Author: Chris Marshall

Psalm 106 is a lengthy psalm that starts and ends with praise to the LORD. The body of the psalm recounts the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel from the time they were in Egypt, their wandering in the wilderness, their initial taking of the Promised Land, and their ultimate scattering by the LORD for their ongoing unfaithfulness. In minute detail, the psalmist recounts the numerous acts of unfaithfulness the Israelites carried out against the LORD. As we read it, we are reminded the LORD showed tremendous restraint in not destroying Israel before He did. His displayed His grace in the long history of the waywardness of His people, and His retention of them as His people. Time and time again the LORD judged the people, sometimes many died, but always the LORD spared many so they would have the opportunity to live to His glory. We are called as Jesus’ followers today to remember all He has done for us and to live out our faith with gratitude for His great love and faithfulness.

Psalm 107 is a lengthy psalm that moves back and forth between praising God for His faithfulness to those who obey Him, and a reminder He judges those who don’t. This is not so much a recounting of Israel’s past as it is a reminder that in any era God rewards faithfulness and judges sin. May we take it as a reminder to live in relationship with Him and to allow His Holy Spirit to rule our lives in Jesus’ name!

Luke 24 offers us Luke’s account of Jesus’ resurrection. It starts by telling us the women went to the tomb early on the first day of the week–Sunday. The stone was rolled away from the tomb, so they went in, but found it empty. As they stood “perplexed” two men in dazzling apparel stood before them and asked the most powerful question:  “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” Jesus had told His followers over and over that He was going to rise from the dead on the third day. Instead of being ready for it, they assumed Jesus was still dead on the third day, and went to finish the work of embalming Him. Imagine their amazement when Jesus’ tomb was empty and they were greeted by two angels.

The women went back to the apostles and told them what had happened, but no one believed them because it seemed like “an idle tale.” Really? Jesus had told them He would rise from the dead, yet even when the women returned to the group and shared their first-hand experience of being greeted by angels who told them Jesus was alive, they didn’t believe it. Peter ran to the tomb to see for himself, but while he found the tomb empty, there was no Jesus and no angels. He went back marveling, but apparently not believing.

Later that day, two of Jesus’ followers were returning to their home in Emmaus. One of them was named Cleopas. We aren’t told the other’s name. As they walked they were greeted by a stranger, who they thought didn’t know anything about Jesus’ death, because of the comments and questions He made and raised. But it was Jesus. They didn’t recognize Him, and as they walked together, Jesus explained to them from Scripture why the Messiah had to die, and that He would rise again.  When they got to their home, the “stranger” pretended to continue on but they invited Him in for dinner.  When they sat down and He started to break the bread, they recognized Him as Jesus, and He disappeared.  By this time, it must have been nearly nightfall.  The roads had not streetlights, or lights of any kind, yet Cleopas and his friend ran back to Jerusalem to tell the others they had seen Jesus.

When they returned to Jerusalem, they heard Jesus had appeared to Simon (Peter).  Then they told their story and as they were telling it Jesus appeared among them all.  Many were startled and thought it was a ghost, but Jesus showed them His hands and feet and asked them if a ghost had a body.  Then He asked if they had anything to eat.  They gave Him a piece of broiled fish.  Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.  He told them they would proclaim His name in the nations and preach repentance and the forgiveness or sin.  He told them to wait in Jerusalem until the “promise of the Father” came, which is the Holy Spirit. Then He returned to heaven. They worshiped Him and praised Him and met to pray in the Temple courts.  Thus, Luke ends with praise and worship.  As we will see when we read Acts, Jesus’ return to heaven brought about the “birth” of the Church, because when Jesus returned to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to the believers!

Psalm 103 is one of King David’s most powerful psalms of praise. Not only does David extol the LORD but he also tells of the LORD’s steadfast love and mercy.  He recounts how the LORD was with Moses, and how He is always with His people.  The psalm is a powerful call to praise the LORD, give Him thanks, and remember all His benefits from start to finish.

Psalm 104 is a long and specific record of the LORD’s hand in creation and in caring for the animals of many different species. It tells how He created them, how He feeds them.  We’re told He feeds the leviathan, the great sea monster from His hand. One of the interesting aspects from Psalm 104, is folks in the middle ages used it to “prove” the earth was flat.  The second half of verse two tells us “He stretches out the heavens like a tent.  If the heavens are a tent, then to stretch them out and drive the tent pegs into the ground it would have to be flat.  The logic sounds right, but only if the image was a literal statement of what takes place rather than a metaphor.  It is always dangerous to literalize the Bible when a poetic image is being drawn.  The Bible was never intended to be a science book.  That doesn’t mean it contradicts science.  It means when we want to talk about science, we ought to go to a science book.  Science would do well to take this reminder and not step over into the field of theology, as when it “assumes” the universe started with a big bang, that had no origin.  That sounds a great deal as if it were the act of a Creator.  I believe God created the universe, and that belief is based on the Bible.  Science cannot state with any kind of certainty how the universe came into existence, so it would do well to stick with cause and effect.  It seems the theologians of the middle ages would have done well to stick with theology!

Psalm 105 is a lengthy psalm of praise, that also recounts the history of God’s presence with His people from the time of Abraham through the time of God using Moses to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt.  The psalmist goes into great detail concerning the period of the Israelites time in Egypt starting with God “sending” Joseph into Egypt ahead of time to prepare the way for them.

