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by Sandy Shaw
In Luke Chapter 12 we have teaching from Jesus which is highly relevant in these current times.
The momentum appears to be increasing. The crowds are increasing - the pace is becoming faster - the conflict is becoming sharper.
There is this growing open conflict between Jesus Christ and the religious leaders of the day. That very often happens.
There is a conflict between Jesus Christ, the Lord, the King - and those who thought they were important people. Many are gathering around Jesus for various reasons - but Jesus priority is to teach disciples. Jesus wants to give His Chosen Men words of advice and encouragement.
It is good to take time - to look at these scenes in the life of Jesus - the ministry of Jesus - the methods of Jesus - the priorities of Jesus - the conflict which confronted Jesus.
His resolute determined decision is to go to Jerusalem - to face Jerusalem - the Cross, with all the accompanying painful agony and shame. Jesus is going to carry out His Father's Will. He is not giving in - not taking an easier route - not compromising - but facing it - confronting it - showing these disciples, and us, what it is really like. And all this is being done to save us - to show us mercy - to offer man forgiveness - to wash us from our sin - to rescue us from hell.
And - in the middle of doing all this - Jesus gives His Chosen Men words of advice and encouragement.
Over the years - many have said - "If only the Church would keep to the teaching of Jesus - forget about all the doctrine - all this teaching what you should believe - about sin and obedience - if only people would hear the words of Jesus and try to live as Jesus lived."
There are those who think that doctrine clutters up the Church - NO. False doctrine does. If there is no doctrine - no teaching - if we do not know what we believe and why - soon there will be no church - not that will ever happen - because Jesus will just give the kingdom to others.
"If only we kept to what Jesus did and taught - without things like having to be born again." Now - I have heard that. But that is part of what Jesus taught - and part of what He did and does is pour out the Holy Spirit.
We need to be able to answer people when they confront is with very real questions. Many are sincere. They would like to live the way Jesus lived - but man cannot until he is born again - and even then it is hard.
Jesus never offered disciples a soft cushioned road to walk. When you hear people saying - "If only the Church would stick to what Jesus did and said and taught - without having to go to services and meetings and that clutter." - think of that in the light of today's passage.
"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy." What does Jesus mean? Watch out for those who come along - their hypocrisy could affect you - negatively - in a bad way - and give you a bad experience - like yeast in bread - influencing you in a wrong way.
There are times when I have wanted to say to people - "Eh, which words of Jesus do you want us to keep to - and which words of Jesus would you wish us to ignore and overlook and forget?"
Beware of the Pharisees - Jesus pointed them out to be hypocrites - those legalistic puritans - and they could influence you negatively and adversely.
The Christian Life is like a journey - and what Jesus is doing here is pointing out some of the hazards along the way. There are hazards - pitfalls - dangers - and Jesus wants us to avoid them. That is why He points them out.
As we travel we need signposts - and Jesus gives us the signposts we need. Jesus warns us of what could hinder us - or even bring us to a halt. But He also shows us the way to go.
Jesus says to disciples - Beware of hypocrites. What is a hypocrite? It is important that we know. It is good to know what the sign means if you are out driving.
Hypocrite is a word from the theatre of the day - if you had gone to the theatre in the first century - and if you enjoyed the play - you would have come away saying - "These are good hypocrites. That production had some fine hypocrites in it." A hypocrite was an actor - and what you did was put a mask over your face to portray the part - a sad mask or a smiling mask - a serious mask or a comedy mask.
Jesus is saying to His men - "Beware of those who put on a front - watch out for those who are just playing a role in religion."
No wonder they had this man arrested and crucified.
“Thank You loving heavenly Father that Jesus took time to warn his disciples of the hazards they would face as they made their way through life. May we pay attention and give heed to what Jesus teaches in this part of Luke’s Gospel. Thank You that all this has been written down – not only to warn us – but to strengthen and encourage us as we follow Jesus.” Amen.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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