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Journey with Jesus to ... the Resurrection! (Easter Saturday, April 23) Read Acts 5:17-32 Congratulations! Today we complete our Journey with Jesus. Thank you for taking this trek with us as we’ve walked with Jesus through the Gospel of Luke. We close our journey by taking another glance at Luke’s sequel, the book of Acts. Acts 5 describes the church while it is still in its infancy. The religious authorities put the apostles in jail, hoping to discourage their rapidly expanding movement. In the middle of the night an angel rescues them from prison and says, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life” (20). “Speak to the people all the words of this Life.” It’s a curious phrase, used only in this text. It suggests an important truth about Christianity, and a fitting one for us to close our journey – or, better yet – kick off the next phase of our journey. “The words of this Life” reminds us that Christianity is not a set of beliefs to affirm. It is a...

Journey with Jesus to ... the Resurrection! (Easter Friday, April 22) Read Acts 3:1-21  Thirty-five years ago, I bought a 1956 Chevy. In every church I served since then, that classic Chevy was my primary means of transportation. Until about 15 years ago. The engine finally gave out, and I didn’t have the money to fix it. So there it sat, deteriorating in my garage, badly in need of restoration. It was not a pretty sight. In 2011 we celebrated our first Christmas with Matt Wallace, our brand new son-in-law. When it came time for Matt and Kyan to give me my gift, I knew what it was by the way it was wrapped: the handle of a frying pan stuck out of the Christmas paper. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I opened it to find a photograph of a small block Chevy engine taped to the pan. They had given me a new engine for my car! Needless to say, I was overwhelmed, humbled, and yes, a bit teary-eyed by the gift. After towing my car to California, they later returned it to me with a...

Journey with Jesus to ... Resurrection! (Easter Thursday, April 21) Read Acts 2:42-47 Fifty days have passed since Easter morning. During the first forty days following his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples at various times and in various places. In each case, he explained the meaning of his death and resurrection (Luke 24:25-27, 44-46), and commissioned them to tell everyone the Good News ( 24:47-49).  Ten days ago, Jesus ascended to his throne (Acts 1:9-11), and today (the 50th day) his disciples were filled with his Spirit (2:1-4). This is the day Peter preached the first Christian sermon (2:14-40) to a magnificent result: three thousand people were baptized into the family (2:41).  What a fantastic start to the Jesus movement! Two months ago it appeared that the disciples had given their lives to a lost cause. Now they find themselves teaching several thousand people what it means top follow Jesus.  What was it like to be in that first Christian community?...

Journey with Jesus to ... the Resurrection! (Easter Wednesday, April 20) Read Acts 1:1-11 The fifty-day period beginning with Easter Sunday is traditionally known as Eastertide. It’s a seven week season intended specifically to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense to do this. For as important as Jesus’ death was, without the resurrection, he would have simply been one more failed revolutionary. But the resurrection changed everything. So as we conclude our Journey with Jesus this week, we’ll do so with a few more meditations, contemplating what it means to implement the achievement of Jesus’ resurrection. To do this, we’ll take a look at the opening section of the book of Acts, which tells the story of what happened after Jesus’ resurrection. Acts, as you may know, is also written by Luke, and is intended to be a sequel to the gospel story we just read. It begins with the Ascension of Jesus, which occurred 40 days after his resurrectio...

Journey with Jesus to ... the Resurrection! (Easter Tuesday, April 19, 2022) Read Luke 24:36-53 What sort of body did Jesus have when he was raised from the dead? It is a mystery to us, of course. But Luke gives us some important clues in the closing scene of his gospel: We discover that the resurrected Jesus had a real body, but altered from its former reality. Jesus’ new body bore the marks of his old body. It was made of flesh and bones. He said, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (39). Jesus wanted them to know that he was not merely a spirit, an apparition, a ghost, or a figment of their imagination. He still had the marks of his pre-resurrection body. Jesus was also capable of eating and drinking. Later he says, “Have you anything here to eat?” I have to think Jesus smiled a bit when he asked them this question. But the Bible tells us, “They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ...

