Monday, October 7
Luke 4:1-8
The Testing of Jesus
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ”
Yesterday Pastor Paul talked about the relationship of Jesus to politics. Though Jesus never talked about politics or elections, he was very interested in what the world looked like. Just as political leaders are trying to shape the wider world, Jesus was trying to shape the world to look like the kingdom.
Jesus spoke often about the kingdom. The word, “kingdom” can be found 55 times in Matthew, 20 times in Mark, 43 times in Luke, and five times in John.
In this passage Jesus was being tempted by the devil. Jesus experienced three temptations. In this reading we looked at one temptation. The devil took Jesus to a high place and told him that Jesus would be the ruler off all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus bowed down to worship the devil.
The kingdoms could be thought of as the nations or territories in the world. The devil was offering Jesus the possibility of being the king of all these places.
The devil actually didn’t have the power to make Jesus the ruler of all of the kingdoms. The promise that the devil made was a false one.
The appeal to power didn’t have an effect on Jesus. Jesus was not willing to sacrifice his principles to be the leader of these kingdoms.
We might have had a moment in our own lives when we were tempted to sacrifice our own values to receive a gift or something that was attractive to us. These moments happen to every human.
Unfortunately, whether fairly or not, political leaders are thought of as people who will sacrifice their principles in order to receive power.
As you pray today, pray that our governmental leaders will stay true to their principles.
Tuesday, October 8
Luke 4:16-21
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
This Scripture has often been shared in this devotion. This is the story of the first sermon that Jesus shared at his hometown synagogue of Nazareth. The people to whom Jesus was preaching were people that he knew well. They also knew Jesus well also.
Jesus never used the word, “kingdom” in his sermon, but the principles that he shared were consistent with other places where Jesus taught about the kingdom.
Jesus made the claim that this Scripture—which was from Isaiah 61—was now fulfilled in him. Jesus represented the Kingdom to everyone who encountered him.
How surprising it must have been for the people in the synagogue to think that Jesus was going to fulfill the Kingdom. These people knew Jesus from when he was very young. They might not have expected that Jesus was going to be the one who would live out the values of the kingdom.
Surprise is part of our faith life. Do you have a time when you were surprised in your own faith life, that is you experienced something that was from God that you weren’t expecting? Please share.
Wednesday, October 9
Matthew 4:17
From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
This verse describes the main message of Jesus. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
This is the same message that John the Baptist shared a chapter earlier, see Matthew 3:2.
The point that was being made is Jesus was the Kingdom. He was bringing heaven into earth to share the teachings and principles of the Kingdom. Not only that he represented the Kingdom to others. Jesus was the Kingdom.
Immediately after Jesus shared this message, Jesus recruited people to join him in his task of communicating the Kingdom. Jesus recruited Peter, James and John to join him on his task. Later he recruited the other disciples.
What’s significant is that the kingdom is created in community. Creating the Kingdom is not a one-person task. Groups of people in community do this. We can deduce from this story the importance of the church in creating the Kingdom.
Have you ever had a time in the church when you felt that you were helping to create the Kingdom? Please share.
Thursday, October 10
Matthew 8:5-13
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will take their places at the banquet with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
In verse eleven Jesus was making a broad statement about who was invited to be in the Kingdom. “I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
The Kingdom that Jesus was creating was not just meant for the Jewish people. It was meant for everyone. It eventually would expand beyond the Jews to include others who were not Jews.
This expansion of the Kingdom is important for us to understand. The task of the Kingdom is always to invite everyone to join. It’s not meant for a select few. It’s meant for everyone—including people who have been excluded in the past for the Kingdom.
No matter what a person’s age, gender, racial composition, or sexual orientation that person is welcome to the Kingdom.
Jesus was not interested in excluding people from the Kingdom. He wanted to welcome people no matter how they were viewed by others.
What are your thoughts about this? Please share.
Friday, October 11
Matthew 25:31-46
The Judgment of the Nations
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”
Like Luke 4 this passage is very familiar to people who read this devotion. Jesus was sharing a vision of helping and serving those who were hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison. Jesus was making a statement about who was welcome into the Kingdom.
When Jesus lived it might have been easy for people to think that people who were hungry, or thirsty or sick or in prison weren’t welcome to the Kingdom. That the challenges that they experienced in life would preclude them from being invited to the Kingdom. In fact Jesus made the opposite claim. Those who lived on the margins were especially welcome to the Kingdom. When people served these people, they served Jesus.
Each of us has heard this passage so often, that the power of the story might be lost on it. Imagine how this affected the people who actually hear the story. The Kingdom was not made up of good and righteous people. It was made up of people who were struggling.
What are your thoughts about this passage. Please share.
Saturday, October 12
John 3:1-10
Nicodemus Visits Jesus
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above. ’The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Nicodemus was a respected Jewish leader who had this conversation with Jesus because he was curious about Jesus.
Jesus started out the conversation by saying “No one can see the Kingdom without being born from above.” John 3:3
Some people have translated the end of this verse to say born again.
Jesus was teaching many ideas in this story. One is that our faith is central to creating the Kingdom. When we are connected to God and following God we receive an energy or power to create the Kingdom.
Perhaps your prayer today can be, “Lord, thank you for telling Nicodemus about the kingdom. In my life today may I be an instrument of yours. Show me how to live out the kingdom.”