We often use the language of sight to describe understanding. When something finally becomes clear, we say, “Now I see.” Conversely, we may have perfectly healthy eyes and still fail to perceive what is directly before us. Such is the irony of our passage: a blind man sees what many with sight cannot.
Tag Archives: Christianity
For the Sake of the Kingdom
There are certain moments in the Christian life when obedience feels costly. You may never say it out loud. No one else may even notice. But you do. Perhaps it’s what you have given up, what you have walked away from, what you could have pursued, what you might have gained, what you would have enjoyed had you not been following Christ: a friendship strained because you would not compromise, a career path narrowed because you would not sacrifice your conscience, a family tension endured because you belong to Christ, a reputation slighted because you would rather be faithful than admired, a comfort denied, a desire mortified, a sin forsaken, a future surrendered. And in such moments, if we are honest, we may find ourselves with Peter, in a kind of weary honesty, naming what we have left for Christ: “See, we have left our homes and followed you” (Luke 18:28).
To Such Belongs the Kingdom
One of the key principles of faithful Bible reading is that context informs interpretation. It is a dangerous thing to extract a verse from its setting and make it say what we want it to say, rather than what God has actually said. And few verses have suffered more sentimental misuse than the words of our Lord in this passage: “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). These words are beautiful and encouraging. Our Savior welcomes little children brought to him and rebukes those who would keep them away. He is not inconvenienced by the weak, the small, the needy, or the overlooked.
But here is the caution: We must guard against using or welcoming this verse as a child-centered mantra that distorts its proper use in its original context. Children are not the ultimate theme of this passage. Grace is.
Behold the Triune God
I want to begin with a question: Why would the eternal and sinless Son of God stand in line with sinners and submit to a baptism associated with repentance? Did he need to repent? Of course not, he was without sin from conception to the grave. Then, why?
The Spirit Poured Out
What happened at Pentecost, as recorded in the second chapter of Acts? Clearly it was a unique event, tongues of fire, rushing wind, the miraculous gift of languages. It was sudden, Luke says,[2] but what happened on that day did not come out of nowhere. When the crowd stood bewildered at the sound of the apostles declaring the mighty works of God in many languages, Peter corrected their misconceptions and pointed them back to the Scriptures, saying, “this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16). What was witnessed in that moment was not merely a curiosity nor chaos, but a prophesied promise fulfilled.
When He Ascended on High
Among the great events of redemption, the ascension of Jesus Christ is often overlooked. We rightly glory in the incarnation, marvel at the cross, and rejoice in the resurrection. But the ascension can seem merely transitional, like a quiet epilogue, as though Jesus simply went away. Yet the New Testament presents the ascension not as Christ’s disappearance but as his coronation. The ascension is the public enthronement of the crucified and risen Son of God. It is the declaration that Jesus Christ reigns.
Already, Not Yet, and Suddenly
At some point in his onward journey to Jerusalem, the Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God will come. It’s a question that seems out of context, given the preceding passages. But it is important to remember that Luke’s placement of this question follows Jesus’s miraculously healing of ten lepers, an event surely to have caused attention and drawn curiosity. Miracles didn’t happen every day, or any day. But everywhere Jesus went, preached, and ministered, there was miracle after miracle, including ten in one day. And this was sure to lead some to wonder if Zephaniah’s prophesied “day of the Lord” (Zeph. 3) was soon to come, when Israel’s Messiah would come and establish his kingdom forever. And so, the Pharisees ask, “When will the kingdom come?”
Faith Alone Is Never Alone
Is there outward evidence of your Christian faith? Or is faith a private matter kept quietly between you and God? Whether quiet or not, the Apostle James asks, “What good is it . . . if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (Jas. 2:14). Of course, James is not disparaging faith by asking, “What good is it?” Rather, his rhetorical intention is to connect the dots between faith and the practical outflow of it, that is, works. In other words, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:17). James’s argument does not deny that we are justified as righteous through faith alone in Christ alone. Rather, faith alone is never alone. It proves itself true through fruit. No fruit, no faith.
Irresistible Grace
One of the key tenets of faithful Bible reading and study is: Context informs interpretation. It is a dangerous thing to extract verses out of context and form opinions in isolation. The result may be as innocent as a momentary misunderstanding or as catastrophic as leading the innocent astray. I am reminded of a man I knew who claimed he could make the Bible say whatever he wanted, plucking verses here and there to support his biases and often his pleasures. Let us not be guilty of the same.
Christ’s Conquest Confirmed and Announced
So consequential is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to the Christian faith that the Apostle Paul says that were it not true, then we have believed a lie, our faith is worthless, we should be pitied, and we remain condemned in our sins, eternally unforgiven.[2] If the gospel is good news, absent the resurrection, it’s the worst news ever. “But in fact,” Paul goes on to say, “Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20), a witnessed fact in history and a glorious testimony to the power of God.
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 