DECEMBER 7| LUKE 5:17-32

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DAILY READING

LUKE 5:17-32

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Sit Down or Get Up?

by Kristin Schoeff

Are you a “sit-and-analyze” person, or a “get-up-and-go-and-think-later” type? Both have their positive aspects, as well as their shortcomings. Today’s passage shows these two approaches to Jesus and his ministry in sharp contrast. Let’s take a look....

As the story opens, Jesus is publicly teaching, and a crowd has gathered. Many may have been impressed that Pharisees and teachers of the law “from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem” (v. 17) had come to learn from what Jesus had to say. Or had they? It’s notable that they are described as just “sitting there.” (v. 17) Psalm 1:1 comes to mind—those who sit “in the seat of scoffers.” (ESV) Soon, it becomes clear that they came not so much to hear from Jesus as to critique and criticize his words and actions. And so they sit there….

Next we see some men bringing their paralyzed friend to the scene in hopes that he would be miraculously healed by Jesus. I’m not sure how you carry a grown man on a stretcher up onto a roof, dismantle the tile roof and lower him down right in front of Jesus—but they did it! So when Jesus “saw their faith” (v. 20), did he heal this man immediately? No. His response seems odd at first: he called the paralyzed man “friend” and he forgave his sins.

Jesus revealed at that moment his most important priority and mission: his love for people and his authority to forgive our sins. Not surprisingly, the Pharisees and teachers “began thinking to themselves” (v. 21) that Jesus was out of line, claiming the power to do what only God can do. They missed the message because they were just sitting there, critiquing and scoffing.

Then Jesus spoke simple words to the paralytic—“Get up and go home.” And IMMEDIATELY he GOT UP, grabbed his mat and went home, praising God as he went. No stopping to reason or argue or decide if this was really God’s doing. Jesus spoke, and as the man responded to those words. He was freed from his brokenness inside and out.

Levi, the tax collector, had a similar response to Jesus in verses 27-32. Jesus spoke simple words—“Follow me”—and Levi’s response was to get up (v. 28), leave everything, and follow Jesus. Without hesitation, Levi hears, gets up, and goes. And Jesus once again declares his heart and mission—“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

When Jesus speaks to our hearts by the Holy Spirit—through his written word or through that “still small voice”—let us be quick to get up and follow where he leads us. His motive is unending love and a desire to forgive our shortcomings and heal our brokenness.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your amazing love that caused you to get up and leave Heaven’s glory and come to earth to call us to repentance and eternal life. Help us hear your voice when you call us, get up and follow you. Amen.

December 6| Luke 4:31-37

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DAILY READING

Luke 4:31-37

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REFLECTION

BEND THE KNEE

by Katie Borden

We heard the words on Sunday from Isaiah 40 in a beautifully-crafted worship service to turn our hearts toward the coming King: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”

And today, we read about the One in whom those prophecies from Isaiah were–and are–fulfilled. Jesus, in the beginning of his ministry in the Gospel of Luke, is already enacting the mission he promised to the people just mere verses before, in 4:18-19 (which, incidentally, is scripture from Isaiah). Jesus heals, he sets people free from oppression, he restores, and he proclaims good news.

The good news–the Gospel–is that Jesus is King.

Jesus–not some other, less powerful or less “good” force–is the One who reigns over all heaven and earth. One day, the entire cosmos will “bend the knee” to Jesus.

We see the beginnings of even the spiritual realms “bending the knee” in a stunning display of Jesus’ power and authority. A man who has been oppressed and possessed by demonic forces is set free by Jesus’ power. After a bit of verbal sparring, Jesus is the clear victor and sends the demons fleeing.

I’ll admit that sometimes I’m not quite sure what to do with these exorcism passages. Truthfully, they sometimes leave me a bit uncomfortable. But I’m learning to sit with that discomfort, because this passage demonstrates a power and authority in Jesus that I cannot even begin to understand. And a God who is Lord over all creation is not going to make sense to my created mind. The beauty of the goodness of his power is enough.

During Advent, we celebrate the goodness of the King who made himself nothing, came to us, and defeated evil by dying and then putting death to death. In his Kingdom of life, there is no room for forces that threaten to undo us and cause a million little deaths to us–deaths of anxiety, of depression and despair, of hate and of fear and all other manner of things that keep us from living “life to the full” (John 10:10). We celebrate the coming of the King who, two thousand years ago, inaugurated his reign. And we look forward to the next time he comes, when he will bring his reign of goodness, of power, and of life to its fulfillment.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen.

PRAYER

Thank you, Good King, that you are both good and powerful, and that you have already begun to make all things right. We long for your reappearing, when all in heaven and on earth and under the earth will bend the knee to you. Come quickly! Amen.

December 5 | John 3:1-18

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DAILY READING

John 3:1-18

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REFLECTION

O What Wondrous Love

by Mary Kate Hipp

To begin this devotion, I encourage to you click the following link to watch a helpful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p2XIUK9VgA This is a clip from the show "The Chosen," which engages with Scripture to help us visualize what Jesus' encounters in ministry likely would have looked like. This snippet in particular, portrays Jesus' interaction with Nicodemus from our passage for today.

Wow, what more is there to say after a Word like that? Jesus Christ came for you and for me to save us from our sin and death--this is the Gospel!

The very person who should have understood what Jesus was preaching, a teacher of Israel, struggled to understand the purpose of His ministry. Perhaps I, too "miss the point" of the Gospel even though I was born into a Christian family and now serve in full time ministry. The Gospel is not reserved for those who follow the law to a T. The Gospel is not reserved for those who volunteer the most. The Gospel is not reserved for those who can pronounce the difficult names in the Bible. The Gospel is simple: those who believe will inherit the kingdom. He gave His Son for all that believe. He did not come to condemn or to shame, but to love and to save us. How often do I forget this simple truth? Nicodemus, along with other Biblical authors and scholars, call this a mystery or a wonder. What a wonder it is that God would come down to us and dwell amongst us, that He would love us so fiercely, that He would choose us, that despite our sin and shame He would die for us. Far be it from us to complicate or forget this Good News. May all the earth see the glory of our King. What other God would do such a thing?

Did you catch what Nicodemus said in the reenactment? "My heart is full of fear and wonder."

As we enter this advent season, may you be reminded of Christ's coming, not to condemn us, but to set us free from sin and death. May your heart be full of fear and wonder of the coming King. For in His humble coming, came the forgiveness of sins, relentless love and life everlasting, not because of anything we did or could ever do but because of His great love for us. Rejoice, dear friends, Christ has come and He will come again! O what wondrous love is this!

PRAYER

O God, thank you for coming down to us. Thank you for your great love that I sometimes do not understand. We rejoice because you call us daughters and sons. We rejoice that you will come again. In this advent season, help us to cling to this truth that you love us so dearly. Amen.