Anointed

Luke 7:36-7:50

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Happy resurrection Sunday!

Today I am going to look at the last part of Luke 7, but I am also going to talk about the reason for this holiday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Our passage from Luke is really all about love. I want you to imagine a modern wedding. Suppose the wedding includes a place where the future bride and groom tell each other how they feel about each other. The groom goes first, and says, “I am so glad that you are marrying me. You are perfect for me. You don’t have any of the weaknesses that I find so annoying in most people, and you help make me look good. You are one of the most interesting people I have ever met, and I love how you enjoy hearing me talk. I love how you agree with me all the time, and I love how I never have to give in to you. We look beautiful together, and once you marry me, the world will admire us and be envious.”

Compare this with another wedding, and another speech. This time the groom says, “I love you. You are so wonderful, so patient, so loving, so caring. I don’t deserve you. The fact that you love me is amazing, because you love me as I am, despite my imperfections, my failings, my sins. You are the most forgiving person I have ever met. One thing that is wondrous to me is that your unconditional love has this way of pulling me along to grow to become more than I currently am. If you will marry me, I will strive to serve you, to put to death the parts of me that are selfish and prideful. You are beautiful, on the inside and out, and if the world is envious of me, it will only be because you are my wife.”

The One to Come

Luke 7:11-7:35

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and His disciples and a large crowd went along with Him. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, "Don't cry." – Luke 7:11-13

As we have seen in the past few weeks, as we have been going through Luke, Jesus has been healing people and drawing quite a large following. Now we see that a large crowd is following Him even as He goes from town to town. Can you picture the situation? You have Jesus and His disciples, but you also have a large group of people so curious about Jesus that they are just going with Him, trying to hear every word He says, watching Him, studying Him… Frankly, I would find this creepy! Wouldn’t you feel uncomfortable? I think we all would because we all know that we are undeserving of such attention. But Jesus was deserving of this attention. And although, as we see in other places in the gospels, the disciples may have felt uncomfortable, Jesus felt at home with this because He loved people.

And so as the crowd with Jesus enters the town of Nain, they come before another crowd – this one, a crowd of mourners. They had come face to face with a funeral procession.

Faith Healing?

Luke 6:39-7:10

Have you ever had the experience when you are talking to someone, maybe to get information about a purchase, when you realize that you know more than they do? How does it feel at that moment you make this realization? For me, there inside my head the exclamation “Oh…” which is short for “How do I get out of this conversation as quickly as possible without looking rude? Where else can I go to find someone who is actually knowledgeable?”

About a month ago someone left a message on my answering machine at work explaining that he wanted me to do some research for him. So far, it sounded good. Then he went on to explain that it involved the working out of the last details of a perpetual motion machine. “Oh…” The more he talked the more the voice inside my head said “Oh…” until by the end I wondered if I was safe or maybe needed to call the guys in white coats.

To one degree or another, we all have had experiences like this. But what if we are following the advice of someone like this but don’t realize that this is an “Oh…” person? How messed up can we get by allowing ourselves to be informed by those who don’t have a clue? What happens if we listen to such advice for weeks, months, or years? It’s not a comforting thought.

Love vs. Judgement

Luke 6:27-6:38
Dedicated to Larry Norman

Beginning last week, we have been exploring Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain,” as one commentator calls it. Jesus’ began his teaching with a series of blessings and woes. They were almost the complete opposite of what the world teaches. Blessed are the rich? No, blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Woe to the rich, for they have already received their comfort. Blessed are those who can eat anything they want? No, blessed are the hungry, for they will be satisfied. Woe to those who are well-fed now, for they will go hungry. Blessed are those who laugh? No, blessed are those who weep, for they will laugh. Woe to those who laugh, for they will weep. Blessed are those whom others speak well of? No, blessed are those who are hated, excluded, and insulted because of their faith in Jesus, for that is how they treated the prophets. Woe to those who are well-liked, because that is how they treated the false prophets.

And following these general sayings that turn the world’s wisdom upside down comes this:

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. – Luke 6:27-28

How does this square with the wisdom of the world? Upside down! You don’t love your enemies, you destroy them! Who are you supposed to love? Your family and friends! Love those who love you. Treat them right so you keep their love.