Luke 13:10-35 12-16-12 A.M.
Instead of their being dressed in readiness, with their lamps alight, (Lk. 12:35), they were Spiritually undressed, and unenlightened as to the day of the Lord. Instead of being alert and living as a watchful people, (Lk. 12:37) they were totally unprepared for the Son of Man to appear. Instead of finding Israel already kindled, ready to obey (Lk. 12:47) they were unfaithful and incapable of understanding the VERY evident forecast (Lk. 12:57), that Judgment was about to begin.
My Jesus commanded His disciples to be fruitful, righteous, fully prepared for the Harvest of the Lord (Lk. 13:1-9).
The last will be first and the first who will be last."
10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And behold, there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12 And when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness." 13 And He laid His hands upon her; and immediately she was made erect again, and {began} glorifying God.
apoluo (ap-ol-oo'-o); which means to free fully, i.e. (literally) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexively, depart).
Shackled by a heavy burden 'Neath a load of guilt and shame Then the hand of Jesus touched me Now I am no longer the same. He touched me, oh He touched me And oh the joy that floods my soul Something happened and now I know He touched me and made me whole.
The synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, {began} saying to the multitude in response, "There are six days in which work should be done; therefore come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day!"
"You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to water {him?} 16 "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?" (Luke 13:15-16).
17 And as He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Jesus.
18 "What is the Kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19 "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree; and the birds of the air nested in its branches."
MAIN IDEA While many of the Jews had refused to accept Jesus as God s Son, and would even have preferred a messianic overthrow of the Roman oppressors and a restoration of David's throne; Jesus came to establish a Spiritual Kingdom, made up of ALL the Faithful.
20 And again He said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? 21 "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened."
MAIN IDEA -Just as a small amount of yeast may leaven a large amount of flour, so the Teachings of the Kingdom will rise and fill the world. Again, it s about Small beginnings, Large endings, AND the perpetuation of Christ s powerful and inevitable establishment of the Kingdom of God. What Jesus has begun here, not even the gates of Hell can stop (Mt 16:18). The question is are we ready to receive this?
{As} Jesus was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23 someone said to Him, Lord, are there {just} a few who are being saved? And He said to them, 24 Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, 'Lord, open up to us!' then He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know where you are from.
The narrow door analogy, indicates the answer to the man s inquiry is essentially : YES, only a few will be saved. Does that shock you?
Matt 7:13-14 - Enter through the narrow gate (JESUS). For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road (JESUS) that leads to life, and only a few find it
When John the Baptist introduced Jesus as the Messiah, He referred to the prophecy of Isaiah, which spoke of Israel s salvation (Luke 3:6, citing Isaiah 40:5). In the mind of the Israelite, when it came to salvation= they had a lock.
Is Jesus saying here that one must WORK to ENTER INTO SALVATION?
YES!
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience (NASB).
(1) Jesus is speaking to Israelites about entering the Kingdom (which is His church).
(1) Jesus is speaking to Israelites about entering His Kingdom (which is His future and nearly present church. See Acts 2:36,39 ). (2) It s ALL about STRIVING to please God.
In Greek : agonizomai (ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee); to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or genitive case (to endeavor to accomplish something).
Grace Gold and Glory, My Leap of Faith, in which she describes many of the struggles and obstacles she had to overcome to achieve her goal of two gold medals. Abandoned by her father, at certain times homeless, a victim of racism in her sport, Gabby strove to enter the Olympics of 2012 and her hard work paid off
Jesus point is that ALL men (Jew or Greek) must enter His Kingdom through a particular door (or gate). [Jn. 10:7& 9] The WAY to Heaven is not through linage, but through obedient faith in Christ Jn. 14:6 I AM THE WAY no man comes to Father except through ME.
Ever since Pentecost; Only those who have obeyed Christ s teachings (have been clothed [IE. baptized] in Christ) will be saved - Gal. 3:26-29.
26 "Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets'; 27 and He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.' 28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but yourselves being cast out.
29 And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline {at the table} in the Kingdom of God. 30 "And behold, {some} are last who will be first and {some} are first who will be last.
Jesus says here, that someday these Hypocritical leaders and all those who refuse to accept Him as Messiah [ in His own day] will See (metaphorically) that they too COULD have been obedient [and thus saved] if they too had faithfully interpreted the prophets as did Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (v. 28), and recognized Jesus as Lord!
He says, they (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) will be IN HEAVEN, but you yourselves will be cast out. (Last week, cut down. ) IE. Hell!
1 Cor. 9:24 - Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but {only} one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. [A STRIVING WAY] Gal 5:7 - You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?
Luke 13:30 - "And behold, {some} are last who will be first and {some} are first who will be last." He means the Gentiles BUT He also means the humbled. He also means the penitent, and the obedient. He also means those who VALUED the gold, and strove to enter the narrow gate that leads to Heaven- FAITHFULLY.
Dressed in readiness, with your lamp alight? Alert and living prepared for the Son of Man? Kindled, ready to obey? Do you understand the forecast? Do you understand that after this lifeyour Judgment will come? And ONLY those who have obeyed Jesus will be saved!
ONLY THOSE who strive to enter His Kingdom, and who obey His will, and who humbly choose to be last, or the least in His Kingdom (that Christ may be first (Lk. 13:30), will be saved. Will you be one of the saved?
Every Summer, the City of Tallahassee Parks & Recreation offers an eight week Track Series for kids 5-12. Races take place every Thursday night at Maclay Elementary School. The program is FREE and open to children of all ability levels. Every Thursday night my two children, Maria age 9 and Billy age 7 and I would head over to the school track where dozens of children would congregate ready to compete.
On the last night of the program, they called Maria s age group to the track once again for their final race. On the way to the starting line I saw her brother Billy pull her aside for a last minute pep talk.
In agreement, all of the other 9 year olds had stopped their race just a foot or so short of the finish line. They each waited as Maria reached them. Maria stopped as well. Smiling, the children all joined hands and crossed the finish line together.
I hope that as my children grow older they will continue to cheer each other on and that they always know that no matter how challenging the race may become or how well they do, they have a loving family standing at the finish line to receive them.
I hope that as GOD S children grow older we will continue to cheer each other on and that we will always know that no matter how challenging the race may become, we too have a loving family standing at the finish line to receive us. And waiting to hug us is OUR BROTHER' AND SAVIOR-= Jesus Christ!