The Pharisees’ spies tried to entrap him, the Sadducees tried to refute him, but Jesus silenced them all. No one spoke but a lone scribe, a Bible scholar, saying, “Teacher, you have spoken well” (20:39). It’s heard as a compliment but given what Luke reveals about the murderous intentions of both the Pharisees and Sadducees, it’s hard not to question the man’s motives. Did he genuinely mean it? Perhaps. Or was the man’s compliment a kind of way to express his authority as a scribe, a compliment couched in self-regard? While we do not know for certain, I don’t think it is a coincidence that Jesus’ warning in our passage today is of this man and his kind. And what a warning it was!
Tag Archives: give generously
Live for God’s Glory
Such a thought can be daunting, but for those in Christ it should be liberating! Consider that by God’s grace through faith in Christ, you stand not in your own but the righteousness of Christ. Consider that all who are in Christ have been given the guarantee of his Spirit; we are in the presence of God, indeed. Consider that “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30). Therefore, remove the weight of your worry and cast off the cares of sin: give generously, work diligently, walk wisely, and trust willingly. Embrace the life God has given you, with its sunrises and dark nights, for the light of our life is the light of the world, and “in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