Journey with Jesus to ... the Resurrection! (Easter Monday, April 18) Read Luke 24:13-25 In some ways it seems unfair. After all, in the first century they actually saw the resurrected Jesus. They touched him. They heard him. They knew first-hand that he was not a ghost or an apparition, but rather, a remade flesh and blood body. Of course they believed. But what about the rest of us? We don't get to see the resurrected Jesus. We don't get to touch him. How are we supposed to believe? Are we just to take in on faith? How do we develop the same faith that these people had? Actually, this has been an issue right from the beginning. By the time Luke wrote this gospel, several decades had passed since Jesus’ resurrection. The original eyewitnesses were only 500 or so in number (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). By far, the vast majority of people in the first century believed in the resurrected Jesus without ever actually seeing him.  The beautiful story of Jesus’ encounter with the pair on...

Journey with Jesus to ... the Resurrection! (Easter Day, April17) Read Luke 24:1-12 Nobody expected Easter. Nobody. Everybody knew that a crucified Messiah was a failed Messiah. So nobody showed up, except for the women. They were there at the break of dawn. Their intention was to complete the burial process begun on Friday afternoon. What a surprise they got! The stone was rolled away, the grave was empty, and angelic messengers said Jesus was raised from the dead. Nobody saw that coming! The ladies didn’t see it, the disciples didn’t see it; nobody saw it. Before long, Jesus made a personal appearance to Mary Magdalene, to Peter, and ultimately to many others. But the first responses to the empty tomb were decidedly confused: the women were “perplexed.” The disciples thought it was an “idle tale, and they did not believe them.” Peter went home “marveling at what had happened.” A lot of time has past since that first Easter morning. But it’s still a perplexing, marvelous, and practica...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Silent Saturday, April 16) Read Luke 23:50-56  Two things strike me in today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke. The Kingly Burial of Jesus Typically, crucified criminals were left hanging until the buzzards had picked them clean. But Joseph of Arimathea would have none of that. (Besides, no one wanted the bodies to be hanging on the Sabbath.) Risking his reputation, he secured permission to bury Jesus himself. He then proceeded to give Jesus a burial fit for a king. In the burial traditions of that day, the body was placed on a shelf in a tomb, and the wealthy were covered with 80 pounds or so of spices. This would alleviate the smell while the body decomposed. After a year or so, the bones of the body would be carefully collected and placed in an ossuary (a container for the bones) and placed in a shelf of the tomb. With the help of some of Jesus' women disciples, Joseph buried Jesus in his own unused tomb. However, because the Sabbath was beginnin...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Good Friday, April 15) Read Luke 23:26-47 When Simon showed up in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, he had no idea his name would be recorded for posterity. He was just a simple man on a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Jerusalem – a distance of 900 miles from his home in Cyrene, North Africa. Had he ever heard of Jesus of Nazareth? Probably not. He was just one among a thousand curious onlookers as the death march went by. When Jesus stumbled, he was “seized” by a soldier and forced to carry his cross. How did Simon feel about carrying that cross? No doubt, it must have seemed grossly unfair. Why should he be expected to carry a criminal’s cross? But when a Roman soldier grabbed your shoulder, you didn’t ask questions. You just did it. You didn't have to like it. The cross-beam which he likely carried weighed about 100 pounds. Simon would have borne it to the top of Golgotha, the very place where Jesus was crucified. Perhaps he lingered at the s...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Thursday, April 14) Read Luke 22:14-38 Today is Maundy Thursday, the evening of Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. It is also the time Jesus gave the  the command (in Latin, “ maundatum ,” from which we get the word “Maundy”) to “love one another; as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” Jesus said. I’ve been chewing on that sentence, which seems to me to suggest two vital truths about what is happening on this auspicious evening. “I have earnestly desired to eat … with you.…” Jesus knows this is his last night, and the one place he wants to be is with his dear friends. They have walked dusty miles with him, shared meals with him, listened to him teach, watched him do miracles, and served others in his name. They are his best friends in all the world, and Jesus “earnestly desires” to be with them tonight. Here is a reminder that community is at the c...