As we turn to Luke 23, the religious leaders take Jesus to Pilate. Luke tells us after examining Him and finding no fault with Him, he found out Jesus was a Galilean, so he sent Jesus to Herod for examination. Herod relished the opportunity to interview Jesus, because he had wanted to see Jesus perform a sign or wonder for him.  Jesus wasn’t compliant, so Herod made fun of Him and then Him back to Pilate.  Pilate tried three times to release Jesus, but the crowd cried out for Pilate to release Barabbas and to crucify Jesus.  Finally, Pilate relented and went with the crowd’s desire.  Jesus was beaten and sent to be crucified.  The Romans called on a man named Simon from Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross.  Many women followed and cried for Jesus’ plight.  Jesus told them to mourn for their own people, not for Him.

When they crucified Jesus, He was placed between two other criminals.  Jesus cried out for His Father to forgive them, because they didn’t know what they were doing.  The religious leaders ridiculed Jesus and told Him that He had saved others, so why not come down from the cross and save Himself?  Then the Romans mocked Him.  Eventually, one of the criminals hanging beside Him joined the mocking, but the other one asked him what he was doing? After all, they deserved to die, but Jesus was innocent.  He then asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom.  Jesus told him that he would be with Him that day in Paradise.

The sky turned dark for several hours, and Jesus died.  Before He died, He commended His Spirit to the Father.  As He died, an earthquake shook the ground, and the veil in the Temple was torn in two, signifying the division between God and humanity had been opened.  Women mourned, and the centurion in charge said, “Surely this man was innocent.”  (He might have said that because of how quickly Jesus died, as well as how He endured the pain and stood the abuse hurled at Him by others.)  After Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for permission to bury Jesus’ body in his tomb.  Pilate agreed.  The women went and saw where Jesus was buried, and then went back and prepared spices for His burial.  These would need to wait for Sunday morning, because it was the beginning of the Passover Sabbath.

Psalm 99 starts with a powerful reminder of God’s place: He is LORD over all!  Then it mentions those who carry out the LORD’s will: the king (a general affirmation of the monarchy in Israel and Judah), Moses, Aaron and Samuel. Moses and Samuel in particular, heard God’s voice directly, and shared it with the people.  Thus, we are reminded how important it is to hear God’s voice, and even more important–to listen and obey.

Psalm 100 is one of the most repeated psalms of praise.  In the heading, we are told it is a psalm for giving thanks.  It has often been used in hymns and worship songs.  It has appeared as a call to worship in services for thousands of years.  It reminds us to praise and thank God for who He is and all He has done for us.  It calls us into His presence, which is far simpler now that Jesus came, lived, died, rose again, returned to heaven, and sent His Holy Spirit to live in each of us who believe in Him as Savior and Lord.

Psalm 101 is a psalm of King David.  In it David praises the LORD, and promises he will do everything he can to ensure he does not sin before the LORD, and he will eliminate sinful men from his group of friends and from any influence in Israel.  David’s intentions are noble, given God cannot be in the presence of sin and therefore of non-repentant sinners.  His promise reminds us of how important it is for us not to develop a circle of friends who are not living in God’s will, because our friends tend to influence us more than we influence them.

The introduction to Psalm 102 reads, “A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.” so we know this is not going to be a “happy” psalm. As we have seen, the psalms include many laments, many offerings of the sorrow, anger, desperation, and sense of abandonment of the author.  In this psalm, we could be reading the words of Job at first, they are that desperate.  Then the psalm turns, as psalms of lament often do, and the psalmist praises the LORD for who He is and asks for deliverance not only for himself, but for his people.  Even in devastating pain, sorrow, and the recognition that the LORD is the one who has sent the pain, the psalmist remembers who he is and whose he is. What a powerful reminder for us as well: no matter what we experience in life, we can turn to the LORD, and in the end, we can praise the LORD!

As we turn to Luke 22, we read of Judas’ going to the chief priests and religious leaders to express his intent to betray Jesus to them.  One of the chilling details Luke includes is “Satan entered into Judas.”  Think about that for a moment.  People often say, “The devil made me ______,” and fill in the blank with some sinful action they committed.  But the truth is Satan is not like God in many ways, but a key way is: Satan can only be in one place at a time.  He is not omnipresent the way God is.  That means in the moment Satan entered Judas, that was the most strategic place he could be. He didn’t have a demon enter Judas.  He entered Judas personally.  That sends a chill through the bones, when you consider it.

Next, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the place for the Passover.  At the Passover meal, Jesus told the disciples He would not eat the Passover again, until He ate it anew in His Kingdom.  He then instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper. He broke bread and told the disciples it was His body “given” for them. (I emphasize the word “given,” because many use the word “broken,” but this is not correct.  The Old Testament tells us not a bone of the Messiah will be broken, so even though Jesus endured tremendous punishment through the beating He received and His crucifixion, His bones were not broken. He told us He was “giving” His body for us.)

After the meal, Jesus told the group one of them would betray Him.  We would think the ones who weren’t going to betray Him would have known that, but each one asked if it were he.  Then a dispute broke out among them about which of them would be the greatest.  Jesus had to remind them power struggles are for Gentiles, not for those who follow Him.  He was the greatest and yet He served them the most.  That’s the model for us to follow.

