Luke 9:7-9
First his cousin is killed in cold blood and now the murderer is looking for him. Makes a guy want to go low key, especially for one that tends to downplay his own message anyway. But Jesus just keeps going forward with his plan.
Funny how Luke drops this news right in between Jesus sending out the Twelve and feeding the five thousand. Makes you wonder if he cut and pasted at the wrong point in his word processing document. No, it is a reminder that a) Jesus is very focused on his mission, b) there are subplots from political and religious leaders ever attempting to thwart that mission and c) these separate paths are soon to meet center stage in all of human history.
Herod, the pseudo-king of Galilee, had had John killed on a whim and now he is hearing that John is back from the dead. Rumors being rumors, there are others saying that this back-from-the-dead John is actually Elijah or another prophet come back to life. Regardless, the stories all focus on this new prophet on the scene, Jesus, whose own followers are just now fanning out all over Herod’s territory stirring up good.
But anything good or bad that is stirring up is not a good thing for a puppet king, whose main role is to keep the peace at all cost Roman-style. Moreover, this new guy, Jesus, is conjuring up bad, old memories of John the Baptist. Herod had had the last word with John, yet somehow with John even death didn’t quite feel like the final statement.
John had accused Herod of stealing his own brother’s wife, which, while true, was not the kind of preaching Herod favored. And so he’d had John thrown in prison. Then in a moment of romantic, lust-filled interplay between Herod, that brother’s wife and that wife’s daughter, John’s head had wound up being served on a silver platter to the daughter. The last thing Herod wanted was to be reminded of that messy affair. After all, John was a nuisance, but he was also very popular with the common people.
And now someone very much like John, who probably even looked like John, being cousins, is building a people movement in Herod’s own back yard. No doubt, Herod is starting to feel a little paranoid. So, Luke writes, Herod tries so see this Jesus.
And that’s it. Except for a passing reference (Luke 13:31), we don’t hear any more of Herod in Luke’s story until Jesus is arrested and put on trial. But such passing references let us know that Herod’s obsession over this thing continues to grow.
As for Jesus, he isn’t disturbed by Herod’s obsession, but if he has to die, he prefers it not to be outside of Jerusalem, which that passing reference lets us know is where prophets are supposed to die, particularly this one. So, trusting Father on this matter, Jesus keeps right on with Plan A.
It takes a lot of confidence, a lot of trust to stick to what you know you are to do when all the world is abuzz about things that are inclined to distract you from what God has called you to do. For sure, Jesus was well set on doing what he knew in his heart his Father had commissioned him to do, regardless the winds blowing around him.
It is good for us to be reminded that “talk” is just that. Whatever the “news” abroad in any day and age, the messenger of God needs to know his own business and be about that business, something Jesus had understood from at least the age of twelve, something guys like Herod don’t get.
John’s ministry had been, in part, to confront Herod. Jesus’ ministry is quite different. Others may struggle over the difference, but Jesus doesn’t and John did only after he landed in prison, an anxiety in his cousin Jesus had worked to calm (John 7:18-23).
As for Herod, the guy who is king, he is unable to find Jesus. Seems strange when you think about it. After all, what else is a king good for, except to be in control of everything. Surely he ought to be able to find a guy who heals and feeds thousands. But Jesus isn’t hiding and he isn’t fleeing. Either Herod is waffling over this obsession – and probably losing a lot of sleep – or he is not sure the rumors are true about Jesus being John and he doesn’t want to make an even greater fool of himself.
Herod can not reconcile the various pieces of his life laid bare and blown large through John’s death. Jesus, without saying a thing, only augments that turmoil in Herod. But Herod’s struggle is not a direct concern of Jesus’. Jesus has people to bless, followers to train, and a destiny to pursue in far away Jerusalem. If Herod wants to interfere with those plans, that is Herod’s concern and not his. He has to be about his Father’s business.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Take nothing for the journey
Luke 9:3-5
It was a game with me. Show up with less packed than them. When I lived in Taiwan and then Northwest China, I quickly noticed how much more the foreigners (like me) took with them on trips than did the locals. And how often the locals would comment, even if ever so subtly, as they observed us.
Traveling with government officials or a local team member, I noted how for a multi-day day trip, they’d come prepared with a small backpack-sized bag with everything, including a change of clothes, toiletries, and any extras. So I set out to out-local them in what I took. My prize? Warm, approving compliments for an unexpected accomplishment. They especially liked that they didn’t have to help load heavy suitcases into the upper storage compartments of trains!
