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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Luke 17:11-37
I’ve gotta admit – I don’t really understand Jesus’ words about the kingdom of God and the days of the Son of Man. I do know that Jesus told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was not what they expected it to be. They were looking for some great overthrow event. But that isn’t at all what the kingdom of God is about. Rather, I think that we, believers in Christ, are the kingdom of God. So His kingdom doesn’t come with an event, but more of a movement. It is a kingdom that is still building and growing today. It is everywhere. As for the day of the Son of Man, that seems to be the opposite situation. Whatever that day is, it will come suddenly and everyone will know it when it happens. And His last comment about the corpse and the vultures is completely lost on me.
So what am I to make of this passage? For one thing, I guess, I need to be careful what I look for. There were a lot of misplaced expectations surrounding Jesus’ first coming. I’m pretty sure we can say the same about the second. The thing is, I don’t think the details of that day really matter. There is no point looking for signs, because whatever is going to happen will happen in a moment, without warning, and all will be aware of it. The only thing to do, then, is to be prepared. Which means go on living the life God gave us to live, but live it for Him every single day. Don’t cling to anything in this life except God’s presence in it. Don’t chase after foolishness, but pursue God with everything we’ve got. Let His kingdom be alive and well in us.
Luke 18:1-14
Boy, what a contrast in the prayer of the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable to the prayers of so many of the God-fearing men we read about in the Old Testament! I think about Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and others. Though these were undoubtedly righteous men by human standards, they all confessed the sins of the nation as if they were their own. They knew God isn’t satisfied with human standards, and they weren’t either. This Pharisee, on the other hand, stopped at comparing himself to the people around him. In doing so, he let his religious actions override the unloving, unrepentant condition of his heart. Let it be a reminder to me to always choose grace over condescension.