Next, Jesus turned to Simon Peter and told him that he would deny knowing Jesus three times.  Peter denied that. He said he would go to prison and death with Jesus, and the rest said the same.  But Jesus had told the truth.  They would all scatter and Peter would deny Jesus three times.  One of the most hopeful comments of Jesus to Peter was He was praying for Peter, and His command that when he returned to strengthen his brothers.  Jesus never wants us to sin, but when we do and have repented or returned to following Jesus, our failure can be a stepping block of hope for others who fail where we do, not because of the failure, but because of the redemption of Jesus through it.

After this, Jesus told the group to be prepared for challenges ahead, including being armed.  Then He led the group to the Mount of Olives.  Jesus told His followers to pray, and then He went off by Himself to pray.  We know from our reading of the other gospels, Jesus prayed not to have to face the pain of taking the sin of the world on Himself and being separated from His Heavenly Father.  Luke tells us the anguish was so great His sweat became like drops of blood, and that an angel appeared to strengthen Him.  (We now know from medical science, the condition of blood mingling with sweat is real, and happens in times when the capillaries dilate during extreme stress allowing blood to pass through and become part of one’s sweat.)  After this Judas came with soldiers to arrest Jesus.  One of Jesus’ followers struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear.  Jesus restored the man’s ear, and submitted to the arrest after asking the leaders why they were arresting Him in the dark when they had ample opportunity to arrest Him in public.

Peter followed along behind the group, and as Jesus predicted he denied knowing Jesus three times.  Only Luke tells us that the third time Peter denied Jesus, Jesus “looked” at Peter.  Peter was in the sight line of Jesus.  I have often wondered what kind of look Jesus gave Peter.  No one knows, but given what Jesus told Peter earlier, and that He knew the denials were coming, my belief is Jesus looked at Peter lovingly and compassionately.  Nevertheless, Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Next, the soldiers mocked Jesus and hit Him.  When the religious leaders questioned Jesus, He admitted He was the Son of Man, or the Messiah, and they condemned Him to death.  The problem then was they didn’t have the authority to execute Him.  Tomorrow, we will see how they addressed that problem.

Psalm 95 is a joyful song of praise to the LORD! It has been made into hymns and worship songs, because of its focus on lifting up the LORD in praise, and the reminder that He is higher than all other gods. (Once many years ago, I received a note from a church member who was upset, because we had sung a worship song with the words, “He is higher than all other gods.” She asked, “Where did you get those lyrics? There are NO other gods.” I must admit it was with some pleasure I wrote back to her: The words came from Psalm 95.  We can often embarrass ourselves when we speak from opinions rather than a knowledge of God’s word.)

Psalm 96 is another joyful song of praise that has been made into hymns and worship songs. It includes some aspects of a creation psalm, because of its references to God’s work in nature. As you read and reflect on Psalm 96, it is easy to smile and consider the power of God’s hand all around us and on our lives.

Psalm 97 is another in this string of psalms of praise. Here the added aspect is the LORD’s righteousness, and a reminder we must be righteous as we call on His name. The LORD judges sin, therefore, we must come to Him out of an attitude of reverence, awe, and righteousness. As we know from our experience of life, and our reading of the New Testament, all true righteousness comes to us as a gift from Jesus. Yet, the words of the psalmist are true: If we want to enter the LORD’s presence we must be righteous. The Good News is: we become righteous through the blood of Jesus. In their day, the cleansing from sin required repeated sacrifices of animals. In our day, we rely on the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus!

In this joyous psalm of praise, Psalm 98 reminds us to sing and praise the LORD with music. It even calls on the seas and all that live within it to rejoice, and the rivers to “clap their hands.” What a powerful metaphor, and reminder for us to praise the LORD vigorously and demonstratively. He and He alone is worthy of our worship and praise.

As we turn to Luke 21, Jesus commends a poor widow for putting her last two pennies in the offering box. He reminds His followers that many wealthy givers put large amounts in the offering box, but it was out of their great wealth. The widow, on the other hand, gave everything she had to the LORD. Jesus’ point is clear: it isn’t the quantity of the gift, but the quantity of sacrifice that is the measure of a gift to the LORD. That is true when we give to others as well. Giving much out of a resource far greater, isn’t nearly as costly as giving most or all of a little. We cannot buy a relationship with God through our giving, whether much out of much more, or all of a little. We do demonstrate our love and commitment to Him as we give generously and sacrificially, or as we don’t.

Next, Luke records Jesus’ extended discourse on the signs of the times of the end. Jesus reminded His listeners and, through them, us many signs of the end will be evident, but whether it is the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, or trials and natural disasters, none of these will give us the definitive moment when the end is coming. The key is to be ready when He comes!

Psalm 90 is a psalm of Moses. It is a powerful acknowledgement of God’s eternal nature, and of the fleeting years of our lives. Moses reminds us to God “1,000 years are as a day.” He also reminds us our days are short by comparison. 70-80 years is the length of our lives, and we live them in much strife. The LORD’s anger is often directed toward us according to Moses. He challenges us in light of the LORD’s eternal nature, and our fleeting lives to “number our days,” that we may live rightly. We are called to live our lives with intentionality each day, to bring glory to God and maximize our lives.