Jesus sends out the Twelve, telling them to pack lightly. Take nothing – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, not even an extra shirt. Even considering that common people of the day didn’t have a lot of extras and certainly didn’t carry all the modern toiletries and other accessories, this is a very limited packing list, certainly less than what esteemed teachers of the day usually traveled with.
What is going on here? First, their message is not in what they carry with them. It is simply in what they declare (what they have to say) and demonstrate (translated, not a lot of props needed for blessing people). Jesus is showing them that no matter how little a person has, he or she has all that is needed to do the job.
Second, they are going to “live off the land.” As soon as I say that, readers’ minds will go to hippies, bohemians, new agers or some such. Think what you like, the point Jesus is making is that his followers are to incarnate with the people they are going to serve. And he was sending them out to the common folk who lived very simply.
Third, they are to find housing with people who welcome them. To read it in an English translation, it sounds like they will just barge into the first house they see and stay unless kicked out. Harking back to village life in Jesus’ day, it wasn’t unusual for a stranger to show up in a hamlet and be invited to stay with one of the families, who all knew each other and everything that went on. When I was a kid, guest preachers usually stayed in our house, the parsonage (preacher’s home), as I did when I traveled as a single in my 20s.
The culturally translatable takeaway, however, lies with a much deeper issue going on here. In the following chapter, Luke includes Jesus’ training materials for a much larger group of followers who are sent out to in like manner. Wherever they go, they are to look for people of peace, who will welcome them and give them opportunity to bless those in that location. This is essentially what Jesus is saying here. Look for people who will invite you to remain among them. And if you don’t find such a person, keep moving on until you do.
The phrase “shaking the dust off your feet” in response to those who don’t welcome you can be a put off to our modern sensibilities, unless we have a bit more cultural understanding of what that meant in Jesus’ day. For the Jews, the phrase brought to mind what they did when they left a ceremonially unclean gentile city. The existing practice was more for their own benefit as they undefiled themselves. In Jesus’ instructions, the symbolism was notice for those who had rejected their message. It had cultural relevance.
But before we start shaking our feet at nonbelievers, it is important to note that the action was toward people who already worshiped the same God. Rank heathen were not expected to accept the good news so readily and when they did, their faith was considered remarkable (Luke 7:9). The quarrel, if you can call it that, was with supposedly likeminded people who were not open to hearing good news from their own God. Most of the disputation on the part of believers in the New Testament was with theologically near people, not with those who had limited or no understanding of their God and His scriptures.
At this point, the disciples were going only to the house of Israel, “proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19). Soon they would also be going to those outside. Even then, the practice of looking for a man or woman of peace continued, as the followers of Jesus sought out those open to receiving someone coming with a word of peace and blessing.
The key principle in these verses is that the disciples were to connect with, relate to, live among the people to whom they were sent. It is a principle that lasted well beyond the New Testament era among the followers of Jesus and is part of the reason why those followers increased so rapidly in those next few decades.
For more on my take on how this concept of “person of peace” can be applied in our day and age, see Night Shift: Crossing the Cultural Line for the Kingdom (Fanno Creek Press, 2011), pages 300-303.
It was a game with me. Show up with less packed than them. When I lived in Taiwan and then Northwest China, I quickly noticed how much more the foreigners (like me) took with them on trips than did the locals. And how often the locals would comment, even if ever so subtly, as they observed us.
Traveling with government officials or a local team member, I noted how for a multi-day day trip, they’d come prepared with a small backpack-sized bag with everything, including a change of clothes, toiletries, and any extras. So I set out to out-local them in what I took. My prize? Warm, approving compliments for an unexpected accomplishment. They especially liked that they didn’t have to help load heavy suitcases into the upper storage compartments of trains!
Jesus sends out the Twelve, telling them to pack lightly. Take nothing – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, not even an extra shirt. Even considering that common people of the day didn’t have a lot of extras and certainly didn’t carry all the modern toiletries and other accessories, this is a very limited packing list, certainly less than what esteemed teachers of the day usually traveled with.
What is going on here? First, their message is not in what they carry with them. It is simply in what they declare (what they have to say) and demonstrate (translated, not a lot of props needed for blessing people). Jesus is showing them that no matter how little a person has, he or she has all that is needed to do the job.
