Tag Luke

Godly Cleanliness

Todd R 2 Comments

Have you heard the phrase “cleanliness is next to godliness”?  The saying suggests that being physically clean is almost as important as being morally righteous before God.  Cleanliness is important from a physical health and hygiene perspective, but I don’t think there’s anything spiritual about it and in fact it might hurt us spiritually if we view it the wrong way.  Here’s why.

Our Lord Jesus met a lot of opposition during His time here on earth, much of it from the strictest sects of Judaism.  Often Jesus angrily cast aside as unimportant things that people like the Pharisees saw as absolutely essential to a relationship with God.  They didn’t like that.  One such example comes from Luke 11:37-41.

“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table.  The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner.  And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.  You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?  But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.”

Key to understanding this story is knowing that the Pharisees weren’t talking about simply washing your hands as you and I would before a meal.  They were referring to an elaborate washing ritual developed over centuries as part of a system they thought made someone presentable to God.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Here is a partial description of this ceremony: “water was poured on both hands, which must be free of anything covering them, such as gravel, mortar, etc. The hands were lifted up, so as to make the water run to the wrist, in order to ensure that the whole hand was washed, and that the water polluted by the hand did not again run down the fingers. Similarly, each hand was rubbed with the other (the fist), provided the hand that rubbed had been affused.”[1]  There were also requirements for how much water to use, and so on.  I recently learned that some still follow this practice today.

Jesus’ rebuke comes across differently when we know about this washing ritual.  Jesus isn’t angry because they were dirty and unsanitary; He was angry because the Pharisees were more concerned about appearing righteousness than they were with actually being righteous.  The Pharisees may have had cleaner hands than Jesus on the outside, but “inside you are full of greed and wickedness” He told them.

To a perfectly just God, any “greed and wickedness” requires judgement regardless of how clean your hands are, but the Pharisees thought their system could please God based on their works.  But as long as they believed in this system, the Pharisees would be unable to believe that the only way to be presentable before God is through the blood of Jesus shed for our sins.  When we accept Jesus, God does not view us as our sinful selves, but as He would His sinless Son.  No amount of ritual is needed beyond what Jesus already did.  Most of the Pharisees were blind to this truth.

This story in Luke also reminds me of Ex 37:2, “And [Bezalel] overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it.”  “It” – the ark – was completely overlaid with gold inside and out.  No surface was left uncovered, and I think the order of “inside and outside” was also important and intentional.  Bezalel probably covered the inside first and then covered the outside as a picture that holiness begins on the inside of God’s people and then flows through to holy living on the outside.  Not the other way around.

Only once we rid ourselves of all “greed and wickedness” on the inside, which only Christ can do, are we acceptable to God on either the inside or outside.  Fortunately for us, Christ did all that is needed to cleanse us of sin.  Even if our hands are dirty.

“But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.”

[1] Edersheim, Alfred.  The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (1886).  P. 482

Jesus’ Work Has Just Begun

Todd R 1 Comment

The book of Acts, sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles, follows the four gospels in the New Testament and tells the story of the Christian church in its very early days.  Luke, who wrote one of the gospels to “Theophilus”[1], is also the author of Acts, which he begins like this:

“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach.”

Note that word “began.”  Considering that the book of Luke ended with Jesus’ ascending into heaven[2], why does Luke write in Acts that Jesus “began to do and teach”?  Because what Jesus did before leaving earth was only the beginning.  Jesus’ activity in the gospels was only the start of His mission and story, and now He rules from the right hand of God the Father and continues to “do and teach” through His people by His Holy Spirit.  He will continue to do this for all eternity.

Therefore, Jesus is still personally active in the world.  Are you listening and learning through consistent prayer, Bible study and fellowship?  See what He will continue to “do and teach” through you and His church!

[1] Luke 1:3
[2] Luke 24:51

Surprising Answers to Prayer

Todd R 1 Comment

Jesus told many parables, often in response to situations or people He came across.  These parables are full of great lessons, but sometimes there’s also a lesson in the prelude to the parable.  One such example happens in Luke 12:13-15, which says:

“Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”   But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”  And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.””

Jesus goes on to tell the “parable of the rich fool,” who loses his soul because he only cares about worldly goods.  The parable is a lesson about coveting, greed and priorities, but I believe there’s also a broader lesson about prayer in the 3 verses above before the parable even starts.

We can put ourselves in the place of the “someone in the crowd,” who wants something, and brings it to Jesus.  Unlike him, we don’t meet Jesus physically on the street, but we come to Him in prayer all the time.  We want something and we pray about it.  When we pray, we often we want to get a particular answer, hopefully giving us what we want.

In the case of “someone” in the Luke 12 story, he wanted part of the family inheritance.  In our case, we could want any number of things like financial gain, an end to a societal problem, better governance from our leaders, success for our children or others, a safe business trip or vacation, etc.  God wants us to pray to Him about all things, and we do.  “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”  (1 Peter 5:6-7)

However, we often aren’t ready to listen to a different answer than the one we want.  In the story, Jesus didn’t respond to “someone” with a direct answer, but with an answer that challenged the attitude behind the question.  “You shall not covet”[1] is one of the Ten Commandments after all, and Jesus was letting “someone” know the condition of his heart was more important than the condition of his bank account.