Psalm 91 is anonymous, but offers an amazing tribute to the LORD’s protection over those He loves. The psalmist lists a lengthy record of many different trials, and disasters that can befall us, and he tells us the LORD will protect us from each one. Little wonder, then, that Satan used this psalm to tempt Jesus to jump off the roof of the Temple, because as the psalm states, “…He will protect you so you won’t strike your foot against a stone.” The devil can quote Scripture, even appropriate Scripture, which is why it is so important for us to know God’s word and to be prepared to use it in our assault on him.

Psalm 92 is another anonymous psalm. It tells us it is a psalm for the Sabbath day. That makes sense, because it is a psalm of praise, and calls on us not only to praise the LORD with our mouths, but also with instruments. It is always appropriate to praise the LORD in our lives, and the psalmist reminds us how important it is to pause on a weekly basis to offer Him our praises as a people.

Psalm 93 is a brief anonymous psalm of praise, which also brings incorporates a call to praise the LORD for His natural wonders, and for His power and authority of nature.

Psalm 94 calls on the LORD to avenge those who have sinned against Him or His people. Then the tone changes and is a call for the LORD to be with those who follow Him. The psalm is a blend of rebuking the wicked, calling on the LORD to strengthen the psalmist and an affirmation of the LORD for who He is. This blend is one we have become used to experiencing as we work our way through the “Prayer book” of the Bible.

As we turn to Luke 20, Jesus engages in His last encounters with the religious leaders before He is arrested. It starts with the religious leaders asking Jesus by what authority He carried out His ministry? Jesus turned the question on them and asked by what authority John the Baptist had carried out his ministry? They realized Jesus had them, because if they said the LORD’s, He would ask them why they didn’t listen to John. If they said man’s authority, the crowds would turn on them, because they believed John was a prophet. They responded, “We don’t know.” Jesus told them He wouldn’t tell them either.

Next, Jesus told them the Parable of the Vineyard Owner, which we have come across before in our reading of the other gospels. The point of the parable is the “hired hands,” end up killing the master’s servants and ultimately his son. The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus for this, because they knew He was talking about them. They also stepped up their verbal attacks and questioning, so they could find some legitimate reason to arrest Him. Obviously, this never worked.

Next, came the religious leaders’ question to Jesus about whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. They thought they had Jesus regardless of how He answered, but they didn’t realize His answer would silence them all. The Sadducees attempted to stump Jesus next, with a question about a woman who was married to seven different brothers, and who she would be married to in heaven. Because they didn’t believe in the afterlife, they thought their question “proved” to believe in the resurrection is wrong. Again, Jesus showed them it was their knowledge that was flawed, not His.

The teachers of the Law realized Jesus had answered well, and they didn’t have any more tests for Him. Jesus closed out the interaction, by asking them How the Messiah could be the “Son of David,” when David called Him Lord? The great lesson in all of this is: don’t debate with the author about the content and meaning of the book!

Psalm 86 is a psalm of King David in which he praises the LORD for who He is, thanks Him for all He has done, and calls on Him to be merciful to establish and reestablish His relationship with David. It is a psalm we would do well to memorize, if not in total, in concept. Some will be aware of the “ACTS” formula for prayer in which A stands for adoration, C for confession, T for thanksgiving, and S for supplication.  David covers these areas in this psalm, which makes it a great model for us.

Psalm 87 is a brief psalm of praise to the LORD, written by the sons of Korah. It focuses mainly on the LORD’s love for Zion, the city of David.

Psalm 88 is a psalm of Korah, and specifically of Heman the Ezrahite, which calls out to the LORD for deliverance. The beginning of the psalm is Heman’s cry for deliverance, protection, and redemption from evil and the grave. The latter portion focuses on the reality that those in the grave don’t offer praise to the LORD, which shows us the concept of heaven wasn’t fully developed in his time. The unusual aspect of this psalm is it doesn’t end on a note of praise or affirmation of the LORD’s deliverance, but with a statement that the LORD has taken his closest friends from him, and that darkness is now his closest friend. We might wonder why such a psalm would be included in the list of the 150 psalms we have. The short answer is: The LORD is not afraid of our fear and hopelessness. He affirms our right to question our situation and even His presence in our lives. No idea is off limits for us to think, but at the end of the day whether we feel or experience it in the moment, the LORD is with us!

Psalm 89 is a psalm of Ethan the Ezrahite, and it cuts across the themes of the psalms we have read to this point. It starts with praise for the LORD and for His faithfulness. It moves to a reminder of the LORD’s promises to be faithful to David and his progeny. Then it states that David’s descendants are being wiped out, and it seems the LORD has forgotten His covenant. It sinks into despair with the question, “How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever?” Then it continues with a bit of recovery to the LORD’s faithfulness and closes with “Praise be the LORD forever. Amen and Amen.” We have come to expect this kind of movement in psalms by this time. How helpful to us when we recognize the LORD is ready to hear whatever we have to offer Him, and to continue His relationship with us.

