Hypocrites and the Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Food that you thought was bad until you tried it. Sushi, vegetables, coffee. The truth is that it was always good. You just didn’t know it.
Need: We can tend to think that the kingdom of God is just some far away dream that hasn’t been delivered yet. Therefore, we may cast different ideas about what it will be like. But it is better than we think it is.
Main Idea: The Kingdom of God is better than we think it is
We are moving to a different part of the story. Jesus begins teaching in the synagogue.
Luke 13:10-21
Truth #1: God’s kingdom displays the hypocrisy of man (10-17)
Exp. Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath. Normal for lay person to read and teach then. Luke 4:16-19
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Exp. What he is teaching now, we aren’t sure. Verse 11. Disabling spirit = physically hurt her. Bent over. Verse 12-13. Eighteen years. Not framed as exorcism, but as a healing. Demon left too. Immediately healed. Her immediate response if to glorify God.
Ill. Imagine being physically afflicted since 2008. Some of you, it’s your entire life. You would immediately glorify God. Instead of focusing on the healing, Luke has to focus on another element.
Exp. Verse 14. He was mad that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, but he ruler spoke and blamed the people. Couple of things:
Luke never said the woman came to be healed. She was just there.
He is effectively saying, “No healing on the Sabbath. If you are afflicted by Satan, come back another time.”
Exp. Verse 15-16. Hypocrites. They know God’s word, but can’t see God working in Jesus now. Calls her a daughter of Abraham. Very likely referring to her Jewishness, but also those who covenant in faith. Don’t you untie your animals on the Sabbath so they can drink? How much more should this woman be unbound from Satan? Your only response is come back another day? Verse 17. Effective because it was public. Everyone was rejoicing.
Arg. Kingdom of God reveals hypocrisy. You can know all the Scripture, theological knowledge, heights of worship. If you can’t grasp what God is doing, then you’ve missed it. For instance the Sabbath, keep the Sabbath, it’s holy. Yes. Why? Rest, healing, rejuvenation, necessary. Likely, this woman hasn’t felt that. Now she can. Now, she has been loosed from Satan. Isn’t that what it’s for? And he’s worried about the day.
Christ - The Sabbath points us to Jesus. He brings the ultimate healing! Every miracle points to what he will eventually do. His death releases us from the chains of sin and his resurrection releases us from the confines of a mortal body!
App. What do we do?
Glorify God. Woman and crowd did. Glorify him for his deliverance in your life. We are hypocrites if we don’t glorify him.
Pay attention to what God is doing. The indictment for the rulers, Pharisees is they are missing what God is doing in real time. Don’t get caught up in the rhythms that you miss what God is doing. Praise him for it.
Ill. Going through the building. Don helped me refocus.
Truth #2: God’s kingdom will change everything (18-21)
Exp. Jesus then goes to speaking in parables. Verse 18-19. First parable is about a seed growing into a tree. Also has OT roots.
23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.
Exp. Stands in contrast to the fig tree that was dead. God will plant a tree for all the birds. Then, verse 20-21. Same question. Leaven. Typically used to symbolize the infectious power of evil. Earlier discusses the leaven of the Pharisees.
This is what he’s saying about the kingdom:
First parable: His kingdom will grow outward and upward. It will look different. Changed into something else. Have impact on all the birds.
Second parable: His kingdom will grow inward and throughout. Leaven transforms the dough into something else internally while maintaining the continuity of what it is. Judaism was being transformed and yet continuing what God had planned. The kingdom will change it inside out.
God’s kingdom will expand to Gentiles and it will change the landscape of the world. Still yet to be realized until Christ returns.
Arg. This is a macro level. There is a personal level as well.
Christ - Jesus is the one who ushers the kingdom of God. He, through the HS, changes us completely. His death and resurrection frees us from sin and promises us resurrection into his kingdom. The HS dwells in us, growing us, maturing us, using us to expand the kingdom to the lose. He is also changing us. Giving us new desires, priorities, and chiseling away at the old self. We still look the same, but we also don’t look the same. It’s all because of Jesus.
App. Your affections change, your aims change.
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your aim in life is because God has taken you up into his purposes.
Oswald Chambers
App. What do we do?
Extend God’s grace to all. Jesus extended grace to this woman. The parable states the tree is for the birds. All of the birds. Nobody is without the need for grace. Nobody is too far removed from it.
Be patient with inward growth. You do not grow leaps and bounds in a day. But over weeks and years.
Conclusion
The kingdom of God is already but not yet.
