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LUKE CHAPTER 9 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Lk 9-1,2 (68c) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority to execute judgment >> Against Satan (149i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Authority of the rhema given to evangelism >> Receiving authority from God personally -- These verses go with verse 6. Luke chapter eight, a few previous verses ago, spoke of a woman being healed, not by Jesus’ touch but by touching Jesus, which proved He was the source of heavenly virtue that can be applied in various ways of healing, whether it be freedom from demons or diseases, or to the salvation of forgiveness and eternal life; it’s all packaged in Jesus. God came to us in the flesh and demonstrated that He is the source of every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift (Jm 1-17). This woman touched Him and she was healed, and now He has delegated this authority to His disciples and sent them to perform healing of every kind and to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Although Jesus is in heaven, new covenant believers have access to Christ through the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sent in His place. The disciples were physically separated from the Lord as they went proclaiming the gospel and healing, yet they were spiritually connected to Him through faith. Jesus said they could perform miracles, therefore they could. Jesus has delegated this authority to His disciples over the last 2000 years, who have just as much access to this heavenly virtue as His original twelve apostles. The Bible gives authorization to perform healing of every kind, yet the original disciples received personal authorization from Jesus. We too will need personal authorization if we expect to go about the countryside with the gospel healing the sick. God has provided that we receive our authority from the Holy Spirit. This requires us to have a revelation of Jesus Christ if we expect anyone to listen to our message. The Lord Himself must send us, because having biblical authorization is not enough. To simply know that the Lord sent His disciples does not authorize us to do the same. We need to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ like the disciples and walk with Him and mature in our faith to actually believe, before we take the power of God into the far corners of the world, and not abuse it. The temptation will arise to use the power of God for our own purposes and turn our ministry into something that glorifies us instead of Him, to heal someone and then say, ‘Now you are obligated to me.’ That is abuse. Lk 9-1 (71c) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority over demons -- This verse goes with verses 49&50 (129b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Spiritual fruit -- This verse goes with verse 10 (222k) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> Give to him who has >> Whoever has shall more be given Lk 9,3-5 (150b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Instructions on evangelism – Jesus instructed them not to even bring an extra change of clothes, but to just go. Jesus sent the disciples and gave them authority to cast out demons and heal every kind of sickness and disease, and to preach the gospel of the kingdom; if they didn’t do it His way, what are the chances they would have any success? The disciples didn’t know what they were doing, anymore than we know what we are doing; they only knew what the Lord had told them, and we are no different. They watched Him, and then He told them to do likewise. They were not given freedom to try their own ideas, such as bringing an entourage and suitcases full of clothes. How would that have a negative impact on the ministry? They would have to haul it everywhere they went, and how could they go where God was sending them? Now they are aristocrats, but no one could have said that about Jesus, not the way He went about preaching the gospel. (235ga) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Hospitality (providing a temporary home) >> Being a good guest – How could anyone help them if they had everything they needed? Jesus’ instruction, “Take nothing for your journey,” is counterintuitive, but so are all the ways of God, so it shouldn't surprise us. The missionary is to travel light in order to make it easier on himself, so he can actually go where God is sending him. The missionary is not to take anything with him, because the people to whom he ministers will provide all his needs. If they receive the message of the gospel, he will have everything he needs, but if they don’t, “shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them,” and go to another town or district until he finds people who will receive his message. God wants to give a job to the audience of His gospel who receives it, that they too may have a ministry, an opportunity to give back to those who are giving so much to them. If one party is doing all the giving and the other merely receives, that won't work, but if everyone has an opportunity to give of themselves to the purpose of the gospel, a cycle of giving and receiving is born, and everyone becomes useful and needed. The missionary is to rely on the hospitality of those who will receive him. Trust them who believed the report; that’s got to be worth something, and more importantly trust God. The believers need a way to demonstrate their appreciation of the missionary's stewardship, and they need a way to emulate their newfound faith in a giving God. Lk 9-4 (226c) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven >> Reserved in heaven >> God crowns us with glory for sharing our rewards – Jesus said, “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and take your leave from there.” Imagine the disciples disobeying this command and living from house to house, how much damage that would cause. It would invoke jealousy and evil suspicions, in that the people of the house they left would think they offended the missionaries to make them leave. Doubts would surface, ‘Why did you leave? What did I do wrong? You think the grass is greener on the other side? Perhaps you are hunting for better provisions.’ It would start rumors and gossip that would flame into hurtful accusations, emotionally scaring people who only wanted to help. This would have the effect of closing people’s minds and ears to the gospel; therefore, Jesus instructed them to stay at one house the entire time of their visit in the area, and let the people of that home serve them, for this household acted as a hub from which the gospel of Christ reached into their community. When they take their leave, be sure that household is blessed; leave them with the status of doing the work of the Lord, that they may receive an eternal blessing from God. Lk 9-6 (149i) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Authority of the rhema given to evangelism >> Receiving authority from God personally -- This verse goes with verses 1&2 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,7-9 (231e) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Mystery of godliness >> Revelation of Jesus is the mystery of the kingdom >> Jesus is the mystery of the kingdom – There were all kinds of rumors about Jesus even in His own time that He was John the Baptist come back to life or that He was Elijah or some other ancient prophet, but they didn’t suspect Him to be a modern-day prophet, being the more logical inference, but He was more than that. Jesus kept under wraps His true identity that He was the Son of God, so people had to come to their own conclusion about Him. Obviously, it was important that His disciple knew Him as the Son of God, but He didn’t think it was necessary for society know this. In fact, He