As we turn to Luke 19, we read an account that is unique to Luke’s Gospel: Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus.  Any of us who have a church background remember the account of Zacchaeus the “wee little man,” who wanted to see Jesus.  Zacchaeus was a tax collector, which as we know by this time meant he was an outcast among his own people.  He was so eager to see Jesus he climbed a sycamore tree to get a view of Jesus as he walked through Jericho.  Jesus saw Zacchaeus, called him down from the tree, and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner.  The religious people in the crowd “grumbled,” because Jesus was associating with such a man.  Jesus wasn’t concerned. Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus transformed him from the inside out.  Jesus concluded His interaction with Zacchaeus by telling the crowd salvation had come to Zacchaeus house, and that the Son of Man had come to seek and save the lost.  What amazing good news for us. It doesn’t matter what or who we have been.  By God’s grace in Jesus we can be born again, and become new people.  If Zacchaeus could experience it, anyone can.

Next, Jesus told the Parable of the Minas, which is parallel to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25.  The details are different, but the point is the same: the faithful servants of God multiply what their Master entrusts to them.  The unfaithful “bury” their resources.  When we are faithful with what the LORD entrusts to us, He entrusts us with more.

The remainder of the chapter is devoted to Jesus’ Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem. While the account is found in all four gospels, one of the points Luke makes is in Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees, the Pharisees tell Jesus to tell people to stop shouting praise to Him, and Jesus responds, “If they remain silent the stones will cry out.”  Jesus didn’t often encourage people to glorify Him, but He is the Son of God.  In this moment, as people recognized Him for who He was, Jesus affirmed it and noted creation will praise Him if we do not.  That is an important reminder for us, when we are hesitant to offer Him the praise He is due.  We were created to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. One of the ways we praise Him is through praising Jesus!

Psalm 82, another psalm of Asaph, is brief and a bit confusing.  It seems to be a psalm of praise, while at the same time seeming to question God’s motives for some of His actions.  Verse 2 in particular reads, ²“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah” Psalm 82:2 (NIV) In the Hebrew, the “you” is plural, and could refer to the angels, or to some human audience.  In any case, the psalm seems to call God to defend the poor and take His rightful place of leadership.

In Psalm 83, Asaph calls on the LORD to repay Israel’s enemies. He lists those current enemies by name and calls on the LORD to do the same to them as He did to Israel’s enemies in the past. Sometimes when we read such requests, it offends our modern or post-modern sensibilities. It seems Asaph is calling on the LORD to be “evil.” In truth, he was calling on the LORD to show justice. Israel’s enemies were, in fact, evil. They worshiped false gods. They lived contrary to God’s will and purposes. Therefore, Asaph reasoned they deserved to experience the same end as Israel’s former enemies. We who live on the resurrection side of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection often focus solely on God’s mercy. Thankfully, He is gracious and merciful, but we must always remember the reason we rely on His mercy is because we deserve His justice!

Psalm 84 is a psalm of the sons of Korah. The psalm extols the greatness of God and reminds us one day in His presence is better than a thousand anywhere else. As we read the psalm, which is distinctively filled with praise and adoration, it lifts our hearts to God, and calls us to offer Him worship and praise as well.

Psalm 85, another psalm of the sons of Korah, calls on the LORD to remember His past forgiveness of His people, and calls on Him to forgive His people now. They don’t deny they have sinned, but they throw themselves on His mercy. This is a prayer with which we can all relate. God has forgiven us in the past, and we know we need that same forgiveness in the present, because none of us is without sin in our lives.

As we turn to Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about an unjust judge who was badgered by a widow to hear her case. She kept coming to him over and over asking for him to hear her case. The judge didn’t care about God or people, but the woman’s constant badgering led the judge to hear her case and act on her behalf. Jesus told us we are to pray as that widow did. Not that God is unjust, or we must badger Him to get what we want. Indeed, Jesus’ point is the opposite: God is righteous, and He wants to act on our behalf, so if we have the persistence of the widow, He will act for us. Jesus closed out the parable with a serious question: When the Son of Man comes will He find faith on the earth? Given the content of the parable, we must conclude one component of faithfulness is diligence in prayer.

Next, Jesus tells a parable about two men who went to the Temple to pray. The first was a Pharisee, who called out to God to bless Him, because of how righteous He was. Then a tax collector cried out to God for mercy. He wouldn’t even look up to the LORD, because of his sin. Jesus said the tax collector went away justified, and those who humble themselves before the LORD will be lifted up.

Luke then records Jesus receiving little children to bless them. When the parents brought them, the disciples rebuked the parents, but Jesus rebuked the disciples, telling them the Kingdom of God is made up of those who are like little children.

Luke follows this account with the account of the rich young ruler, which we also find in Matthew and Mark. The account is similar and includes the man walking away sad, because of his great wealth. Every time I read this passage, I’m reminded this man could have been a disciple of Jesus, but instead, he is simply sad. When we let anything get in the way of our relationship with Jesus, we will be sad in the present, but even sadder in the long term, because we were created for relationship with Him.

Jesus then told the disciples they were heading to Jerusalem and when they arrived, He would be arrested, convicted, crucified and buried, but He would rise again. There is no additional comment this time, as Luke moves right to the account of a blind man coming to Jesus asking to be healed. Jesus tells the man, because of his faith he will receive his sight. And he does! This reminds us once again, sometimes our faith brings healing to us, while at other times it is others’ faith that brings healing to us, and at times Jesus heals without attributing faith to anyone. At times we don’t receive physical healing. It is possible our lack of faith is the reason. It is also possible Jesus has another purpose in the moment, as He did when Paul asked for healing from the thorn in his flesh, (which we will get to when we read 2 Corinthians). Faith in Jesus produces miracles, and He is the one who determines what the miracles will be. The key for us is to remember Jesus always knows what is best for us. That’s why we must always to put our faith in Him!

