“If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” (Lk. 16:31)
Jesus’ conclusion to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a bit strange—or so it might seem. If people could see God raise a dead person, wouldn’t they immediately believe in God? Jesus’ answer to that question is, “Only if they already listen to and obey the word of God.” In other words, miracles don’t convince people who have rejected God’s word; they only convince those who are already followers.
A psychologist could probably offer a theory about why we see in accord with what we believe and explain away things that don’t fit our preconceived assumptions and beliefs. As interesting as the theory of the mind might be, it is almost beside the point. Jesus isn’t offering a theory on the way the mind works; instead, he is making a statement about our relationship with God:
If you aren’t willing to obey God, then you won’t see what he is doing in this world.
In other words, the only way to have eyes that can see God is to bend the knee to him, first.
There is no promise implied that a faithful follower will always see miraculous activity. God often hides himself (especially as we grow more mature in the faith) to draw us onward in pursuit of him. He plays “hide and seek” with us in love, so that we might search for him. Jesus’ point isn’t to promise miracles, but instead simply that listening is the first step with God, and asking for God to prove himself without first obeying him is futile.
Each of us has places where we resist the voice of God. Grumbling, gossip, dishonesty, lust, despair, sloth, malice, hatred—none of us is immune to temptation, and all of us have places where we resist God’s voice. But Jesus’ statement should awaken our desire to listen to God with renewed zeal and to pray for the help of the Spirit in obedience. If we aren’t willing to follow, we shouldn’t expect to see God’s activity around us.
In Christ,
Steven+
Scripture Reflections
On Sunday, we heard the first part of Luke 15, which is one of the most beloved chapters in Luke’s Gospel. The three parables Jesus tells in that chapter (the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son) remind us of two profound truths: One, God never stops searching for those who are lost; and two, there is great joy in heaven when one sinner repents.
The backdrop to Jesus’ three parables is sometimes forgotten. The Pharisees were angry at Jesus for eating with notorious sinners—in their eyes, he was not valuing God’s holiness sufficiently (and therefore endangering Israel) when he ate with prostitutes and tax-collectors. He told them these stories to show that his meals with sinners were both God’s means of searching for the lost and also heaven’s celebration over them being found. The meals were double-edged moments: an evangelistic search and the ensuing celebration when someone repented.
By ending the story of the prodigal son with a feast that the older brother is refusing to join, Jesus is both challenging the Pharisees (they are the older brother, who never left God’s home) to enter the search AND inviting them to enjoy heaven’s celebration over each sinner who repents. But they weren’t interested in either invitation; they preferred their own “righteous” company.
(There is a lot more that could be said about this chapter! Those participating in the Bible studies on David might see interesting themes in the father-son-brother relationships. There is also the fascinating idea that eating is integral to evangelism. This would have been much more provocative to the Jews than it is to us, because of their food purity laws, but we should still realize that eating a meal with someone is a profound way to demonstrate love.)
Interesting ideas aside, there is a simple and clear challenge for us:
Do we eat with those who are far from God, or is it safer for us to stay in the company of the “already righteous”? Do we hold a celebration when someone comes to know God, or do we continue to look down on them because of their past?
The first two parables end with the declaration that heaven rejoices when a single sinner repents, and the third ends with an invitation to enter into that celebration. May we be a church that doesn’t give up on the sinner, but instead gladly joins both the search team and the heavenly celebration that follows.
In Christ,
Steven+
The Life of David
On the road to Emmaus, Jesus “opened” the Scriptures to two grieving disciples. Luke records the incident in chapter 24 of his gospel, and spends an inordinate amount of time and uses a very complex rhetorical arrangement to demonstrate the importance of this moment. Luke doesn’t want us to miss that all of Scripture is about Jesus and that all of Scripture demonstrates that the Messiah had to suffer to win victory.
This fall, we will be embarking on a Bible study on the life of David. (If you aren’t already in one of the groups, email Justin+ or Tori to get involved.) This study will be the perfect moment for seeing what Jesus meant (and what Luke didn’t want us to miss): all of Scripture is about the suffering Messiah!
David’s life is a type, a living picture, a foreshadowing of Jesus. He wasn’t perfect (in fact, his great sin with Bathsheba caused death and havoc in his family and kingdom and effectively ended his moral authority as a godly king), but in spite of his imperfections, God told a story through the details of David’s life that was far larger than David himself. In David’s life, God told the story of the Messiah—the story of an overlooked young man who delighted in the Father, was anointed for leadership, won a great victory by crushing the head of a the enemy of God’s people, endured persecution before claiming his kingdom, built a new Jerusalem for his people, and prepared the way for God’s temple to be among his people again. Over and over, we will see Jesus’ life in David’s, sometimes in subtle hints and sometimes in things too obvious to miss.
But if David’s life is a prefiguring of Jesus’, then it is also a prefiguring of ours. After all, we have been joined to Jesus and given his life. Whatever is his is now ours, and he called us to walk the same path he walked. In other words, as we study David, we will see ourselves, because we will see Jesus and we are a part of him.
Join one of the groups! I am looking forward to this study, and pray that it is a deep encouragement to all of us.
In the Messiah,
Steven+