Looking for Jesus according to Luke

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41) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 15:


“Now his older son was in the field, and as he returned and got near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants to him and asked what was happening. He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father slaughtered the fattened calf because he got him back in good health.’ But he became angry and refused to go in. Then his father came out and began to plead with him. In reply he said to his father, ‘Look! These many years I have slaved for you and never once did I disobey your orders, and yet you never once gave me a young goat to enjoy with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours arrived who squandered your belongings with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ Then he said to him, ‘My son, you have always been with me, and all the things that are mine are yours. But we just had to celebrate and rejoice, for your brother was dead but has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”


- Let’s think about the Israelites!


- Because of Abraham, God made a covenant with them!

- He freed them from Egypt!


- They were to receive a promised land!


- They kept going away from him so many times and all the time!


- And he waited and waited for them to come back!


- But they didn’t care!


- Every time he would strike them, they would come back and as soon as possible they would turn their back from him!


- And it was the same with the Jews!


- When Daniel prayed to God about the restoration of Jerusalem, God answered him by speaking about the reconstruction of Jerusalem followed by its destruction!


- We can say the same with mankind!


- It is the same repetition!

 

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42) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 16:




- Then he also said to the disciples: “A rich man had a steward who was accused of handling his goods wastefully. So he called him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Hand in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer manage the house.’ Then the steward said to himself, ‘What am I to do, seeing that my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. Ah! I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship, people will welcome me into their homes.’ And calling to him each one of his master’s debtors, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take back your written agreement and sit down and quickly write 50.’ Next, he said to another one, ‘Now you, how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred large measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take back your written agreement and write 80.’ And his master commended the steward, though unrighteous, because he acted with practical wisdom; for the sons of this system of things are wiser in a practical way toward their own generation than the sons of the light are.

- Yes, the sons of this system of things are wiser in a practical way toward their own generation than the sons of the light are!




- You see the sons of this system of things are not the sons of the light!




- They are tricky!




- They are not what they may seem to be!




- They don’t care about righteousness!




- On the contrary, they like unrighteousness!




- They can’t live without it!




- They will never look like Jesus!

 

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43) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 16:


- “Also, I say to you: Make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous riches, so that when such fail, they may receive you into the everlasting dwelling places. The person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much. Therefore, if you have not proved yourselves faithful in connection with the unrighteous riches, who will entrust you with what is true? And if you have not proved yourselves faithful in connection with what belongs to another, who will give you something for yourselves?


- It is something we should always remember but we often forget it!


- And it means problems!


- It is always necessary to be careful with human beings!


- Especially in the modern society we live in!


- And every time things are going worse!


- But it is the same when parents have children!


- it is the same when we have animals!

 

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44) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 16:


- No servant can be a slave to two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves to God and to Riches.”


- Yes, it is not possible to serve two masters!


- We can’t serve God and this world at the same time!


- Of course, we need to live!


- But we must choose whom we want to serve!


- This world belongs to the devil!


- When Jesus comes back, he will destroy this world and those who belong to it!


- Apparently, it is not evident for many!


- But they won’t be any surprise!


- Remember what Jesus says about some: I don’t know you!

 

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45) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 16:


- Now the Pharisees, who were money lovers, were listening to all these things, and they began to sneer at him. So he said to them: “You are those who declare yourselves righteous before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is considered exalted by men is a disgusting thing in God’s sight.


- Yes, they were money lovers so it is easy to understand why they refused to listen to Jesus!


- Money lovers belong to this world!


- They don’t need anything else!

- Yes, God knows their hearts!


- Yes, it is a disgusting thing for God!


- Difficult to forget such words!


- It is easy to understand what it means!


- We remember the difference between a camel and a wealthy man!

 

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46) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 16:


- “The Law and the Prophets were until John. From then on, the Kingdom of God is being declared as good news, and every sort of person is pressing forward toward it. Indeed, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to go unfulfilled. “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.


- The Law was for the Israelites and the Jews but they proved unable to follow it!


- They had their promised land and they lost everything!


- the Christians have the good news and another promised land and a new world!


- Will the majority of them do like the Israelites and the Jews and lose everything?


- When I see and listen to what happens everywhere in the world, the same history keeps repeating again and again!


- And God is patient but there is a limit to his patience!