Psalm 79 is another psalm of Asaph and in it he mourns the defeat of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem. He calls out to the LORD over and over again asking Him to punish those who have done this, and to restore His people. As always, at the end of the psalm, Asaph gives glory and praise to the LORD.

Psalm 80 is reminiscent of Psalm 79, except here Asaph calls out more for the LORD to remember His people, and His own glory, rather than crying against their enemies.  At the close, Asaph tells the LORD if He will restore them they will praise Him.  This is not a conditional allegiance on Asaph’s part, as if the only way the people of Judah will praise God is if He does what they ask.  The point is Asaph knows the only one who can restore them is the LORD, and the people will definitely glorify Him if He does restore them.

Psalm 81 starts as a psalm of praise, but then includes some strong reminders to Israel of her need to return to following the LORD.  Asaph’s words remind us we can praise the LORD at all times, and yet we must do more than praise Him with our words.  Our lives must be lived in line with our words.  We must practice what we preach as the old saying goes. Our praises ring hollow when our lives are lived contrary to God’s will.

As we turn to Luke 17, Jesus warns His followers against causing “one of these little ones” to sin.  The punishment for leading another follower of Jesus astray is so severe, Jesus tells us it would be better to have a millstone put around our neck and be cast into the sea.  When we read “little ones,” we might think Jesus was speaking of children, and He was, but here He didn’t use a word that specifies children.  He wanted us to know, we are all His little children, and we are so valuable to Him the penalty is steep for leading one of us astray.

Next, Jesus tells His followers they must forgive a brother who sins against them up to seven times a day, if he comes and repents.  The response of the disciples is, “LORD, increase our faith.”  Jesus uses the request as an opportunity to remind us it is the quantity of our faith that matters, but the object of our faith.  If we have only the amount of faith of a grain of mustard seed, but it is in the LORD, He will move mountains for us.

Next, Jesus uses an analogy of a servant coming in from the field to show us our relationship to the LORD.  He reminds the disciples that when the servant comes in from the field, the master doesn’t tell him to sit down and recline at table, but he tells the servant to serve him, then the servant gets to rest.  In the same way when we have done everything the LORD asks, we are only servants who are fulfilling our Master’s command.  This brief parable reminds us, while we are privileged to be Jesus’ friends and followers, we are also His servants.  He has the right to require us to do what He commands, and when we do, we don’t deserve His thanks, because we’re just doing what He deserves from us.

As Jesus and His followers travelled through Samaria on their way to Galilee. They met ten lepers. One was a Samaritan. They cried out for Jesus to heal them, and He did.  He told them to go the priest and offer the sacrifice for their healing.  As they were going one of them, the Samaritan, realized he was healed, and went back to thank Jesus.  Jesus looked around and asked, “Weren’t ten healed.  Where are the nine?”  It’s a great question.  Is ten percent the standard proportion of people who are grateful when God answers their prayers?  Gratitude is such a key attitude in our lives. When we remember everything good comes from God, it reminds us to say, “Thank You!”  We would think being healed of leprosy would be ample reason for anyone and everyone to be grateful. Also, it’s possible that all of the ten were grateful for their healing, but only one voiced the gratitude.  If that’s the case, Jesus wasn’t impressed by the “unvoiced” thanksgiving.

Luke 17 closes with Jesus responding to the Pharisees’ question of when the Kingdom of God was coming.  Jesus first said, the Kingdom of God doesn’t come visibly, but the Kingdom of God is within or among us.  Then He told His followers His return would be unexpected.  He compared it to the days of Noah.  In those days no one expected the flood to come and end life as they knew it.  They were marrying, and giving in marriage. Life was “normal.”  Then it wasn’t.  In the same way, Jesus will come when no one expects it.  The key is to be ready!

In Psalm 76, Asaph raises our “fear” of the LORD to a new level. Some claim the “fear” of the LORD is merely respect, or perhaps awe. It is those things, but here in this psalm, Asaph reminds us the fear of the LORD is fear and ought to be terror, because He can and does take on the armies of the earth. He is greater than any person and any group of people. He rules over Judah and Israel, and He alone is worthy of all worship and praise.

In Psalm 77, Asaph was going through a time of crying out to the LORD during a season of despair. Again, Asaph raises the question, “Why was the LORD with us in previous times, but not now?” Then He recalled the power of the LORD in Israel’s past, and calls on the LORD to show up in the same way again. Then he closes with the trust and assurance that the LORD will be with us now, as He was then.  This is such a crucial reminder, and we read it time and again in the psalms. As the old saying goes, “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s hard to remember your goal was to drain the swamp.” Even in moments such as that, the LORD is with us!

Psalm 78 is one of the longer psalms, and in it Asaph calls on the people of Judah to look back over their history.  The purpose of that stroll through memory lane, all the way back to the time when the LORD delivered His people from slavery in Egypt through the time when David became king is so they would remain faithful.  As Asaph pointed out: The LORD showed the people of Israel amazing miracles time after time, yet they didn’t follow Him.  They rebelled against Him over and over.  The fickle nature of human beings and the unchangeable nature of the LORD show us how important it is to trust in the LORD instead of in ourselves.

