Category: Bible (Page 4 of 356)

Ever wanted to get someone back? One rainy day while escorting a group of prospective students and parents around the University of Missouri (I worked as a tour guide at Mizzou), a driver swerved towards a large puddle and nailed our group. Furious, drenched, and sharing colorful language not included in the regular tour, I hankered for a piece of that knucklehead.

Jesus and his disciples were refused entry into a Samaritan village. James and John (aptly nicknamed the Sons of Thunder) asked Jesus, Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up? Jesus rebuked them—surely wondering at their thick-headedness—and headed down the road.

James and John savored the power they witnessed in Jesus. They experienced a storm turned off, diseases healed, limbs knit together, demons sent screaming, Pharisees put in their place, and a young girl restored to life. They itched to fire that gun for themselves.

Like James and John, I too would like the fire of heaven available on a whim. A vehicle at Mizzou would have exploded back in the day.

But I fail to grasp the reason for such power. Not to punish, but to seek and save the lost. Jesus chose the metaphor of a Good Samaritan to help his followers understand this very point—James and John and myself in particular.

Jesus came to rescue, not to disfigure. To invoke his name in wanton displays of power, or to take the authority from others that is rightfully theirs is to use his name in vain. On the other hand, bringing his message of salvation honors Jesus and releases his power for its intended purposes.

Luke 9:51-56

Photo by Josep Castells

Jesus calmed a raging storm with a word. His disciples sat in the boat terrified and amazed.

Jesus healed a man long possessed by demons and a menace to his neighbors. As the now gentle man sat at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, a great wave of fear swept over the people of the region. So much so they begged Jesus to leave.

Jesus entered the home of Jairus to raise his young daughter from the dead. The crowd of mourners laughed at Jesus because they knew she had died. Their laughter passed away when the girl walked out of her room.

Some folks laugh at Jesus, while others ignore or refuse to even consider Jesus. But you might as well shut your eyes to a tornado.

Better to follow the example of his disciples, sit with terror and amazement, and wonder what he might do next.

Luke 8

Photo by Nikolas Noonan

I always wanted to dunk a basketball. Unfortunately, my hops never matched my hopes. Unless I used a trampoline, the best I could do was a lay-up. Dunking proved too difficult, far beyond my capability. But an NBA center? They dunk all day, barely leaving the floor. With the right ability what’s impossible to most of us proves easy for others.

Even more so with Jesus. Listening to him teach on a Sabbath day, a gang of religious leaders waited to pounce. They wondered if Jesus would heal a man with a withered hand sitting in their midst. Jesus knew their thoughts (did he read their minds or was it just obvious on their faces?).

Jesus called the man over, then turned to the leaders. Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at them all he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.

Healing represented work according to Jewish rules, and these leaders were upset that Jesus worked on the Sabbath. But healing a crippled hand was no effort for the Lord of the Universe. It’s more work for you or me to walk to the refrigerator and open the door. It was ridiculously easy for Jesus to heal. More siesta than sweat.

But the religious leaders saw Jesus as worse than a Sabbath breaker. He represented a threat to their hold on society, their grip on power. And in this they were correct. Earlier Jesus taught that the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. He came to upend the religious edifices keeping men and women from God, and to draw all people to himself.

Healing for Jesus? Easy. Dying on the cross for our sins? Much more difficult. But Jesus accomplished this for you and me as well. Should we turn our hearts to this amazing God? That’s a slam dunk.

Luke 6:5-11

Photo by Tom Briskey

Simon Peter didn’t know the itinerant preacher who asked to borrow his boat for a temporary stage. But after the teaching session, the man instructed Simon to cruise out to a deeper part of the lake and catch some fish. Skunked the night before, Simon cast his nets on the word of the man in the boat.

Immediately the nets swarmed with leaping, flashing fish. So many the boat began to swamp. Simon called another boat and filled to the gunnels, both boats struggled to shore. These professional fishermen enjoyed the greatest catch of their lives.

I wonder if Jesus called fish from all over the lake to fill those nets, or did he simply create the load of fish in the moment? However it happened, Simon Peter recognized the miracle and understood Jesus to be more than a mere teacher. Falling to his knees he begged, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

Jesus didn’t leave Peter, but instead called him to follow. A large catch of fish revealed the true nature of the man in the boat. What reveals the true nature of Jesus today? A stunning sunset? The gift of family and friends? An abundance of material goods? Like all those fish, every good thing comes from his hand.

An abundant catch of fish and an abundant life. Both spring for the hands of the man in the boat.

Luke 5:1-11

Photo by Burkhard Kaufhold