On Line Bible Study - For the Week May 9-15, 2011

Lesson 492

Luke 17: ²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. ²⁴ For the Son of Man in his day^[d] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation....

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. ³² Remember Lot’s wife! ³³ Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.

In the previous lesson Jesus addressed the Pharisees. They were missing the reality of the kingdom in their midst. As we continue through Luke 17 Jesus now addresses the disciples. The emphasis here is not in what is currently happening; rather, Jesus turns his attention to the consummation of the kingdom - its fulfillment.

If you arrive late for the movie you miss the beginning. If you leave early, you miss the ending. The kingdom of God requires an open heart in order to recognize its presence here and now. It requires loyalty and vigilance in order to anticipate the full expression of what God has in mind.

The Christian life has a certain quality of "not looking back" to it. To be faithful in this regard requires loyalty to Jesus' vision for what is to come. This is where spiritual discipline comes in to the picture. Wonderful memories sustain us, or keep us bound to what once was. Jesus is always forward-looking. So must we be.

The reference to Lot's wife - the one who looked back and was freeze-framed in a time gone by - is one that Jesus uses to caution us as to the cost of discipleship. As good as it once was before, Jesus points us toward an eternal "now" - the moment when all past moments melt into the One Moment of the Eternal Kingdom of God.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week May 2-8, 2011

Lesson 491

Luke 17: ²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

This text seems particularly appropriate for us given the most recent prognostication regarding the return of Jesus. The Pharisees and Jesus have interacted on numerous occasions. They have witnessed his power and heard his teaching. There is irony in their wondering about the coming of the kingdom of God - they can't get much closer to the kingdom of God than the healing, grace, generosity and power of Christ. And yet, they continue to search for what is right under their nose.

(For some of the questions the Pharisees raise about Jesus or put directly to him, see Luke 5:21, 30. Luke 6:2, 7. Luke 7:39. Luke 11:38, etc.)

Darrell Bock ponders the tone of the question. It may sound innocent enough; however, the Pharisees were always looking for a way to trap Jesus. Is this another such episode? Had Jesus answered with some specific date and time, we can be sure the Pharisees would ridicule him, much the same way people ridicule more contemporary predictions of the Second Coming.

Consider what Jesus teaches us here - there aren't bleacher seats from which we can observe the kingdom of God. You can't actually point to it. You experience it!

The tragedy of the Pharisee's question is less about what they want to know and more about what they don't experience. The trap they hope to set is the trap they are in. "Observation" - did they think a strict observance of the law would usher in the kingdom? The kingdom does not come to us because we deserve it, but because God has given it.

The kingdom of God is in our midst. Let's receive it gratefully, and live it joyfully!

On Line Bible Study - For the Week April 25-May1, 2011

Lesson 490

Luke 17: ¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” ¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

There are some things that affect us just by virtue of our proximity and exposure to them. One example is environmental pollution - like unhealthy doses of radiation or other toxins in the air or water or earth. It's possible to be in both the best and the worst places at just the right time, and the simple fact of your being there means you will reap the positive or negative consequences of the situation.

Other things don't affect us by their simple proximity. Walking by a grocery store doesn't fill your stomach, and walking into a bank doesn't make you rich, regardless of how much cash is close by.

As Jesus walks by he hears a plea for pity... There is a realization, presumably, that Jesus has the potential and the power to heal. But just because he is walking by, or just because you walk by him, that is not a guarantee that healing will happen. What God offers in Christ has to be received by us.

Notice, however, that the lepers kept their distance. Because of their disease they were not allowed to mingle with the crowd. Their call and cry is sufficient to move Jesus to grant their desire. But they have to exercise faith on both ends of the transaction. First, they had to believe Jesus could do it; then they had to believe Jesus had done it, even though the physical symptoms of their disease did not immediately disappear.

What do we expect when we believe in Christ? How does one claim a healing for which there is no immediate evidence? What is the difference between faith and foolishness?

Notice how the distance collapses when the Samaritan returns to praise God at the feet of Jesus! Time and space stand still in the eternal truth of God's love and healing. Where are the other nine?

Where am I? Where are you?

On Line Bible Study - For the Week April 18-24, 2011

Lesson 489

Luke 17: 1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. ² It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. ³ So watch yourselves...

This study is being written during the Easter season. There have been "sightings" of the risen Christ, but this same Jesus who is alive is also somewhat elusive. Prior to the crucifixion / resurrection, Jesus was just as elusive in his teaching. People were constantly trying to pin him down, but over and over again he cautions the disciples to be careful. He points out that many who presume to 'hear' (read: understand) are actually blind to the truth. So ... watch yourselves ...

One of the most difficult concepts for people to get their heads around had to do with forgiveness -

Luke 17: “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. ⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

This is a tall order! The "seven times" has the quality of infinity to it. There is no maximum number. But there is another quality here that has to be acknowledged - we have a responsibility to each other. If a brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them. Another way to look at this would be to say we have to have the courage to speak directly with people. The overwhelming temptation is to speak about each other. It can be just as difficult to speak directly to someone who has sinned against you as it is to forgive them.

Darrell Bock points out that the balance between honest confrontation and the willingness to forgive is what prevents the situation from slipping into judgment.

The kingdom of God is wall to wall forgiveness. Don't be a stumbling block for others, either in causing them to sin, or in preventing them from experiencing God's forgiving love.

A tall order, indeed.