Second, they are going to “live off the land.” As soon as I say that, readers’ minds will go to hippies, bohemians, new agers or some such. Think what you like, the point Jesus is making is that his followers are to incarnate with the people they are going to serve. And he was sending them out to the common folk who lived very simply.
Third, they are to find housing with people who welcome them. To read it in an English translation, it sounds like they will just barge into the first house they see and stay unless kicked out. Harking back to village life in Jesus’ day, it wasn’t unusual for a stranger to show up in a hamlet and be invited to stay with one of the families, who all knew each other and everything that went on. When I was a kid, guest preachers usually stayed in our house, the parsonage (preacher’s home), as I did when I traveled as a single in my 20s.
The culturally translatable takeaway, however, lies with a much deeper issue going on here. In the following chapter, Luke includes Jesus’ training materials for a much larger group of followers who are sent out to in like manner. Wherever they go, they are to look for people of peace, who will welcome them and give them opportunity to bless those in that location. This is essentially what Jesus is saying here. Look for people who will invite you to remain among them. And if you don’t find such a person, keep moving on until you do.
The phrase “shaking the dust off your feet” in response to those who don’t welcome you can be a put off to our modern sensibilities, unless we have a bit more cultural understanding of what that meant in Jesus’ day. For the Jews, the phrase brought to mind what they did when they left a ceremonially unclean gentile city. The existing practice was more for their own benefit as they undefiled themselves. In Jesus’ instructions, the symbolism was notice for those who had rejected their message. It had cultural relevance.
But before we start shaking our feet at nonbelievers, it is important to note that the action was toward people who already worshiped the same God. Rank heathen were not expected to accept the good news so readily and when they did, their faith was considered remarkable (Luke 7:9). The quarrel, if you can call it that, was with supposedly likeminded people who were not open to hearing good news from their own God. Most of the disputation on the part of believers in the New Testament was with theologically near people, not with those who had limited or no understanding of their God and His scriptures.
At this point, the disciples were going only to the house of Israel, “proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:19). Soon they would also be going to those outside. Even then, the practice of looking for a man or woman of peace continued, as the followers of Jesus sought out those open to receiving someone coming with a word of peace and blessing.
The key principle in these verses is that the disciples were to connect with, relate to, live among the people to whom they were sent. It is a principle that lasted well beyond the New Testament era among the followers of Jesus and is part of the reason why those followers increased so rapidly in those next few decades.
For more on my take on how this concept of “person of peace” can be applied in our day and age, see Night Shift: Crossing the Cultural Line for the Kingdom (Fanno Creek Press, 2011), pages 300-303.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Phase II
Luke 9:1-2, 6
It’s been all his action so far. They’ve just been along for the ride. Hanging out, listening, helping, dogging his every step. In the process, they’ve become “the Twelve.”
They were the ones Jesus had chosen from among the others and designated as apostles or “sent ones.” They were commissioned from the time he called them together as a group. Until this point, however, they hadn’t said or done anything on their own, at least nothing Luke recorded. But they had seen and heard enough. Now it was their time to go and do.
Amazing when you think about it. They’d only been with Jesus a little while, a few months perhaps. Not one of them was a trained rabbi or teacher of the religious law. Some were still fairly suspect even – you don’t quickly shake the reputation of a cheating tax collector or a political radical.
Nevertheless, what Jesus does now is really radical. He gives this newly minted crew unbelievable orders and sends them out alone – at least without him.
I doubt they have that much of a grasp on the good news themselves. In fact, I am sure they don’t. Read on and you’ll see that they have quite a few lessons left to learn. But Jesus doesn’t wait until their training is finished to send them out. He simply wants them to go and make use of what he has already shared with them.
And he grants them power and authority to push back the curse of night, to drive out all forces of darkness – note it says all demons, not just certain beginner-level powers of darkness – and to cure diseases. And as they do so, they are to go preaching the kingdom of God.
Okay, sounds pretty impressive. What do they know of driving out demons or healing sick people? Only what they have seen Jesus doing.
What do they know of this kingdom of God? They are not experts in the law, though they’ve lived in a culture saturated with the teachings of the law and the prophets, even if they did miss one or two of the Sabbath gatherings. However, what they did learn in years gone by Jesus has taken and shaken up a bit. Jesus certainly didn’t use the teaching notes of their old rabbi!