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross Wednesday, April 13 Read Luke 23:1-25  When Jesus died, he died for Pilate. Yes, Pilate. The same Pilate who condemned him despite knowing he was innocent. The same Pilate who caved in to the demands of the crowd. He stands for all those who have taken the easy path rather than the right path. All those who sacrifice their principles for the sake of the bottom line. Pilate’s expediency put Jesus on the cross. And Jesus died for Pilate.  When Jesus died, he died for chief priests. Yes, the chief priests. The same priests who arrested him on trumped-up charges. The same priests who shaded the truth and perverted their religious tradition in order to condemn Jesus. They stand for all those who’ve done the same: from the religious broadcaster who bilks the faithful, to the true believer who twists the truth to suit his agenda. All those who’ve believed the end justified the means. The priests’ duplicity put Jesus on the cross. And Jesus died for the...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Tuesday, April 12) Read Luke 22:66-23:1  That unseemly procession into Jerusalem was bad enough. Knowing that Rome would put the hammer down on any hint of military rebellion, it was a foolish publicity stunt. But to follow that up by disrupting the worship of the Temple -– now that was the last straw. The Temple was the symbol of God’s presence in Israel. Its daily sacrifices were the means by which God could be among his people. How dare he interrupt the daily worship? Only the high priest could do that. Who did he think he was? What did he think he was doing? Whatever it was, it was way over the line. It was time to stop this madness before Rome stepped in, or the Almighty Himself would soon take matters into His own hands. Arrangements were made for one of Jesus’ followers to hand him over to the Temple Police. It would be done at night, when there would be no interfering crowd. Everything must be done quickly, for the Passover festival was...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Monday, April 11) Read Luke 22:54-65  Luke 22 is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, we have Jesus: patient and loving, obedient even to the death. On the other hand, we have his hapless disciples, unable even to stay awake during Jesus’ hour of trial. The chapter opens with Judas’ decision to betray Jesus, and it closes with Peter’s decision to deny Jesus. In between, we have their argument over who is the greatest immediately after Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper. It is not a pretty picture. Here Jesus is, facing the darkest moments of his life, and his best friends are fighting, sleeping, running, betraying, and denying him. At first, we’re amazed at their fickleness. But then, taking a look at our own lives, we’re not so quick to condemn. For we find ourselves quite as fickle as them. How many times have we made promises to Jesus only to break them moments later? How many times have we slept through our prayers or run from our fears like ...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Saturday, April 9) Read Luke 22:1 through 23:49 Today is Saturday, the day before Holy Week begins. In preparation for this, I’m suggesting you read the entire Passion narrative in one sitting: Luke 22:1 through 23:49. It includes the Last Supper, the Arrest, the Trial, and the Execution of Jesus. If you’ve not read it already, take some time to immerse yourself in the story. Read it rapidly, absorbing the overall dramatic flow. We’ll take time in the next week to study many of its details. For now, let’s just let the story wash over us. What do we see when we read the picture as a whole?  I was struck by the inexcusable injustice of Jesus' conviction and crucifixion. Although guiltless, he suffered at the hands of the guilty. Betrayed by his friend, and brought before the council, he was not going to get justice. This was not a trial; it was a lynching. Jesus deserved better than that. He was the ultimate innocent victim. Pilate knows these are tr...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Friday, April 8) Read Luke 21  I have in my library a little booklet with a provocative title: 88 Reasons the Rapture could be in 1988 . I think it is safe to say that the author made a few miscalculations in his interpretation of the “signs of the times.” If so, it wasn’t the first time it happened. There are notorious stories throughout history of believers’ miscalculation of the signs surrounding Jesus’ return. How many of us recall, for example, the wild hand-wringing that occurred in some Christian corners as we entered the year 2000? What are we to make of all this in the light of the extended teaching of Jesus recorded for us in Luke 21? Speaking for myself, I can’t read through this text without getting a bit squeamish. I have heard a lot of bold predictions and brash interpretations of these texts over the years. Some of them have embarrassed me (like the 88 Reasons booklet), and some of them have angered me. For example, I have seen it us...