Over in the gospel, when Jesus says “how can a blind man lead a blind man”, he’s talking to you and me! ‘Cos how often do we do just that? That’s why, as Jesus says, we should listen to the teachers/mentors in our lives and not presume we know better than they do. Humility is the beginning of wisdom!
Ask yourself, who are other people in your life? Is there someone at school, at work, in your street, or on your sporting team that you haven’t spoken with before? When you treat others as you would want to be treated, it becomes a lot easier to not judge or condemn others, to forgive others and to love your enemies.
There are two comparisons Luke wants us to make. Firstly that, in God’s kind of history, it is not the movers and shakers of the earth who are the main characters. The Spirit moves where He wills and builds His kingdom with those who are most receptive to His Word, notably not the emperor called ‘a god’, nor the high priest sitting on the chair of Moses.
The parable of the fig tree within this particular Gospel further highlights that it is in fact the small things that guide us to the greater truth; the greater victory; the greater life. Tree’s are like the big events of this world- they consume a lot of ground, and are so easily generalised that it’s hard to tell what season it is just by observing from afar. But when we take a closer look, it is through observing the leaves of the tree and their sprouts- the small parts- that reveal to us what season it is, and what season is coming. Similarly, when we focus on Christ alone as the centre of all things- not just the big- and abide by his words of truth and his simple, humble way of life, we will no longer find ourselves distracted and consumed by mainstream events of this world.
The One True King is indescribable. I know there are still so many parts of my own life that I haven’t yet allowed Jesus to be the King of. Today. I encourage you to examine your heart. To find the places where you have tried to lead. Where you have tried to be the king of your own heart or allowed the idols of this world to become that for you. And then, take his hand and allow Him to lead you to fullness.
Over and over again, Jesus points to his passion and death as the natural road to his Messiahship, and many times his disciples have failed to understand him through that lens as the Messiah who will have to die. The point is that we cannot understand Jesus and his mission apart from his passion and resurrection. His sacrifice on the cross becomes the ultimate sacrifice of all time, doing away the sacrifice of bulls and calves offered yearly that couldn’t take away sins forever. The animal sacrifices were only a reminder of people’s sins.
Jesus saw the rich and fancy leaders of the day giving very generously out of their wealth to the Temple. A single donation from one of them was big money with lots of potential for good – perhaps it fed many poor families for a whole year. Yet, Jesus doesn’t praise them- he actually condemns them and their ‘smart business tactics’ that actually suck the money right out of the same poor people they’re now claiming to help.
We are created to love and to live in love. God is love, and anyone who lives in love lives in God. The flow happening between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is the flow of love. This love is expressed in the Genesis poem; let us make man in our own image and likeness; an expression of love seeking to overflow. Humanity became the result of that overflow of love. No wonder God’s love for us is unconditional… we are born out of love.