God can respond to our prayers in the same way.  Instead of solving what we think is the problem, He may try to reveal to us a deeper problem we need to deal with.  But if we’re focused on the answer we want, we might miss the point He wants to make.  To God, our sanctification is more important than our gratification but often get that backwards.

When we pray for financial gain, God may respond by challenging our priorities, our diligence, our spending habits, etc.  In the Luke story, Jesus confronted the man’s covetousness.

When we pray for an end to societal problems, God may respond by telling us to care for a single mother[2], or support a homeless ministry, or volunteer at a food bank.

When we pray for better governance from our leaders, God may respond by telling us to control what we can control, by reminding us of His sovereignty, or by giving us practical means to work on the problems we want the politicians to solve, but on a smaller scale.

And so on.  Sometimes we do get what we ask for in prayer, but sometimes God will use prayer to do what He promises to do: make us more like Jesus.  Again, our sanctification is more important than our gratification, but sometimes we miss the point because we’re focused on our needs.

It’s ok to bring all of our needs and concerns to God in prayer, and sometimes we get what we want. However, don’t be surprised if He responds in surprising ways, but how?  He can speak to us any way He chooses, but in my experience, He usually points things out in His word, through our circumstances, and through other believers.

Listen and be open to His answers.  No matter what they might be.

“The majority of us begin with the bigger problems outside and forget the one inside.  A man has to learn ‘the plague of his own heart’ before his own problems can be solved” – Oswald Chambers

“The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart.” – Warren Wiersbe

[1] Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21
[2] James 1:27

Jesus is the Best Fisherman

Todd R 1 Comment

During His life on earth, Jesus called 12 men to special positions as His disciples or apostles.  Out of these 12, at least 4 and possibly 7, were fishermen, a common trade at that time.  The gospels have many fishing stories, including one in Luke 5 when Jesus is about to call His first disciples.

One morning after Simon Peter and some other fishermen had been working all night without catching anything, Jesus decided to preach from Simon’s boat to the crowd that was following Him.  After teaching, Jesus told Simon: “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”[1]  Simon answered: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”[2]

Simon ended up obeying, but not before objecting: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!”  Some questions may have gone through Simon’s mind: Did this travelling rabbi just tell me how to do my job?  Nighttime was the best time for fishing, and they caught nothing, so why did He tell them to try again?  Maybe Jesus, as a non-professional, didn’t know that?  Maybe he felt like “I’m the expert here!”

However, Jesus knew what He was doing because when they obeyed, “they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.”  There were so many fish that, they “filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”[3]

One lesson of this story is that Jesus can perform miracles by controlling nature.  Another is that Jesus had an unlimited ability to help Simon and the others do their jobs!  And if Jesus was better than professional fisherman at fishing, what does that mean for other jobs?  Jesus always knows better than we do about any job!

So, whether you’ve had a productive day, or you feel like you’ve “toiled all night and took nothing” don’t hesitate to ask Jesus for career advice! As Simon (later known as Peter) wrote in his own letter, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:6-7

[1] Luke 5:4b
[2] Luke 5:5
[3] Luke 5:6-7

Of Love and Forgiveness

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers,

Have you known Christians who love well?  Not ones who know the Bible well, or who know all the right doctrines, or who are involved in many church activities.  Not even a person who writes (or reads) a great blog.  These are not bad things, and they may help someone become more loving, but they aren’t the same thing as being a person who loves as Christ loved.  Who loves well.

Not everyone like this gets there the same way, but Jesus mentioned at least one specific way: the more we know how great God’s forgiveness for us is, the greater is our love.

This comes from Luke chapter 7, in the story about “a woman of the city, who was a sinner.”  This woman broke an expensive flask of ointment over Jesus’s feet, then wiped the ointment on His feet with her hair and tears.  What a bold statement of devotion to Jesus she made!

However, Jesus was criticized by a Pharisee for not refusing this act of worship: “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”[1]  To the Pharisee, an upright, respectable religious person should have nothing to do with this sinful woman.

In response, Jesus tells a parable about a man who was forgiven a very large debt, and therefore loved the one who forgave him more than another man did who was forgiven a smaller debt.  Jesus contrasts the actions of the Pharisee – who didn’t treat Jesus with nearly as much honor as the “sinner” – with the woman, and says: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

We don’t know much for sure about this woman’s sins, but we know the Pharisee was aware of them and hated her for it.  He thought her sins were worse than others and should exclude her from any social interactions.  We also know that she was aware of how great her sin was, but she also knew that Jesus loved and forgave her anyway, even though her sin was great.  Jesus tells us her devotion is proof of that.

This story shows us that those with “checkered” pasts, full of sin, pain, and suffering, can become the most passionate believers, as they know what the gospel is capable of overcoming first-hand, in themselves and in others.  Jesus and his early followers went to these outcast people, and the faith of that first generation of Christians changed the world forever!

So, who is willing and able to reach out to sinners in the same way God reached out to them in Christ?  Those who have a very real sense of how great are the sins God that has forgiven them. Often the greatest “sinners” are the ones who learn how to love well.

[1] Luke 7:37-39