As we turn to Luke 16, we find Jesus telling one of the more challenging parables for us to understand.  It is frequently called the Parable of the Dishonest Steward.  As the parable unfolds, the main character is a steward who has misused his master’s funds. The master calls him to account.  The steward realizes he is going to be out on the street, so he calls all those who owe his master money, and cuts deals with them to settle the debts for far less than they owed.  Because the steward represented the master, the deals were legally binding.  We would think the master would be incredibly upset, but he affirmed the “shrewdness” of the steward.  By ingratiating himself to all his master’s debtors, the steward was ensuring himself a future job with one of them. Jesus was not affirming dishonesty.  He was affirming using “unrighteous wealth” to advance the Kingdom of God.  In another place, He told us to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves.  Jesus’ followers must not be naive, because we live in an evil world.

Next, Jesus underlined the reality we cannot serve two masters, and the chief rival to God in our lives will be money.  This reality is also presented in Matthew 6:19 and following.  Luke tells us the Pharisees were lovers of money, so they ridiculed Jesus for these sayings, but Jesus turned the matter on them and pointed out in the end His teaching was consistent with the Law, while theirs was not.

Jesus moved on to talk briefly about marriage and divorce.  As in Matthew and Mark’s gospels Jesus condemned divorce, but here He does it categorically and swiftly and moves on to other matters.

Luke 16 closes with the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.  The parable focuses once again on how we steward the blessings God entrusts to us.  The rich man in the parable lived a life of ease, while Lazarus was a poor beggar who begged outside the gates of the rich man’s house.  When both died, the beggar went to heaven, while the rich man went to hell.  Realizing the situation, the rich man attempted to get permission from Abraham (who was “holding” the poor man in his bosom), for Lazarus to bring him some water. Abraham pointed out this was impossible, because the chasm between heaven and hell is fixed and no one can cross.  Then the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus back to his brothers who were still alive so they would repent. Abraham responded they had Moses and the Prophets, and if that wasn’t enough to change their hearts, neither would a man coming back from the dead. That last statement may or may not be referring to Jesus who was going to be coming back from the dead.  It certainly makes clear the weight God’s written word is to have in convincing us of His salvation in our lives.  The “punchline” of this parable is to be rich toward God and others with the resources God entrusts to us, and not to use them only for ourselves.

Psalm 72 is interesting in that it is attributed to King Solomon, but at the end of it there’s a note that reads, “This concludes the Psalms of David, Son of Jesse.” The psalm itself is a “royal” psalm, and King Solomon calls on the LORD to bless the king, because of the king’s righteous actions toward his subjects. This is a longer psalm, and Solomon lists many aspects of how the king blesses others, as well as calling on the LORD to bless that obedience.

In Psalm 73, Asaph raises a poignant prayer to the LORD. Poignant because in the end, Asaph realizes the many blessings of the LORD, he realizes the LORD is always with him, and the LORD is always worthy of praise, but at the start he tells us “my foot had almost slipped.” What does that mean? It means Asaph had nearly abandoned his pursuit of the LORD. Why? Because he saw evil people prospering. Asaph wasn’t so concerned at the moment with why bad things happen to good people, but rather with why good things happen to bad people. Asaph wanted life to be fair and just. He wanted the good to be blessed and the evil to be cursed. It wasn’t working out that way, so he assumed a lack of faithfulness on the LORD’s part. In the end, he came around and realized the LORD’s goodness and faithfulness are beyond our understanding at times, but they are always sure. That’s such a helpful reminder for us when we are ranting about good things happening to bad people, and our getting the short end of the stick. In the end, the Lord’s holiness, justice, and mercy are always apportioned in a way that glorifies Him, and builds up His people.

In Psalm 74, Asaph calls on the LORD to deliver His people from their suffering. They were going through a time of great despair and devastation. Asaph forgets one important detail: they were suffering for their abandonment of the LORD and His Law. Yet Asaph calls on the LORD, “reminding” Him of His covenant and of how He had been with Israel in the past. Asaph calls on the LORD’s faithfulness and recognizes, He will deliver His people in the end.

In Psalm 75, Asaph’s tune has changed. He is extolling the virtues of the LORD and reminding us of all He has done. The LORD is God forever, and Asaph calls us all to remember that. As with every book of the Bible, we need to see one verse in light of the rest, then one chapter in light of the rest. We also need to see each book in light of the others. In this way, we let the Bible interpret the Bible rather than taking every statement or chapter, or book as an isolated offering. When we let the verses, chapters, and books stand alone, we can come up with some strange understandings of the LORD and His will, but when we gain an understanding of His written word as a whole, and then compare and contrast one part with another, each part becomes more understandable and the whole is seen as the integrated testimony to God it is.

As we turn to Luke 15, we turn to one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. In it Luke tells us the context first. Jesus had gathered with a group of tax collectors and other “sinners.”  Jesus did this often and it frustrated the religious leaders so much, because they would not associate with “those” people. Jesus showed us we are all “those” people, which means all people are sinners.  As Jesus gathered with the outcasts, the Pharisees gathered around, too.  By this time, they were always present, watching to see if they could catch Jesus in some word or action through which they could accuse Him.  Jesus tells us three parables about things which become lost: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.  In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells us about a shepherd who leaves his ninety-nine sheep in a field to go look for one lost sheep.  This is significant, because when the shepherd left the ninety-nine, there was great potential for them to wander off. Nevertheless, the value of the one was so great to the shepherd, he went and searched for it until he found it.  When he found the sheep, the celebration was out of all proportion to what had happened. He called all his friends and threw a party.  Then Jesus offered the punchline: ⁷I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:7 (NIV)  Remember the audience: “sinners” and Pharisees.  At the end of the story, some of the “sinners” would perhaps dare to hope Jesus was talking about them.  The Pharisees would be shaking their heads.

