Untitled Sermon (26)

Attitude

Luke 18:9–15 KJV 1900

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon 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 every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

Church History in Plain Language Jesus Message

“I tell you,” said Jesus, “this man went down to his house justified rather than the other” (Luke 18:14). The contrast between the piety of the Pharisees and the attitude of the Jesus movement could hardly be greater. One was based on the observance of the hundreds of religious laws of the Jews; the other rested upon a denial of self-righteousness and a trust in the mercy of God.

Out of his hundreds of followers Jesus called a handful to travel with him full time. They came to be called “apostles,” meaning “sent ones.” But at first they were a rather motley group—twelve in all—drawn from fishing boats and tax tables, but their loyalty to Jesus was strong.

Kuke

Church History in Plain Language The Last Week

A man like Jesus presented a real danger to the Sadducees, because they held their privileged position with the support of the Roman authorities. Anyone who aroused talk of a messiah undermined the peoples allegiance to the established political order and endangered the relationship the Sadducees had with the Romans. Such a man, they concluded, had to be silenced before he sparked an uprising, which the Romans would crush with characteristic brutality. If that happened, the Sadducees stood to lose their privileges.

Thus, their common fear of Jesus brought about an unusual alliance between the Sadducees and their rivals, the Pharisees. Jesus, who openly violated the Sabbath laws and questioned the validity of other laws, seemed to be undermining the authority of the Jewish religion. For their separate reasons, both parties saw this self-styled prophet from Galilee as a dangerous

Church History in Plain Language The New Covenant

THE NEW COVENANT

“The next day was the first day of the Jewish Passover, and Jesus and his disciples prepared for the ritual dinner that evening. At sundown they gathered secretly at the appointed place. Their mood was solemn as they ate the meal, commemorating the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Reclining on couches arranged around a low table, they drank wine and ate the bitter herbs and unleavened bread.” Toward the end of the meal Jesus took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). In the same way he took a cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25).

What did Jesus mean by this “new covenant”? The background, to be sure, was the Exodus from Egypt and the formation of Israel as a nation at Mount Sinai. But Jesus had in mind more than this reminder of the obvious.

He spoke of the “new covenant” in his own blood. His words were an echo of the prophet Jeremiah who had promised a day when the covenant on tablets of stone would be replaced by a covenant written on the hearts of men: “This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people … for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:33–34).

The time of the new covenant, said Jesus, has come. A new people of God, enjoying the forgiveness of sins, is now possible through the shedding of his own blood.