!). The point is that Yahweh God’s will is over all of creation – Heaven and earth. He is ultimately the One who is in control.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
This is a hyperlink back to Genesis 3 and the original fall of human beings. Jesus is saying that we should ask God the Father to guide us so that we would not be tempted to follow some other god. We need to be delivered from the evil one, Satan [the Lord of the Dead], because he is the one who lays claim over us until we put our faith and trust in Jesus.
But wait, doesn’t “lead us not into temptation” mean that we don’t want to sin? Yep! But we need to realize that when we sin – when we do anything in which Yahweh God would not approve – then we are choosing the side of Satan and the evil spiritual beings. We can see through Luke’s writings that Jesus consistently taught that there was no middle ground. You are either for Him, or you’re against Him (Luke 11:23).
This prayer is very much a worldview, and that’s one of the reasons why I think Luke chose to include this part of the story. Yahweh God is in charge. The good guys and the bad guys of the Bible are real. God’s kingdom matters. He provides for us and forgives us, and we are to forgive others because He has forgiven us. And we need to keep alert, because our enemy would love for us to wander away from Jesus. Thanks be to Yahweh God that He delivers us from the evil one by giving us victory over death!
No Middle Ground (11:5 – 13:30) – Teaching
Let’s fly through the next section. Jesus continues by showing that if you’re not for Him, you’re against Him. There is no middle ground (Luke 11:23). Jesus casts out more demons, showing His authority and purposely provoking the evil spirits. At one point a Pharisee asked him to have dinner at his house. Jesus wasn’t quite the perfect house guest because he got on their case quite a bit! He said, “woe to you” six different times, which displayed his true feelings about them. Because of this, Luke tells us that “the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely” (Luke 11:53). Again, Luke is building tension in his narrative.
Jesus continues to warn others about the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1). He says that we are only to fear the One who has the authority to throw us in Hell. This has ripples of Psalm 23 which says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you [Yahweh] are with me.” And when we acknowledge Jesus as our King, He will acknowledge us before His divine council (the angels). If anyone denies Jesus, He will also deny them to the angels (Luke 12:8-9). Notice the continual assertion that there is no middle ground! If you’re picking up a sense of urgency to be vocal about your faith, that is intentional through Luke’s writing style, and through the things Jesus said and did.
We are to be ready for the second coming of Jesus (Luke 12:35-40). In other words, we are to live each day as if Jesus could come any moment. We are not to interpret this as an invitation to sit back and wait for Heaven to come to us. It’s another point of urgency that we need to be spreading the message of Jesus so that others can come to know Him as well. This is what it means to build His kingdom. It’s all about taking back the nations!
But not everyone will agree with us (Luke 12:49-53). Our faith will cause divisions among friends and families. I personally can think of people in my family who are openly opposed to the God of the Bible, and I’m willing to bet the same is true for you. Interestingly, Luke has already addressed this issue in 11:18, but in that case it was about Satan’s kingdom being divided against itself and not being able to stand. In a similar manner, the same could almost be said for the kingdom of God. If we as believers are divided amongst ourselves, how much kingdom advancement do you think we’ll get done?
Luke continues with the theme of no middle ground. Chapter 13 opens with a story about two sins, and which one was more sinful. Jesus’ point was that either way, sin is sin. If the sinful person does not turn from their sin and follow God (which is what repenting means), then they will perish. And this is really a heart issue. If you’re not even wanting to turn from your sin, then you’ve already chosen your side. However, catch this, not wanting to turn from your sin is different than not being successful in turning from that sin. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean that we live a sinless life. It means that we are forgiven of our sin and therefore we do our best to turn from it.
That’s what Jesus was getting at when He said, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24). Entering through the narrow door is symbolic of living a life that reflects Jesus. The narrow part means that it is not an easy path. The only thing that’s easy about walking this path is straying from it. Jesus makes the point that many people will think they are on the path because they habitually do things in His name, but what they don’t realize is that their heart is not in the right place. People can do things for Jesus, but if they don’t know Him, then they have landed on the side that is against Him. The only sure way to continue on the right path is to allow Jesus to guide our lives. This is what it means to acknowledge Him as our King. If we see Him as our King, then that will have drastic implications on how we live our life. No, we won’t be perfect, but when we’re loyal to Jesus and only Jesus, we can be thankful for the forgiveness that He offers.
The Cost of Following Jesus (Luke 14:25-35) – Teaching
At this point in Luke’s gospel Jesus had a lot of people traveling with Him. He turned to the crowd and said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26a). This verse has caused a lot of confusion. Why would I hate those in my family?
This is Luke continuing the theme of there being no middle ground. It’s either one or the other. Now, I don’t know about you, but my definition of hate is when I absolutely loath something. I hate peas. I don’t like how they taste. I don’t like their texture. And if given the option, I am completely against having peas as our vegetable for dinner. But there it is – the idea of being completely against something. I am in opposition to peas. This is how the word hate is being used in Luke 14:26.
John 15:23 uses the same Greek word and the verse gets translated (NIV): “Whoever hates me [Jesus] hates my Father as well.” Did you catch the tone of opposition? It’s about being actively against something, and in this case, Jesus was saying if you’re against Him, then you’re against God the Father as well.
Now consider two passages that comes prior to Luke 14:26. Luke 11:18 talks about what would happen if Satan’s kingdom were divided against itself. Then Luke 12:49-53 talks about families being divided against themselves. Now in Luke 14:25-35, Jesus is again talking about families being divided. Why? Because of who Jesus is and the life He calls us toward. Luke is continuing to bombard us with the idea that you are either for Jesus or you are against Jesus. Luke is saying that hating our family is standing in opposition to them if they are not for Jesus. More than that, if we can’t stand in opposition to our own selfish desires, then we cannot be truly for Jesus – “such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26b).
Similarly, “whoever does not carry their cross and follow” Jesus cannot be His disciple. A cross was an instrument of death. It symbolized suffering. If a person decides to follow Jesus, there will be suffering. The Bible never promises a cushy life for a Christian. Jesus was saying that if you’re not willing to suffer for His name, then you can’t be His disciple. The cost of following Jesus is indeed quite high.
Next Time: Luke 15 – 19
This is where we’ll wrap it up for now. Chapters 15 through 19 contain the bulk of the parables in Luke’s gospel. We’ll talk about those and some more of Jesus’ teaching. This will lead us right up to just before Jesus finally enters Jerusalem.
*Resources:
1. Arav, R. (1992). Hermon, Mount (Place). In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 3, p. 159). New York: Doubleday.
2. Heiser, M. S. (2015). The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (First Edition, pp. 284–285). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
3. Ryken, Leland. (1992). Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, p. 403-418.
*I also use Logos Bible Software which has a ton of resources. I included the above resources because I quoted them, and I think they are accessible and worthwhile for anyone.