thought it would be detrimental for them to know it, for if they rejected Him, which the most certainly did, knowing He was the Son of God would have increased their sin, so He was trying to minimize their judgment. Jesus was a mysterious person even to the disciples. He was probably more mysterious to them, because they knew more about Him that only widened the mysteries. There are many things that we don’t know about God to this day, and there will be some things that will remain a mystery in eternity. Lk 9-10,11 (56k) Paradox >> Opposites >> Least are gre atest >> Smallest in the eyes of men are big to God -- These verses go with verses 22-26. The throng of people thwarted Jesus’ plan to find a quiet place to be alone with His disciples. Instead of being frustrated and disgusted that they invaded His private time, He was delighted to minister to them, giving them what they wanted, and after so many hours sitting at Jesus feet and listening to the word of God, He gave them what they needed. For Him to send them away would have been against His very purpose. Although He and His disciples were tired, He felt obligated to put their needs in front of His own. This was the way He operated; He was last, and everyone else was first. He wouldn’t have it any other way, for in heaven the last are first. Lk 9-10 (129b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing the fruit of evangelism >> Spiritual fruit -- This verse goes with verse 1 Lk 9,12-17 (14n) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Helpers take the last place as a better service to you (30b) Gift of God >> God is our source >> His creative ability supplies our needs – He said, “You give them something to eat!” Jesus was not one to explain Himself; they told Him how much food they had and He showed them how to stretch it to feed five thousand people. He probably didn’t look in the basket but dipped in his hand and fished out another piece of food to give to a hungry listener of God’s word. If Jesus could feed five thousand people with a family picnic basket, why did He need to have a nucleus of fish and bread to start? Why couldn’t He have pulled from an empty basket or put something else on the menu like ham and eggs? Fish and bread was on the menu for the multitude that day because that is what they had to start. Jesus taught that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, God would cause the growth. He caused the fish and bread to grow in abundance until the people were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve full baskets full of scraps, the baskets they gave away no doubt to the people who owned them. If your money is running out and you have few prospects for an income, try this: liquidate your bank account and place all your money in a safe place in your house. When you need a twenty, reach in the till and pull our what you need with thanksgiving, humility, reverence and prayer to God. Spend it frugally, and don’t ask questions, and don’t count your money, expecting a miracle and see what He will do. (227i) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> God working in you >> Dependence on Jesus >> Depending on Jesus to impart His gifts into us >> He gives us what we give to the world – When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He gave them permission and authority to perform miracles in order to accomplish the will of God, and how that applies to us today is this: we need to seek God for a revelation of His will. A spiritual revelation of Jesus Christ replaces His bodily form. They were starting to catch on to Jesus that whatever He said to them was possible, and if they could not do it, then He would help them, and prove to them that all things are possible with God. Since we don’t have Jesus in bodily form, we need to get a revelation of Him in the things He is calling us to do. Put in a situation where a throng of people came to hear the word of God, and it was getting late, and there was nothing for them to eat, and dismissing them hungry meant many would faint along the way, and now they would be negatively impacted for seeking God, we couldn’t have that. The people needed to understand that when they seek God, their faith will be rewarded. We would need a revelation of Jesus Christ to dip into the basket and continue delivering food for the people. God works with us and speaks to us today by revelation of the Holy Spirit. We need to know these things in our spirit, not just by mental ascent according to the written word; we need Him to lift the words off the page and place them in our hearts. (234l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Be a blessing >> Freely give what you received from God – The people spent most of the day with Jesus, so doing the will of God created the problem, and was solved by the power of God. Jesus tested His disciples to see how they would react, hitting the ball into their court and making them responsible for feeding the multitudes. What kind of solution would they implement? Keep in mind that He had just sent them to perform miracles, healing diseases and casting out demons and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He didn’t tell them what to do or how to do it, but the basket of food became the seed of God’s plan to feed the people, Jesus germinated it with the prayer of faith and the contents of the basket increased to feed the multitudes. The disciples could have had the same idea and Jesus would have helped them; instead, it was His plan and they helped Him. The disciples had Jesus in bodily form, but we have Jesus in the Spirit, and His spiritual form has very few if any disadvantages compared to His bodily form. In fact, He taught that His Spirit was even better than His flesh, in that He can now be everywhere at the same time. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9-17 (32l) Gift of God >> Father will honor your devotion to Him >> He will honor your faith – They started with one basket and ended with twelve, while satisfying the appetites of five thousand people in the process. If we tried to do the math on this it would break down immediately. God multiplied what they had thousands of times; He is not in short supply of anything, except perhaps in the faith of man, which He uses to transfer His limitless wealth. Faith purifies us, even though darkness and evil interminably dwells in us, never completely going away, yet faith purifies because we believe in Him, not only in His ability but also in His integrity. Without faith we are no better than a filthy pig or a brutish animal before God, but faith changes that; we become like God. He is willing to give us anything we want, including eternal life, His entire kingdom, having been made in His image. Faith is all He asks; it is all He needs from us; He just wants us to believe in Him for our own sake and for His glory. Lk 9,18-27 (253j) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is subject to the Father >> Jesus is under the authority of the Father >> Jesus obtained power through subjection to the Father – While Jesus was here on earth in the weakness of human flesh, He was totally dependent on His Father, and this arrangement between Father and Son has not changed in heaven. We will see Jesus in all His glory; He will shine like the sun, and His garments will be white as light. The description continues of His great and awesome power, yet what we need to understand about Jesus is that His Father has given Him all these things. He does not intrinsically possess any power or authority on His own. The Father has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth (Mat 28-18), and He is now seated at the right-hand of His majesty. How did He receive His Father’s favor, but through humble submission? This is what He came to teach us about Himself and about