 

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47) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 16:


- “There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and linen, enjoying himself day after day with magnificence. But a beggar named Lazarus used to be put at his gate, covered with ulcers and desiring to be filled with the things dropping from the table of the rich man. Yes, even the dogs would come and lick his ulcers. Now in the course of time, the beggar died and was carried off by the angels to Abraham’s side. “Also, the rich man died and was buried. And in the Grave he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and he saw Abraham from afar and Lazarus by his side. So he called and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this blazing fire.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you had your fill of good things in your lifetime, but Lazarus for his part received bad things. Now, however, he is being comforted here, but you are in anguish. And besides all these things, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to go over from here to you cannot, neither may people cross over from there to us.’ Then he said, ‘That being so, I ask you, father, to send him to the house of my father, for I have five brothers, in order that he may give them a thorough witness so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to these.’ Then he said, ‘No, indeed, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”


- What a true and hard parable!


- When people are young, they don’t think about getting old!


- When they are old, that’s another story!


- When people are alive, they don’t really care about death!


- When you believe in God, do you make treasure in heaven so when time comes, Jesus will remember you?


- If you don’t do anything or just what religion asks you to do, will Jesus remember you when he comes?


- Or will he say I don’t know you, go away from me?

 

[JLGJLG]

48) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 17:


- Then he said to his disciples: “It is unavoidable that causes for stumbling should come. Nevertheless, woe to the one through whom they come! It would be more advantageous for him if a millstone were hung from his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to stumble one of these little ones.


- When we speak about God’s word, we must be careful!


- Because if we are wrong and people think we are right, we send them in the wrong direction!


- We can make mistakes, everybody can make mistakes!


- What’s important is when it comes from the heart!


- And we must ask God for help to understand his word!


- But everybody must check what others say again and again!


- When we are babies, we drink milk!


- Then we eat solid food!


- We can’t keep on milk!


- It is the same for our brains, we need to grow and look for answers!

 

[JLGJLG]

49) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 17:


- Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother commits a sin, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins seven times a day against you and he comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”


- We can say things!


- But it takes time!


- When time is precious, we have to make a choice!

- We can repeat the same things regularly!


- We must decide what is most important!


- It is always a question of time!


- It is important to help people!


- But we can’t help everybody!


- People must also be conscious that they need help!


- And they need to make an effort!


- Otherwise it is good for nothing!


- And there is a lot to do!

 

[JLGJLG]

50) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 17:


- Now the apostles said to the Lord: “Give us more faith.”


- God and Jesus don’t need disciples who ask for more faith!


- We must develop our own faith by reading and studying the Bible!


- And apply what we learn!


- to get into our brains and hearts!


- We must live our faith!


- It must grow naturally!


- Otherwise it is dead!


- It doesn’t mean it has to be perfect all the time!


- But we must keep on building it up!


- It must be a strength which moves us to action not to spiritual apathy!

 

[JLGJLG]

51) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 17:


- Then the Lord said: “If you had faith the size of a mustard grain, you would say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea!’ and it would obey you.


- Jesus gave the possibility to his apostles to make miracles!


- He taught them daily and personally!


- Yet they couldn’t understand him till his death!


- And he taught them progressively!


- Thus we may keep questioning our degree of faith!


- It must be alive otherwise it may die!


- We need to build it up!

 

[JLGJLG]

52) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 17:

- “Which one of you who has a slave plowing or shepherding would say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come here at once and dine at the table’? Rather, will he not say to him, ‘Get something ready for me to have my evening meal, and put on an apron and serve me until I finish eating and drinking, and afterward you can eat and drink’? He will not feel gratitude to the slave because he did what was assigned, will he? Likewise, when you have done all the things assigned to you, say: ‘We are good-for-nothing slaves. What we have done is what we ought to have done.’”


- We are good-for-nothing slaves!


- So how do you call those who don’t do anything!


- Dead ones!


- America is a country with many natural catastrophes!


- If we take the example of Florida, there are:


- Tropical storms!

- Hurricanes!

- Tornadoes!

- Wildfires!

- Floods!

- But usually people are told and they prepare for what comes!

- Those who don’t do anything are crazy if they don’t do anything to save their lives!

 

[JLGJLG]

53) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 17:


- While he was going to Jerusalem, he was passing between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him, but they stood at a distance. And they raised their voices and said: “Jesus, Instructor, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them: “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Then as they were going off, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. And he fell facedown at Jesus’ feet, thanking him. Furthermore, he was a Samaritan. In reply Jesus said: “All ten were cleansed, were they not? Where, then, are the other nine? Did no one else turn back to give glory to God except this man of another nation?” Then he said to him: “Get up and be on your way; your faith has made you well.”


- Quite a violent but so realistic situation!


- Those who say they know everything usually don’t know anything!

- And Jesus will tell them I don’t know you go away!


- Many don’t do anything and think that’s how to be grateful!


- Think about the faithful servants of God!


- To be faithful you must show your faithfulness!


- The majority of the Israelites didn’t do anything and went against God!


- They were supposed to know!


- Look at their fate!


- Yes, they have ears but they don’t hear!