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Thursday, April 7) Read Luke 20  The Great Debates. That’s what Luke 20 feels like. As soon as Jesus enters Jerusalem, he is bombarded with accusatory questions. “By whose authority do you do these things?” the chief priests ask. They aren’t really interested in his answer. What they want is to discredit his credentials. “Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” Their whole purpose was to “catch him in something he said.” The Sadducees confronted Jesus with their standard trick question about marriage and the future life. Again, they did not want information: they wanted evidence. In each case, Jesus brilliantly answered their question, often turning the tables back on them. What interests me in all these interchanges is how similarly people think about Jesus today. Many people have questions about Jesus. There are a lot of people who like to debate Jesus. They are happy to talk about him. But are they willing to lay down their lives ...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Wednesday, April 6) Read Luke 19  Jesus completes his fateful journey toward Jerusalem (it began in chapter 9) in this chapter. Just before his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate this coming Sunday, Luke records two final episodes. The first is Jesus’ famous encounter with Zacchaeus. It is as if Luke wants us to give us a final reminder of  some of the key characteristics of Jesus' ministry: his identification with the outsider; his re-prioritization of wealth; his propensity for festive meals; and his mission to “seek and to save the lost” (10). Zacchaeus is a living example of the lost sheep/coin/son stories. When Jesus surprised everyone – especially Zacchaeus – by saying, “I must go to your house,” he was embodying the truth of those stories. Jesus seeks out lost people. Others had rejected Zacchaeus, but Jesus had accepted him. His life was never the same afterward, reminding us that while Jesus’ love accepts as we are, it ...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Tuesday, April 5) Read Luke 18  A vital theme runs through today’s reading. We dare not miss it: Those who cast themselves on the mercy of Jesus  find salvation, blessing and wholeness;  but those who rely on their own good deeds  find judgment and rejection.  This truth is graphically illustrated by the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (9-14), and tragically demonstrated in Jesus' conversation with a rich ruler (18-30). In each case, these very good men made the fatal mistake of relying on their good deeds to earn God's favor. This may be the essence of Religion; but it is the antithesis of the Christianity.  Like the rich ruler, Religion asks,  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”   Like the misguided Pharisee, Religion says,  “God I thank you that I am not like other men.”  (18:18, 11) In each case, though sincere, their religion misses the mark, and they are turned away.  On the...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Monday, March 23) Read Luke 17  Humility. Gratitude. Faith. These words best summarize our response to the teaching of Luke 17, a chapter which includes such topics as forgiveness, servanthood, thankfulness and God’s kingdom. Let’s take a look at each one. Humility It takes humility to forgive those who have harmed us (1-4). It takes humility to serve without recognition (7-10). It takes humility to realize we don’t know everything we’d like to know about Jesus’ return (20-37). All of these —forgiveness, service, and the recognition that we don’t know everything – require tremendous humility. The last portion of this text has many things to say about the coming kingdom (20-37), but there are also enough obscurities in it to encourage us to hold our beliefs humbly. That Jesus will return is clear; when and how he will return is not. Jesus himself hints at this when he says, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will the...

Journey with Jesus to the Cross (Saturday, April 2) Read Luke 16  My grandmother was Dutch through and through, having moved here from the Netherlands when she was three years old. She was the unquestioned matriarch of our family, a devout follower of Jesus, and a huge influence in my life. I vividly remember the time she gave me two quarters and said with intense seriousness, “Now Steven, this is a gift for you. But you know what you must do with it. Five cents of it belongs to Jesus. Do you understand me? That means this week you must put a nickel in the offering plate.” I did what she said. I’ve done it ever since. Think about it: My first memory of having my own money is inextricably bound with the responsibility of honoring Jesus with it. I know many people struggle with giving a tenth of their income to Jesus, but it’s been such a natural part of my life that I can’t imagine keeping it all to myself. I have never believed that money belonged to me. My grandmother made sure of...