heaven. If we are going there, we will have to learn humility and submission. There is no other power in heaven except from the Father, who is the origin of all things. Every ounce of God’s power and authority is manifested to His creation through His Son, who disseminates His glory to His creation. Jesus spent His entire ministry trying to teach His disciples that if they submit to God, He can use them, otherwise He can’t. If they consider themselves wielding authority that originated from themselves or having power apart from God, then heaven’s spigot is in the off-position. Humility and submission is the only way to turn on the faucet of heaven. Lk 9,18-21 (67c) Authority >> Jesus at the right hand of the father (Great High Priest) >> He is interceding for us there – This very popular conversation between Jesus and His disciples occurred in an atmosphere of prayer. If we postulated some of the most common subjects of Jesus' prayers, some might say He prayed mostly for the world, others might say he prayed mostly for His needs or for strength to rise above His fleshly impulses, but more likely His twelve disciples were the most common subject of His prayers. He spent many hours interceding for them, and now He is in heaven conducting His ministry, seated next to His Father, speaking directly to Him about us and requesting His assistance on our behalf. Therefore, when Peter said that Jesus was “the Christ of God,” He was inadvertently proclaiming Jesus to be the Great High Priest. This is the main ministry of Jesus Christ; He will forever intercede for His people. (108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His identity – Some people (King Herod) thought that Jesus was John the Baptist; the Jews believed that Elijah or one of the ancient prophets had risen from the dead, but no one hoped for a new prophet. The Jews were so fascinated by their own heritage, they would rather meet a reincarnated version of Isaiah or Jeremiah than a new prophet who introduced to them a new way of thinking, like all the prophets did. If He were a reincarnated prophet of antiquity, they could understand him, because they studied the words of all the ancient prophets since childhood, but if He were a new prophet bringing a new teaching, they would be afraid of Him, and Israel has had a long history of persecuting their prophets. They wanted someone they could understand, but if one of their old prophets revisited them, they wouldn’t know anymore what to do with him than what they did to Jesus. (150f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Confessing Jesus >> Confessing Jesus as the son of God KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,22-26 (56k) Paradox >> Opposites >> Least are gre atest >> Smallest in the eyes of men are big to God -- These verses go with verses 10,11 (249d) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not try to hold on to your money – The world is the exact opposite of denying self but is me-oriented, and capitalism is the thesis of it. What Jesus is saying is the exact opposite of capitalism, which is the very heart and soul of this world. You could even say that money is the virtual definition of the world. Capitalism is the one place we can go to hear man confess his selfishness, and his confession is laced with pride and arrogance, negating any admission of guilt. The earth is a round ball in space that rotates on its axis and revolves around the sun, but the world is man’s perception of it all, and at the heart of his perceptions of reality is money. Jesus called Satan the god of this world. There is nothing that man believes more than in money; man literally believes money is more real than God; hence money is tantamount to Satan. Lk 9-22,23 (192a) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Life for life >> Losing your life to gain God’s life – The world has a problem with denying self and taking up the cross and following Jesus, but Jesus didn’t have a problem with it. To Him denying self was the very essence of the gospel. Those who go to heaven will discover it a place where people want to be servants as a natural and joyous expression of their inner being, as opposed to the world that wants to buy servants as a natural and contemptuous expression of their inner being. The greatest person in heaven is the greatest servant of all. Jesus says to those who want to follow Him that not only must we not be like the world, we must be opposite the world, which will cause us to stick out like a sore thumb, and it won’t make our lives very easy. We can believe in Jesus and have a dollar in our pocket at the same time, because having enough money is all we need, just like having five loaves and two fish was enough. We don’t have to worry about money, for on the one hand, we are part of a value system that opposes the world, and on the other hand we belong to a king who provides for His own. God is not asking us to live a natural life, but wants us living a miraculous life, preaching a miraculous gospel in a miraculous way. Lk 9-22 (152h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> Jesus is a prophet >> Jesus prophesies about the fulfillment of Scripture (210c) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> God used sinners to sacrifice His son Lk 9,23-27 (5h) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your loyalty >> Your commitment to follow Jesus – These verses go with verses 57-62. (197j) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unfaithfulness >> Unfaithful to your own conscience – People know the truth in their hearts, even the most vial psychopath. Everyone is born with a conscience, though some choose to sacrifice it, some at a very early age, some so early in life they don’t ever remember having one. These kind of people are virtually controlled by demons. For the rest of their lives they have no conscience, and for this reason they claim to have no consciousness of sin. Jesus came to deliver us from consciousness of sin (Heb 10-2), but psychopaths accomplished this without God as gods unto themselves. This is how some people try to avoid accountability for their sin. God might play along and say, ‘Okay, I will not hold you responsible for your sins, but I will hold you responsible for sacrificing your conscience, and the penalty for that is greater than all the sins you have committed throughout your life.’ People know the truth one way or the other. They can say they have no regrets, but the number one mental skill of man is denying the truth and lying to their own hearts. See also: Reprobate (Psychopath) devoid of conscience; Phi 3-18,19; 186g (208a) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> The cross KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9-23 (187h) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Die to the flesh >> Spirit versus the flesh >> Deny the flesh to walk in the Spirit >> More the flesh dies, more the spirit lives -- For commentary see: Mk 8-34 Lk 9,24-26 (55k) Paradox >> Gain the world to lose your soul >> he who saves his life shall lose it – Jesus is not speaking to Christians only, but to everyone, that if we don’t believe in God, we will lose your souls. For those who don’t believe this Jesus says, “What is a man profited” if he dedicated his life to a temporal world, only to lose his eternal soul in the process? Yet, people are readily willing to trade in their souls for the passing pleasures of sin. (56g) Paradox >> Opposites >> Seek God’s life by subduing your flesh (167i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil (Conspiracy) >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind does not receive the things of God >> It rejects God – There is a lot that goes into forfeiting our eternal souls. We love the perspective of this physical world; we would love it to