Our great need is not a new word for a new age. God has spoken; the Word we have received is God-breathed. The Word we must preach is sufficient. And the Word to which we must remain faithful is the Word of grace that makes sinners wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, Church, receive the Word. Preacher, preach the Word. And until Christ appears and his kingdom is revealed in glory, let us remain faithful to the Word. Amen.
Tag Archives: God
Behold, Your King Comes
There are passages of Scripture so closely associated with a particular day on the church calendar that we struggle to hear them outside that setting. Our text is one of them. We hear of Jesus riding toward Jerusalem, the disciples spreading their cloaks, and the multitude praising God, and immediately we think of Palm Sunday. But today is an ordinary Lord’s Day in August, and this may help us hear the passage afresh.
What the Blind Man Saw
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.
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.
A Tale of Two Prayers
Our parable today is quite short, because prayer is never merely about the words we say. Prayer is an approach to God. It is a posture of the soul before the Lord of heaven and earth. Our parable involves two men, two prayers, and two postures. Two men in the right place, at the right time, doing what appears to be the right thing.
Persisting in Hopeful Prayer
If you wonder what our passage is about today, wonder no more. Luke tells us pointedly: “[Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (18:1). But in addition to knowing what this parable is about, we also ought to ask: Why is this here, in this specific place in Luke’s Gospel? What has happened up to this point that would lead Jesus to provide this parable?
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?
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?”
The Grace of Forgiveness
So, the question is not “Can I forgive?” but “Do I believe the gospel?” Do I believe that God has shown mercy to me? Do I believe that God has bestowed his grace upon me? It’s a matter of faith. And by this very same faith, we too can show mercy, bestow grace, forgiving as we have been forgiven. Such is the grace of forgiveness.
