Hard to Believe
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
We are going through the Gospel of Luke and stopping along the way to look at certain events in more detail.
Last week we introduced the concept that:
Jesus has joined a cosmic plan already in progress
And when we follow Jesus, we become part of that plan
Now he is showing us how we can participate in that plan using events, stories, and parables.
We have not gotten to any parables just yet, but we will.
Also, last week we saw the faith of a Roman Officer regarding his servant, and while we looked closely at the use of two different words, one for slave, one for servant; child; son, etc., we saw something interesting about what amazed Jesus.
Simple acts of faith, believing that Jesus has authority over all things, trusting in him.
Jesus had not seen faith like that in all Israel.
Hard to believe
It is hard to believe this is all that was required to amaze Jesus.
NOW, that is extraordinary given who Jesus is. If we hold to him being the Son of God, that he has awareness of all that God has done in his creation.
We are amazed by creation…He is amazed by our faith.
That is hard to believe
Conversely…It is hard to believe that Jesus is who he said he is.
Today, that is true. There is a great deal of skepticism in our world, especially the enlightened West.
Most acknowledge there was a historical Jesus, but it can be hard to believe he did and said what he did.
Sometimes that is because he did things that Prophets in the OT did, like what he did for the son of a Widow.
Luke 7:11-17
Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.
Filled with Compassion: Something to keep in mind, Luke reminds us of this often.
Great fear swept the crowd…BUT what did they say?
“A Mighty Prophet has risen among us, God has visited his people today.”
Is he a prophet? Or is he more?
Even when they see him do these things, It is hard to believe
We are in good company, because we were not the only ones that found it hard to believe.
Even Jesus’ relatives found WHO HE WAS hard to believe.
John the Baptist (Cousin, Mother Elizabeth was relative of Mary)
Luke 7:18-23
The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’ ” At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” And he added, “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.”
Even John has questions, and this is a man raised in the house of a Priest.
He is a prophet of God, he should know for sure.
But it is hard to believe
Luke 7:24-30
After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.
You can see in this text there is a great division regarding the faithful.
Some are aligned with John, some are aligned with the religious leaders.
Others are aligning themselves with Jesus.
Even the TAX COLLECTORS are being baptized by John, what a crazy ministry!
Luke 7:31-35
“To what can I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “How can I describe them? They are like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, ‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t weep.’ For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.”
You can see the confusion among them. Neither Jesus nor John are good enough for the religious leaders.
Notice their ACCUSATION against JESUS.
HE IS A FRIEND OF TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS.
That is hard to believe…And HE DOES NOT DENY IT.
HOW can Jesus be a friend of SINNERS?
I thought we were supposed to get in their face and call them names and tell them they were going to hell, and use the Bible to curse them.
But even HARDER to BELIEVE is that Jesus hangs out with Religious Leaders!
Luke 7:36-40
Luke 7:36–40 (NLT)
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
Jesus hangs out with a Pharisee, a member of the group that accuses him of being a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
Can you IMAGINE what the other sinners think of this?
Is he a double agent?
The woman:
How does she find out where he is? Rumors going around (double agent)
How does she get this jar? All speculation…but certain immoral woman…hmmm
How does she get in the house? Outside courtyard? No guards? No one to shoo her away?
Behind him at his feet, he is reclining, facing the table, with his feet away from the table.
Why is she doing this for him?
The Pharisee CERTAINLY KNOWS “What Kind” of woman this is.
Religious leaders ALWAYS KNOW the bad ones, the REAL SINNERS.
Jesus knows this mans thoughts, and without the pharisee uttering a word, Jesus is about to GO TO WORK!
HARD TO BELIEVE the SON OF MAN, Jesus, Would allow this to happen...
Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said.
Simple enough...
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
Simple enough…I mean if the pharisee were wise…he would have done this.
BUT…IT SHOWS SOMETHING...
If the Pharisee thought Jesus to be a Prophet, he would have treated him well.
If the Pharisee thought Jesus to be the Messiah, he would have treated him well.
But, the Pharisee though little of Jesus…so he treated him like any “commoner.”
Luke 7:47–50 (ESV)
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Which are many…quite the statement to make about her…almost as if…he knows her...
Well, those sins, they are forgiven.
HOW are THEY FORGIVEN?
She loved much...
AND HE FORGIVES her...
And they CANNOT BELIEVE IT.
WHY?
Only God can forgive sins.
Her faith HAS SAVED HER, she can go in PEACE.
Hard to believe that
faith can save you
and bring peace.
Even for this IMMORAL woman, she has hope, because she has faith.
NOTICE…Jesus does not ask her to change her ways.
(Well, that is because she already has, some would say)
And where is that in the text?
There is no indication anything in her life changed.
This perfume, likely was procured through “immoral” activities.
Yet, Jesus has no problem with it.
What is the untold story of her life?
What is the trauma in her life?
What has she done to survive in this fallen world THAT JESUS is trying to UNDO?
Why is it we would have so much trouble doing something like this?
Do you get what Jesus just said:
If you don’t think you have sinned, offended others and God, then you have just a little love
But, if you know you have sinned, and you recognize your need, then you have a lot of love
Her TRUST, her BELIEVING LOYALTY is what saved her, not her changed behavior.
What changes for her? Where does she go from here?
How does one thrive in a world that is built to USE you and OPPRESS you?
Where do you see yourself in this story?
Where do you see others?
Harder to believe he DIED and was RAISED
Hard to believe that somehow, he did that for you and for me.