be the only reality, but it isn’t; there is a nagging question of the origin of life and the universe. The secular, materialistic worldview is tantalizing to some, but the fact that the cosmos has no end forces us to think bigger, which leads us to God, and the world doesn’t want to go there. Secular humanism’s great claim is open-mindedness, which its proponents claim is how they arrived at their conclusions, yet they don’t ask any questions about the possibility of a God. Instead, they assign that problem to their religion of evolution. They have concocted a complex answer that they would love to believe is as complicated as God Himself, so no one can trace their reasoning to expose their lies. This way they can pretend to be god by explaining away the existence of God to maintain their secular humanistic worldviews, which is the prize for trading in their eternal souls. People get very upset when we try to preach the gospel to them, because of the huge sacrifice they made of their souls. It can be reversed, but most don’t know that. This is not true for everyone, though, for some have crossed the line and are unable to be saved from a reprobate mind, from the irreparable damage they have done to their conscience. Others resist the gospel tooth-and-nail, and if their conscience still worked may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and be released from an evil conscience toward God and find their freedom in Christ. See also: Atheism (The Religion of unbelief); 2Tim 4,6-8; 46e (195c) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only believe in one at a time -- These verses go with verse 41. God gave us a mind to understand Him and a conscience to remember our sin, so we know we are evil. We know that God is highly intricate and highly complex, more than man will ever know. Since He is that complex, intelligent and powerful to think of an idea and execute it and create a universe as vast and intricate as this, then we must understand by deduction that God must also be all-wise. In that wisdom comes humility, and in that humility comes perfection that transcends the human imagination. We know these things, therefore we are obligated to Him, yet the vast majority derives the wrong conclusions and walks the other way. They don’t want to know God. All their decisions and all their ways go against their conscience, and they become evil, and if they hate their conscience and seek to destroy it, they become monsters, incapable of being saved. Jesus draws a picture of man running from God. Man in his astuteness believes in himself that he is logical and sensible, but in truth he is a wild beast and is running from God in shame. Instead of coming to God and seeking forgiveness, salvation and eternal life, they choose to run. They run with the few measly years they've been given, and for as long as they lived in this world they were gods. If they don't repent, God will send them to a place that befits their monstrous, animalistic souls, where nothing divine or wholesome exists and where no good dwells, where the absence of God turns into hell, and they are thrown into it, placed there by their own request, where they can continue being a god unto themselves, having no kingdom to rule and no subjects to command; their world consisting only of self. See also: Teenage rebellion; 2Pet 2,10-18; 185e Lk 9-24,25 (94a) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on this life >> It is our investment in the Kingdom of God Lk 9-25 (159g) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Wealth is a form of counterfeit godliness – Wealthy people tend to believe their wealth has bought them a place in heaven, and that they have no worries regarding the afterlife. Some say they don’t have to worry about meeting God because He doesn’t exist. Others who value their money consider it to be a form of salvation and the greatest attribute of their lives, cannot get saved because of their idolatry. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9-26 (94h) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> His perspective on the witnesses of Jesus – God takes our free will far more seriously than we do, and look how important we consider it, isn't every bloody war fought for its sake? Some people wonder how God could hold us guilty when we are so fallible; why can’t God cut us a break and just forgive us? He forgives those who hate their sin! God is not in heaven only; He is here too; He sees us from our own perspective, and from that vantage point He sees us as wanting Him to leave us alone, so we may continue in sin. He can go back to His own perspective and see how great He is and how small we are and not take us so seriously, but God created us in His image, and so in that sense we really are eye-to-eye with Him. (150c) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Confessing Jesus to be saved >> Confessing Jesus that He may confess us to the Father (203c) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by not receiving Him – Some say that it is severe of God to feel this way about us, being such weak creatures, prone to failure, that He would deny us if we deny Him. Don't forget that Jesus died on the cross in weakness to save us from our sins. The world sees believers in Jesus as weak, as though our accusers were strong, but they have it backwards. We believe in Jesus and therefore believe in strength, power, glory, authority and dominion, hoping for all these things in the life to come. Sometimes we get antsy and want it now and are unwilling to accept the weakness of Christ in this life. If we don’t want to be Christians who experience shame in hope of a better life, then we better not join the Church, because their Master and Lord suffered these things and expects us to do the same. The world hung Him on a cross until dead; He rose from the dead, but the world doesn't care. They imagine truth with their creative mind and believe what they just created, like idol worshippers carving on a piece of wood and then later falling down and worshipping it. To them is doesn’t matter if their beliefs are true, since they are not seeking truth. We have taken Jesus’ place, being in a position of weakness and having the appearance of failure. We are willing to accept this position in order to inherit eternal life and become judges of the creation and be given all authority from the Father that was given to Christ, seated with Him at His right-hand. Lk 9-27 (20f) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Seeking a sign (26ba) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Death is hell >> Rejecting Christ has the sentence of hell – This verse is related to Zech 12-10, “They will look on the one they have pierced” (Jn 19-37). Jesus was speaking to a crowd, not just to His disciples, when He made this statement; some of those standing around Jesus "will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God." That is, they will see Christ coming in the clouds to set up His millennial kingdom from the vantage point of hell. When a person is thrown into hell, their immediate reaction is never-ending horror, yet it gets worse. A day is coming when the thousand-year reign of Christ will finally be established on the earth and will topple all other kingdoms, which will never rise again. Yet another day is coming when God will make a new heaven and establish His kingdom on a new earth, where righteousness dwells and all His enemies will have been made a footstool for His feet. When these things take place and they see what they have missed and realize that the world they once cherished and the sin they once loved has been completely wiped away, then their hell will really begin. They have chosen a failed kingdom that has become obsolete, and they are all that remains of it, vessels of misery and objects