They have heard Jesus teaching a lot – to multitudes and to the larger band of his followers, and to them specifically in smaller settings. He has much more to explain to them, but they’ve heard quite a bit already.
They’ve hung on his every word and even if they don’t yet understand everything, they now start to share what they have heard. It is fascinating how much I learn by telling or teaching others. As I begin to share what I’ve heard, the ideas start to shine clearer, make more sense, somehow come to life in my own thought and communication processes.
So it is with the Twelve. As they go out from village to village, they start to repeat what they have learned from Jesus. Someone in the crowd asks a question or challenges one of their statements and they think it over, chew on it a bit, maybe come up with a different way of saying the same thing. Down the road on the way to the next town some fresh insight comes to mind. Over and over they refine their thoughts and presentations.
I wonder if they were afraid or confused. Luke doesn’t say. They certainly were at other times, even when Jesus was with them. This much we know: they went without Jesus from village to village, and everywhere they went, they preached the gospel and they healed people.
Bottom line, they went out demonstrating and declaring the good news. Just they had seen and heard Jesus do.
I ponder that and think.
I don’t have to have it all down perfectly. I just need to go out, demonstrate God’s good news, and explain it – pure and simple.
That is, if I have the same calling as the Twelve had. Do I? Do you?
It’s been all his action so far. They’ve just been along for the ride. Hanging out, listening, helping, dogging his every step. In the process, they’ve become “the Twelve.”
They were the ones Jesus had chosen from among the others and designated as apostles or “sent ones.” They were commissioned from the time he called them together as a group. Until this point, however, they hadn’t said or done anything on their own, at least nothing Luke recorded. But they had seen and heard enough. Now it was their time to go and do.
Amazing when you think about it. They’d only been with Jesus a little while, a few months perhaps. Not one of them was a trained rabbi or teacher of the religious law. Some were still fairly suspect even – you don’t quickly shake the reputation of a cheating tax collector or a political radical.
Nevertheless, what Jesus does now is really radical. He gives this newly minted crew unbelievable orders and sends them out alone – at least without him.
I doubt they have that much of a grasp on the good news themselves. In fact, I am sure they don’t. Read on and you’ll see that they have quite a few lessons left to learn. But Jesus doesn’t wait until their training is finished to send them out. He simply wants them to go and make use of what he has already shared with them.
And he grants them power and authority to push back the curse of night, to drive out all forces of darkness – note it says all demons, not just certain beginner-level powers of darkness – and to cure diseases. And as they do so, they are to go preaching the kingdom of God.
Okay, sounds pretty impressive. What do they know of driving out demons or healing sick people? Only what they have seen Jesus doing.
What do they know of this kingdom of God? They are not experts in the law, though they’ve lived in a culture saturated with the teachings of the law and the prophets, even if they did miss one or two of the Sabbath gatherings. However, what they did learn in years gone by Jesus has taken and shaken up a bit. Jesus certainly didn’t use the teaching notes of their old rabbi!
They have heard Jesus teaching a lot – to multitudes and to the larger band of his followers, and to them specifically in smaller settings. He has much more to explain to them, but they’ve heard quite a bit already.
They’ve hung on his every word and even if they don’t yet understand everything, they now start to share what they have heard. It is fascinating how much I learn by telling or teaching others. As I begin to share what I’ve heard, the ideas start to shine clearer, make more sense, somehow come to life in my own thought and communication processes.
So it is with the Twelve. As they go out from village to village, they start to repeat what they have learned from Jesus. Someone in the crowd asks a question or challenges one of their statements and they think it over, chew on it a bit, maybe come up with a different way of saying the same thing. Down the road on the way to the next town some fresh insight comes to mind. Over and over they refine their thoughts and presentations.
I wonder if they were afraid or confused. Luke doesn’t say. They certainly were at other times, even when Jesus was with them. This much we know: they went without Jesus from village to village, and everywhere they went, they preached the gospel and they healed people.
Bottom line, they went out demonstrating and declaring the good news. Just they had seen and heard Jesus do.
I ponder that and think.
I don’t have to have it all down perfectly. I just need to go out, demonstrate God’s good news, and explain it – pure and simple.
That is, if I have the same calling as the Twelve had. Do I? Do you?
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