- Yes, they have eyes but they don’t see!

 

[JLGJLG]

54) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 17:


- On being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was coming, he answered them: “The Kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness; nor will people say, ‘See here!’ or, ‘There!’ For look! the Kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then he said to the disciples: “Days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but you will not see it. And people will say to you, ‘See there!’ or, ‘See here!’ Do not go out or chase after them. For just as lightning flashes from one part of heaven to another part of heaven, so the Son of man will be in his day. First, however, he must undergo many sufferings and be rejected by this generation. Moreover, just as it occurred in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of man: they were eating, they were drinking, men were marrying, women were being given in marriage until that day when Noah entered into the ark, and the Flood came and destroyed them all.


- Do you see the repetition of man’s history?


- Man never understands!


- I mean the majority!


- It is necessary to be ready!

- As if God’s kingdom were coming tomorrow!


- So when it comes, things will be alright for us!


- But if we think we will take the last train, there will be no last train!


- When it’s too late, it’s too late!


- And if we are not ready now, it’s too late for us!


- Because we must show that God and Jesus can count on us!


- If they can’t count on us, we are not useful to them!


- Usually people are busy only for their own interests!


- Bad choice!


- Remember a tsunami!


- You see signs before it comes!


- When we see it it’s too late!


- We are dead!

 

[JLGJLG]

55) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 17:


- Jesus tells us about the days of Lot: people were eating and drinking and buying and selling and planting and building!


- But Lot went out of Sodom and the city was destroyed and all the people in it!


- Then Jesus warns us that it will be the same when the Son of man comes!


- And he tells to remember the wife of Lot!


- And he adds that if we try to keep our lives safe we will lose them!


- But if we lose them we will be preserved!


- One will be taken and the other abandoned!


- If we don’t do our part, we will be abandoned!


- look wherever you want in the Bible!


- ACTION IS REQUIRED!


- There is no room for spiritual laziness!

 

[JLGJLG]

56) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 17: Jesus tells us to remember the wife of Lot!


- If we want to keep our life safe we will lose it!


- If we lose it we will preserve it alive!


- In that night, two people will be in one bed and one will be taken along whereas the other will be abandoned!

- Again Jesus tells us we must do our part when it is time as a routine!


- It is too late to wake up at the last minute!


- Jesus is not coming for everybody!


- May we impress this image in our mind to wake up and to stay awake!

 

[JLGJLG]

57) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 18:Jesus tells them an illustration about praying and never giving up!


- He speaks about a corrupt judge!


- A widow keeps going to him to get justice!


- He doesn’t care about her!


- But she keeps going to him so he gets fed up and to get rid of her he does everything for her to get justice!


- And God will do the same to his chosen ones who pray to him day and night!


- It shows the importance to keep asking!


- But we must also show the right attitude toward God!


- But we have our part to do too!


- We must learn and talk about God’s word!


- There is so much to learn by studying the Bible and the examples of his faithful servants!


- Sometimes God may answer us in a way we are not expecting!

 

[JLGJLG]

58) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 18: Jesus is asking about the faith he is going to find when he comes back!


- That’s the kind of question we should ask ourselves!


- What kind of faith is he looking for?


- We should know the answer if we read carefully the Bible!


- A faith based on a good knowledge of God’s word!


- A faith which belongs to God not to man’s tradition!


- A faith which is not contaminated by man’s tradition!


- Purity vs contamination!

 

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59) Jesus vs the religious leaders

Luke 18: Jesus speaks about those who think they are right whereas the others are nothing!


- He speaks about two men going up into the temple to pray!


- There is a Pharisee with the head up who thanks God not to be like the bad one and especially the tax collector he can see!


- There is also a tax collector who prays knowing he is a sinner and thus he doesn’t raise his head while praying!


- Jesus says that this tax collector is more righteous than the Pharisee because the one who exalts himself will be humiliated whereas the one who humbles himself will be exalted!

- How completely different it is from this world!


- It implies many efforts to show us different from this world if we don’t want to stay at the doors of God’s Kingdom!


- Do we think about that when it is still time?

 

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60) Jesus vs the religious leaders


Luke 18: Parents bring their children to Jesus!


- Jesus’ disciples try to prevent them from doing it!


- But Jesus calls the children to him!


- Because God’s Kingdom belongs to those who are like them!


- So different from religious leaders!


- So different from political leaders!


- So different from businesses!


- In fact, completely different!


- The reason why we are where we are is quite easy to understand!


- But men keep going in the same direction!


- Why look for the solution when it is possible to get into more trouble!


- If we do the same to understand the bible, it will never work!


- Again that’s free will!


- Why look for God’s word when man has man’s tradition?


- Why look for a solution when it is easier to look away?