of wrath. (94k) Thy kingdom come >> God’s perspective >> His perspective on death Lk 9,28-36 (111i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Kingdom of God revealed >> Manifestation of truth – There was a cloud, and from the cloud came a voice saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” We have two separate entities on Mount Transfiguration: the voice of the Spirit and Jesus the word of God. Together they are the Spirit and the Word working in tandem. This mountaintop experience had a huge impact on the disciples, whereas at other times either one would hear a voice or see a light with no particular consequence (Act 22-9; Jn 12-28,29). The two together, though, made a profound impact on the disciples who both heard and saw these signs from heaven, creating a place of faith in their hearts. Lk 9,28-32 (196j) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Replacing God’s standard of excellence with yours >> Sleeping in the spirit – When Jesus went to the mountains, He would spend hours in prayer, but His disciples often used this time to catch up on their sleep. It is a demonic influence, people falling asleep during prayer or the reading of the word; for some it is almost automatic. A spirit comes over them as in the Wizard of Oz in the scene of the field of flowers. The Wicked Witch of the West casts a spell on Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion, and they fall fast asleep. The witch was trying to keep them from reaching the Emerald City, thinking that if they made it, she would be doomed. The same kind of spell came over the disciples when they were praying, and they awoke to the transfiguration of Christ with Moses and Elijah standing next to Him, and they almost missed it! Great as these three men later became and forever changed the world, prior to Pentecost they more resembled Moe, Larry and Curly. Lk 9-28,29 (92b) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> Ray of light leading to the face of Christ (108k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Revelation of the glory of God – Jesus was transfigured into the appearance of sinful flesh when He was born of the Virgin Mary, but when He went to the mountain with His disciples, He became normal again for just a few minutes. It says that the appearance of his face became different, not just glowing. His face in heaven and his face on earth are different, because of the genetic contribution of His mother. The disciples earlier realized that Jesus was the Son of God in human flesh, but now He has taken them to the mountain to show them how right they were believing in Him. (244c) Kingdom of God >> The eternal kingdom >> There shall be no end to his increase >> Jesus shall be glorified forever – God is the authority of creation, and we were made in His image. The glory that Jesus received from His Father He will give to us that we might reign together over a people that He will create. He will command them to be fruitful and multiply without any limit of children they will conceive over the course of eternity. God is infinite and eternal, and everything He does is infinite and eternal. The creation that He will make will infinitely reproduce throughout eternity, and we will reign over them. In the eons to come there will be hundreds of billions of people under our charge. When we think of governors and presidents of nations today, how they pompously flaunt their authority, they have received their reward in full. They don’t realize that they have a mere pittance compared to our inheritance; they would do anything to be one of us in eternity, but they are not worshippers of God. There may be some rulers of this world who are also disciples of Jesus, but the vast majority of them are too self-involved to care about the life to come. See also: New heavens and a new earth (Our inheritance is infinite and eternal); Lk 12,42-44; 13m (245c) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Literal manifestation of Jesus Christ >> Jesus is the light of the world – Jesus said in Jn 17-24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus wanting His people to see His glory must have been part of His motive in taking His closest disciples with Him on the mountaintop that day. This was not just the Lord’s choice but also the Father’s will. Everything Jesus did was based on His Father’s interests and desires. Jesus didn’t even come on His own volition, but the Father sent Him. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,33-36 (132f) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holy Spirit is in God’s people >> God gives his spirit as a pledge >> God pledges His Spirit – After Jesus gave His life, rose from the dead, ascended to the Father and sent the Holy Spirit in His place, the bodies of His worshippers have become the temple. The Old Testament gives an intricate design of the temple that King Solomon made, being extremely elaborate, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the intricacy of the human body. Therefore, having become the temple of God, our bodies belong to Him, yet we too often use our bodies for sin. For us to commit sin is the same as going into the old covenant temple and performing egregious sins in its Holy Places. The Old Testament taught that if someone has committed a grievous sin, Israel should take him from God’s altar and stone him to death (Ex 21-14). However, since God’s new way of dealing with sin now pertains to repentance and forgiveness, we should have a sense of gratitude for God’s mercy. (176g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Intensity without insight – Peter didn’t know what to say so he should have kept silent, but that was not Peter's way. There are those who tend to run their mouth when they get nervous; they don’t know what to think, so they just start talking, and what came out of Peter was in reference to temple worship, but Jesus represented an end to that. Lk 9-33 (224g) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The joyful kingdom >> We will recognize our family members in heaven Lk 9,34-36 (79j) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word >> Listen to the word >> Listen to Jesus Lk 9-37 -- No Entries Lk 9,38-41 (178j) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> Jesus rebuked His disciples – Jesus’ standard for His disciples were very high, not accepting failure, but expected them to cast out the demons without a hitch. Jesus rebuking His disciples for being unable to cast out the demon reminds us that He chose them from an unbelieving and perverted generation. Jesus was teaching them His ways, but the disciples found Him difficult to grasp by comparison to the ways of the world that had a natural connection to their flesh. It was a very shrewd and obstinate demon that held its ground with the unsure disciples, but was no match for the Lord. We can view demon possession as a form of sickness that afflicts some unbelievers as a physical ailment in which the person cannot overcome without assistance from a person of faith to minister a prayer of deliverance over them to cast out the demon. Believers in Jesus are immune to demon possession. Lk 9,39-43 (146b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Demon possession >> Human state >> Their behavior >> Epilepsy – B ack then there was a lot of demon possession, and Jesus concurred with those who held this view. Just because science can explain certain illnesses does not dismiss demon-possession. Perhaps both physical and spiritual symptoms are present at the same time. The people of the day seemed to be an authority on the subject of demon possession; the man was able to describe the situation in great detail; the demon “scarcely leaves him,” even diagnosing the symptoms. How did the man know the demon leaves his son and then returns? Epilepsy has the appearance of demon possession, but there is also the clinical view that successfully treats the symptoms with medicine. Can a demon be exorcised through medicine? In fact, that may be an accurate view if the host is not a willing participant of the possession, the only opportunity the demon has to inhabit the person is during a seizure. According to Scripture, it appears that the demon-possessed man equally has as a medical issue and as a spiritual problem. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9-40,41 (20a) Sin >> Nature of sin >> Unbelief >> Spirit of familiarity Lk 9-41 (64b) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot tolerate sin >> Impossible to please God without faith (99f) Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Enduring our circumstances Caused by other people (195c) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Idolatry >> Serving two masters >> You can only believe in one at a time -- This verse goes with verses 24-26 (203b) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Dishonor God by your unbelief Lk 9,44-48 (198a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >> Resisting the knowledge of God – The disciples replaced their rejection of Jesus’ statement, “The son of man is going to be delivered into the hands of men,” with an argument of their own about who was greater, which was the exact opposite of what Jesus was telling them, suggesting that on some deep, dark level they in fact heard every word He said, but because they resisted the knowledge, they focused on the opposing principles in their flesh. This is the sacrifice we make when we resist the truth: we lose the whole meaning; just like James said about violating one commandment, we have broken them all (Jm 2-10). It is similar to war, if someone gets shot in the chest, more than that body part dies, the whole body dies; so if we resist one aspect of the truth, we won’t understand any of it. Lk 9-44,45 (16i) Sin >> Continuing in sin to avoid the light >> Deny the truth – The disciples didn’t want to know that Jesus would one day leave them. They didn’t want to find their way through life without Him, after they met the guardian of their souls; they didn’t know how to do it anymore. They could accept a rebuke, but they couldn’t hear Him say that one day He would be taken from them. It says this statement was concealed from them; it sounded like babble in their minds, as though Jesus were speaking in a different language that they didn’t understand. “Being delivered into the hands of men” was imperceptible to their ears, but resisting the knowledge of God only got them hurt, for His crucifixion was brutal on their hearts, if only they understood that it was necessary. Their ignorance of God's will was the work of demons and Jesus couldn’t stop it; much less can we stop the willful ignorance in people all around us. (168h) The World Has Deaf Ears To God (Key verse) (168i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world has deaf ears to God >> Deaf to the word of God from a lack of understanding – People can go to college and master complicated fields of knowledge, such as mathematics and physics, yet the disciples, though they were not mentally challenged, found it difficult if not impossible to understand the simple statement Jesus made to them. In addition to the spiritual cloud that came over them on top of the mountain and the voice that spoke from the cloud telling them to listen to Jesus, there was another cloud that came over them that removed the word of God from their hearts, disclosing satanic darkness of unbelief. God hides behind the cloud of our unbelief. We need to be careful what we refuse to believe, for there is a price to pay for willful ignorance. The more willing the disciples were to remain ignorant, the more access demons had to their hearts. To overtly or otherwise ask demons to hide the knowledge of God for us never ends well. Anytime we ask demons to help us with anything, we run into trouble, because that opens the door for them to ask favors from us, and they invariably ask us to sacrifice something very dear to us that God wants us to keep. We know from Scripture that they will ultimately ask us to sacrifice our eternal destiny with God. A double-loss occurs here: we lose the knowledge that we would have gained and the rewards of obedience had we been amiable to the Spirit of God, and we also lose in our sacrifice to the demons that we make to maintain our ignorance. A spirit of delusion came over them, and suddenly they became deaf, as though Jesus was speaking to them behind a thick pane of glass with the sound of His voice unable to penetrate, so when He tried to warn them of His imminent suffering, they couldn’t hear Him. (175h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Dodging the issue (willful ignorance) >> Dodging the issue to get what you want – Tell someone about Jesus, often they can’t hear what you are saying. It is imperceptible to them that they could be so wrong. They see that a spiritual overhaul is necessary that would affect every aspect of their being, and for most people it is just too much to bear, so they pretend ignorance and the demons take over manifesting that ignorance in reality. Instead of asking Jesus to explain Himself like they did about some of His parables (Lk 8-9), the disciples just let it go. They could have asked Jesus to explain Himself and He would have clarified everything, and they would have been more prepared for His crucifixion, but as it was the cross came as a complete surprise; they just couldn’t comprehend this happening to Him. To begin the acceptance process of His torture and death right then would have begun the grieving process that would have saved a lot of heart-felt pain at the cross; as it was, though, they didn’t understand the plan of God, making the cross so ghastly and traumatic that it made His resurrection that much better; thus again we see God turning evil into good. Jesus had no intensions of leaving them, but to ascended to the Father in order to send the Holy Spirit in His place. The disciples seemed happy with Jesus' replacement of the Holy Spirit, just as happy with Him as with His physical presence, if not happier, but the Church today can’t seem to make the administration of the Holy Spirit work for them. We just don’t believe it; we are too fleshly-minded. The only thing the Church believes is what it sees and hears, no different from the disciples prior to Pentecost. Perhaps the works of the devil are working in us, leading us to be willfully ignorant of the administration of the Holy Spirit. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,46-48 (5g) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your motives – If we want to be great in the Kingdom of God, but still have a fleshly mind, we have a rude awakening coming. Our flesh will want the things of the world (recognition, money, and a lofty self-opinion), and Jesus will want us to serve the people for nothing in return except praise from God, which we will receive through your personal relationship with Him only. Obviously, these two interests are opposites each other, so we will only succeed in attaining one or the other. We have a choice, either God’s will or our will. If we think we can successfully combine the two, we may become a danger to those around us, especially as leader, for that is the recipe for a wolf and our ministry a cult. We are to humble ourselves and lead the people in honor or step aside and let someone else who means well lead the people. (13k) Servant >> Serve God though small in stature >> Greatest is the least (33f) Gift of God >> God is our Father >> Greatness is expressed as being a child (56l) Paradox >> Opposites >> Greatest are least in the eyes of God Lk 9-49,50 (67f) Authority >> Jesus delegates authority >> Name of Jesus >> Performing miracles in Jesus’ name (71c) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have authority over demons -- These verses go with verse 1 (178c) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the facts about the circumstances >> Presumption interprets our observations – There was a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name, but because he was not traveling with them, the disciples held him suspect. This is like churches of differing denominations holding each other suspect because they have different beliefs, yet they are both living for Jesus. The Evangelicals hold the Pentecostals suspect and vise versa, even though they both believe that Jesus is God. If they have accepted Jesus’ blood sacrifice as full payment for their sins and live for Him, what's the problem? They will stand fully justified before the Father, and if God accepts them, then so should we. ‘If they knew and loved the truth, they would be going to our church,’ goes the mantra. Just because some people don’t believe exactly the way we do doesn’t make them wrong. There is an inherent lack of trust with those who are different from us, but this is something for us to overcome, not to accept. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,51-56 (169b) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Blind to Jesus >> Blind to the holiness of God in Christ – Although the Samaritans had previously met Jesus and were amazed by Him to the point of believing He was the expected One, still they would not receive Him because His heart was set on Jerusalem instead of Samaria. They rejected Him because He was Israel’s Messiah and not theirs. They were unaware of His actual intensions to give His life for the sins of the whole world, but how could He explain that to them, since He couldn’t even explain it to His twelve disciples. Likewise in our own generation, people who supposedly have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them treat their faith in God contemptuously by living however they please instead of living for Him. This is the way man has always been with God; all that matters to most people is getting their own way. Our opinions mean more to us than faith in the truth. Social issues taking precedence over faith literally defines both the world and the Church today. It is a recurring theme that has persisted throughout the ages, and it has never changed. Opinions are nothing more than capriciously selected ideas pitched on a stick, and these loosely tossed-together constructs mean so much to us that not even God can overturn them. (199a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Frustrating the grace of God >> Frustrating Jesus >> Frustrating Jesus’ ministry – Nobody understood Jesus. He was alone in a world of disobedience and unbelief with twelve disciples who were utterly lost without Him and incognizant of what He was doing. Almost everything Jesus said didn’t register with them, and it frustrated Him. When we think of the Samaritans and the story of the woman at the well, she brought the entire town to see Jesus, and He visited with them for a couple days. They were all very excited to receive Him and they believed in His words, and they may have even recognized Him as the Messiah, and they were hoping that He had come to them and not to the Jews; but when they realized that He was heading to Jerusalem, they rejected Him in disregard of their earlier joy. After they learned He was committed to the Jews, they took their happy memories of Him and threw them in the dumpster, because their Messiah was not doing what they wanted. People set up parameters for their faith and say that if the truth is like this they will believe in Him; but if the truth is like that, they won't believe. Those who raise no parameters against the truth, when God does something they don’t understand, they continue to trust Him. Slow as the disciples were to believe the truth, they didn’t deny Him, except the son of perdition that the Scriptures may be fulfilled (Jn 13-18). The rest remained faithful through thick and thin. They may not have understood, but that was all the more they trusted in Him, for they were fully convinced that He was the Messiah, though He kept confounding them. God expects us to trust Him, because we have a limited perspective, and we are immersed in sin, so He doesn’t expect us to always understand, but to obey through trust, and in time we will understand and do His will. (200a) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Unwilling to receive Christ >> Asking Jesus to leave – Here is another case where people understood Jesus to be the Messiah, yet they rejected Him because of personal reasons. This is something that virtually everybody did to Him and is still doing, with the exception of a few. People often give a higher priority to their opinions than to their faith in Jesus. For example, the Pharisees and Scribes gave a higher priority to their interpretation of the Old Testament than they did to their own Messiah. Israel longed for centuries to see Him (Lk 10-23,24), but when He finally came, they couldn’t fit Him into their lives, and instead of jettisoning the useless junk they jettisoned Jesus. They had Him killed over peripheral, religious issues. The coming of Messiah had remained continually on the minds of the Jews, just like His second coming remains continually on the minds of many Christians today, and if we think we could never be caught unprepared for His return, Israel testifies that it is in deed possible. (201k) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from God >> Man’s will over God >> Man is unwilling to acknowledge God Lk 9,51-53 (2c) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Keep your commitments >> Complete God’s calling in your ministry >> Christ did as our example (100j) Thy kingdom come >> Devotion >> In your ministry to God >> Fulfill God’s calling in your life (118i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Eyes of your spirit >> Giving God your attention >> Resolutely focus on the glory of God >> Focus on the direction He is leading you – Whatever God has called us to do we are to resolutely focus on it, and if we offend people by our determination, then let them be offended. We who have a vision offend those without a vision; Jesus was devoted to His Father and He plotted His course in His direction, and the Samaritans were offended because he was committed to the Jews instead of them. We are not responsible for offending people while doing the will of God. If we have a divine mission, then we are ordained to fulfill it, and if anybody is offended in the process, it is on them. If we resolutely focus our attention on the will of God, we will offend just about everybody, because nobody understands us anymore. Like Jesus before His ministry, His relatives and friends thought they knew Him, but during His ministry they realized they didn't. They had an opportunity to know Him as God knew Him, and some received Him, but most did not. Earlier in His ministry, after He spoke to the woman at the well, Jesus spent time with the Samaritans, and they received Him, and they even believed Him to be the Messiah; but after seeing that He was committed to Israel, they rejected Him. They wanted Him to fit into their mold and conform to their manner of worship and were unwilling to fit into His plan and purpose for salvation through Israel. They wanted Him to be their messiah. There are a myriad reasons for rejecting the Lord, and all them have to do with living in this world. People allow their culture to influence them to reject their maker. (129k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Single minded >> Determination (234g) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Sold