It is natural for children to want and need some sense of excitement, some frequent and varied stimulus. In normal human development, this becomes less important as we age toward adulthood. There comes a point when guidance is no longer necessary, and we can create our own sense of fun and adventure. We absorb experiences precisely so we may relive them internally. Without that input, children will rarely be motivated for long, and lose focus. In maturity, we carry the motivation and focus in our hearts in the form of commitment.
Faith grows in a similar fashion. It is first absorbed, and the fiery filling of God's Spirit burns the paths in our souls. After a time, we are obliged to recall on our own those moments, and recreate the powerful obedience those high moments granted us.
A particularly difficult task in keeping to the path of faith as we grow is forgiving others. The Jewish leaders were particularly infamous for holding grudges. They would tolerate the same error only three times from any one person. After that, they taught, it was no longer necessary to forgive. Jesus warned His disciples to prepare their hearts for a very high tolerance of human frailty, both in others and in themselves. The real danger is creating situations which exploit human frailty for personal gain. Someone who took that route deserved a horrific death, such as being drowned tied to a heavy weight.
It is no sin to rebuke someone who wrongs you. What you aim for is repentance as a desire, not performance. When Jesus said "seven times" each day, it was not lost on His disciples, nor Luke's reader, this was more than anyone would likely need. They knew this was a heavy demand. For them to forgive the same error without limit would require a lot more faith, a much stronger commitment.
Jesus replied to their request for more faith with a parable: The Mustard Seed. We know it was the smallest seed used for domestic agriculture, yet grew to quite a large bush, rather like a small tree. The point was to note if you had any faith at all, there was no limit to what it could do, particularly in the heart. If a wee bit of faith could make a tree obey an outrageous command, could it not do wonders in making us obey God?
God's demands are entirely just by definition. However so much He demands, it is only our duty. It is not possible to fulfill them, so we remain always in need of forgiveness ourselves. Since it is impossible to gain any merit, patience with others should come naturally. Be thankful when the Father allows you the power to obey more fully. Living in gratitude is the life of the Kingdom.
Luke gives the idea more flesh by recalling a moment when Jesus traveled along the border between Galilee and Samaria. At the entrance to one village, some lepers hailed Jesus from a distance. Lepers were required by custom and law to avoid healthy people, and to warn them away if they got too close. The only way to get Jesus' attention was to call from a distance, crying for mercy. They having enough faith to go that far, Jesus simply told them to obey the Law, by showing themselves to a priest who could declare them clean of the disease. They could then re-enter normal society. In faith, they obeyed. On the way, they realized they were cleansed, but only one felt seized by a duty to return thanks to Jesus. Significantly, it was the lone Samaritan in the group of ten who understood living gratefully. Jesus remarked the man was not only healed, but this life was made whole by such faith.
The idea a Samaritan could be included in the Kingdom raised other questions. The Pharisees taught the Messiah of necessity will come and declare Himself the new King of Israel, and set about making the Jews rulers of the earth. Some Pharisees asked Jesus when He was going to get started. His answer turned their question on its head. The Kingdom was not something men could see with their eyes. It would not be political, it would not require a revolution against Rome, nor even against the current Jewish political leadership. It was already present. Wherever Jesus was and taught, there was the nascent Kingdom of God. The Pharisees would never see it, unless they repented. Jesus intentionally used an ambiguous phrase about the Kingdom within them. Not only was it already there, but it could only be present inside a person. This sort of mystical thinking the Pharisees had dismissed two centuries before.
While on the subject, Jesus briefed His disciples on the topic, to disabuse them of other false expectations. First, they should not expect to see the Son of Man return to earth visually as ruler of all Creation. It would not come during their lifetime, so don't ever listen if someone says the Messiah has returned. It would be so obvious, no one breathing could miss it. At a minimum, there was some unfinished business at hand for Jesus, and that would include something very different from the typical expectation of the Messiah: He must be utterly rejected by His own nation.
Naturally, this raises the expectation God would punish those who rejected His Son. In the days of Noah, whose prophetic warnings were ignored, no one really expected any flood, but went about their daily lives until it was too late. Lot warned the Sodomites, too, but they came close to invading his house for daring to call their sin "sin." Instead, they partied into the night until destruction and death rained down from the sky. It wouldn't be any different for the Jewish nation on the day He finally revealed Himself as the Promised One. They'd reject Him. God's wrath would follow shortly thereafter.
When that rejection is finally too obvious to ignore, it will be time to leave Jerusalem. By the time Luke wrote this, many Christians had, indeed, left that city. However, the destruction had not yet fallen. Delaying like Lot's wife, caught by the storm of fire from the sky, would be foolish. She wanted too badly to keep her old life, and could not let it die. So she died instead. The timing would be neither logical nor convenient. It would be like the midnight arrest raid, or the early morning sweep when women grind corn, or soldiers riding up right in the heat of the day -- the Lord's hand of punishment would come and take the nation away.
The Twelve wondered where this awful thing would happen? The epigram was all too obvious for them. The Jewish nation was a dead man walking. When it finally collapsed in the last spasms of death, the carrion eaters would not be far away. This was a veiled reference to keeping an eye out for the arrival of soldiers. Rome allowed her soldiers some latitude in plundering when destroying a city. When a mass of Roman soldiers began moving, it was time to get out of their way.
We know in 68 AD, the tensions in Jerusalem became so high, a large portion of the Jewish leadership participated in a revolt. The next year, a large army from Rome fought several battles in Galilee. Some months later, Rome had crushed resistance and laid siege to Jerusalem. According to an early church scholar, at one point the siege was suspended rather briefly. The few remaining Christians in the city fled, and were spared when Titus lead his troops back to flatten Jerusalem.
Return to Luke Index
[<-- Previous]
[Next - ->]
By Ed Hurst
27 September 2008
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: People of honor need no copyright laws; they are only too happy to give credit where credit is due. Others will ignore copyright laws whenever they please. If you are of the latter, please note what Moses said about dishonorable behavior -- "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23)