Next, Jesus told a story of a woman who had ten coins and lost one.  Just as the shepherd before her, she made a diligent search throughout her house until she found it. When she found it her response was again extravagant, as it was with the shepherd.  She called her friends and threw a party. Once again Jesus offered the punchline:¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10 (NIV)  By this time the “sinners” had to have been thinking, “He is telling these stories for us.”

Finally, Jesus told the story of a man who had two sons.  The younger came to the man and said, “Drop dead.”  Jesus doesn’t put it that dramatically, but the younger son wanted his share of the inheritance, which one only gets after one’s parents die.  In that culture such a request would have been so offensive the father would have cut the son off from the family.  Instead, the father gives the son the money.  He leaves and wastes it all on wild living.  When he is broke, his friends leave, because they weren’t really friends.  They were only there for the party the younger son provided.  He found himself feeding pigs, which for a Jew, was the lowest it gets.  As he was watching the pigs eat, while he starved, he “came to himself.”  In that moment of self-remembrance, he realized his father’s servants had more than enough to eat.  He had forfeited his right to be a son, but perhaps if he returned to his father, he would be given the position of servant.  He rehearsed his apology as he returned, but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and went running to him. (Note: The only way the father could have seen the son from a long way off, is if he were on top of his house watching the horizon for the son’s return.  Also, in that culture a father never ran to his son.  We would think especially not this son, who had told him to drop dead.)

As the son attempted to apologize, the father fell on his son’s neck, hugged him, kissed him, and then called for a robe to be brought, sandals, and a ring.  While these might seem like “nice” gifts to us, they were symbols of the son’s belonging as a son, not as a servant.  The father was reinstating him in full.  Then he killed the fattened calf and threw a party.  We might think, “Wow! Now the ‘sinners’ really know God loves them!” But there’s more.

The older son comes in from a hard day’s work in the field and asks one of the servants what is happening? One of the servants tell him his brother has come home and their father was throwing a party.  The older son was indignant.  Somehow the father heard about the son’s unwillingness to join the party and went out to him.  (No father in that culture went out to a son.  Spoiler alert: the older brother represents the Pharisees.) The older brother pitches a fit, and complains he had “slaved” all these years for his father, and not once did he even receive a goat to have a party with his friends, but this “son of yours” (not brother of mine) who wasted all your money on “prostitutes” (While that might have been the case, Jesus made no mention of it in telling of what the younger son did in the far country.  We would assume the older brother’s body had been in the field all those years, but his mind was with his brother.)  you throw him a party. The brother was right from a legal standpoint, but his father’s response goes far beyond what was right.

The father said, “Son, everything I have is yours.”  (This was literally true, because when the father divided his property between the two sons, the younger son would have received one third, and the older brother the other two. He was now the “owner” of his father’s property but in his mind, he was acting as a slave.) Then he got to the point: “We had to rejoice and be glad. This brother of yours (not son of mine) was lost, but has been found, was dead but is now alive” The story ends there.  We don’t know whether the older son went into the party.  We don’t know whether the younger brother got up the next day and went and worked in the fields with his brother.  Jesus left it that way on purpose.  The Pharisees had to realize they were the older brother.  The “sinners” had to realize they were the younger brother.  Now, they all had to choose whether to receive the truth and love of the father and respond accordingly.

Many times, when I have preached this passage of Scripture at the end I ask, “With which of the characters in the story do you identify most?” Typically, people will either say, “The older brother,” or “The younger brother.”  But there is another character: the father.  After fifty years of following Jesus, I still have plenty of both the older and young brother in me, but the one in the story with whom I identify the most is the father.  I have come to understand how important it is to welcome the younger brothers/sisters who return after coming to themselves.  I understand how important it is to implore the older brothers/sisters to remember their relationship to their other siblings, and to remember that those relationships are more important than what is right or fair.  By the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we become more and more like the father over time, and we are more and more able to speak the truth in love to folks whether they are “sinners” or Pharisees.  Many people have said to me, “What right do I have to tell someone else what to do, when I have sinned so often myself?”  We not only have a right to tell others what is right according to the LORD’s teaching, but an obligation. Otherwise, how will anyone learn what is true?  At the same time, we must offer the truth in love.  When we rail against the sin of others, but show no compassion, even though we are also sinners, people rightly reject our hypocrisy.  When we admit we are also sinners, who have fallen short of God’s glory, and show others that doesn’t excuse us from repenting, turning back to the LORD, and calling on Him for restoration, we give them the path they need to return.

It isn’t older brother or younger brother. Although when we recognize Jesus’ salvation was provided for both, we move closer to becoming like the father.  That is Jesus’ will for each of us, that we move from where we are whether we’re more like the older brother or more like the younger brother, and let the father’s truth and love transform us to being more like Him!