out >> Placing no boundaries on your commitment to God >> Completely given over to the will of God (247g) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God is interested in the cross – Jesus was going to Jerusalem to fulfill His Father’s wishes to give His life in obedience to the Father that He may forgive our sins, and He was passing through Samaria and they were going to make arrangements to stay the night. Jesus had already been through Samaria, and so the villagers were already familiar with Him; He talked to the woman at the well (Jn 4,7-30), and she called the townspeople to His attention, and many came to see and believed in Him. Now that He was returning through their region and was intent on going to Jerusalem the Samaritans did not receive Him, because they considered the city of the Jews a rival of their faith. Jerusalem was the central location for Jewish worship and Samaria was the central location for worship according to the Samaritans, Jews who had mixed their bloodline with the surrounding gentile nations, which was against the Law of Moses; hence Israel considered them “sinners” (among other things). Consequently, the only reason they originally received Jesus at Jacob’s well was that they thought He had come for their sakes, when in reality He had come chiefly for the sake of “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mat 15-24). Lk 9-51 (5a) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Disciples chasten themselves – Jesus resolved to go to Jerusalem to fulfill prophecy and would let no one stop Him. A teem of horses couldn’t have kept him from accomplishing His goal; He walked with such determination just to get Himself to do it at all, because He knew what sorrow awaited Him there. It is like making up our mind to jump into a swimming pool on a cold day; we must forcibly jump or we won't jump at all. (57ha) Paradox >> Opposites >> Jesus pushed Himself to achieve His predestined goals (129j) Single Minded (Key verse) (191f) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> God sanctifies us through our devotion to Him Lk 9,53-56 (77n) Thy kingdom come >> God Ministers To People Through The Humble >> Humility gives a blessing (124h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Love your enemies >> Loving your enemies leaves room for God to Work >> Leave room for the salvation of God (183f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Nursery for the Spirit of error >> Ignorance KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,54-56 (1h) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> False burden >> Serving God in ignorance >> Not knowing His will – People were rejecting Christ, and His disciples took it personally. They were not in touch with God’s will; they were still thinking in Old Testament terms, being unaware that Jesus was the embodiment of a new covenant. The word of God had not yet been renewed their minds; what Jesus had been telling them was not sinking in. Jesus had to remind them that their ministry and their cause was about love, not war. (21e) Sin >> Disobedience does not understand God – James and John were two of Jesus’ closest disciples who seemed to understand the gospel better than anyone in the group, especially John, who boasted as the one whom Jesus loved. He seemed to comprehend the Lord better than the others, yet it was he who concocted the idea to ask fire to come from heaven to consume the adversaries, suggesting that he wanted Jesus to have the ministry of Elijah. John the Baptist had the ministry of Elijah, who came to restore all things, but Jesus' ministry was to inaugurate a new covenant in His own blood. Jesus ministry more resembled that of King David, who ran from King Saul, the religious establishment of His day, but destroyed his enemies of foreign nations, the demon world. At His second He will resemble Kind David when he becomes king. The Old Testament referenced Jesus first-coming on many occasions hidden in plain sight within the pages, as much as Jesus hid in plain sight from the world throughout the new covenant era, and hidden mostly even from those who call themselves Christians today. (23c) Sin >> Pride is defensive – James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven and consume the Samaritans who would not receive Jesus when he intended to visit their town. Jesus’ solution was simply to journey to the next village. Calling down fire from heaven would be an easier solution than God's plan of accepting the will of Christ, which involved suffering humiliation and gulping down a steady diet of rejection. John talked about the big three sins in his first epistle: greed, lust and pride (1Jn 2-16), which were all present in his desire to see the Samaritans burn, indicating his change of heart. (25f) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Satan and his children are murderers – Notice that the word fear is not present in this passage, which best defines the nature of sin, suggesting that all other sins are expressions of this one. We can also trace back pride as a manifestation of fear. James and John became defensive when the Samaritans rejected the Lord, which they took personally, and that defensiveness draws a definitive line right back to pride. Actually insecurity is another word for “pride,” and at the heart of insecurity is fear, completing the circle. John wanted to strike fear in the minds of the Samaritans because of their own insecurities, which was the opposite intent of Christ, who was trying to foster faith and love wherever He went, and for this reason he and James received a rebuke from the Lord saying that they did not know what spiritual realm they sought. James and John had a long way to go before they came to realize the purpose and ministry of Christ. (31d) Grace (Key verse) (31g) Gift of God >> Grace >> Salvation >> God’s mercy opposes man’s theology – The disciples had been recently casting out demons, healing the sick and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, so when they asked Jesus if He would let them call down fire from heaven and consume what they considered their enemies, they thought they could actually do it. The Old Testament method was to destroy their enemies, but Jesus came to replace God’s judgment with His love; that is, love should become the new judgment from God. Instead of eliminating evil from the world, God's aim was to convert it. Peter said, 'Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead, because you were called to inherit a blessing' (1Pet 3,8-12). The Old Testament taught: ‘eye for eye,’ ‘hand for hand,’ ‘tooth for tooth,’ whereas the judgment of the new covenant is forgiveness. When they asked if they could call down fire from heaven to consume their perceived enemies, they were proving that they still didn’t understand Jesus but were coming from an old covenant perspective, which the Jews mostly misunderstood. The confusion between the old and new covenants came through the repercussions of Israel's disobedience. Had they been faithful, they would have better understood the grace of God. That is, they interpreted their disobedience as the covenant. The old covenant pertained to faith and love as much as the second. Abraham represented Christian faith, while the law taught to love God by obeying His laws, which pertained to loving our neighbor, but this got lost in translation. Killing people because they don’t receive your gospel is not allowed under the new covenant. Tell that to the Catholics! Also, what does Jesus say about ethnic cleansing? “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of” ...satanic. (37a) Judgment >> The cross >> God judged the sin of the world through Christ – Judgment has not changed from the old to the new; it’s still the same; what changed is that judgment has fallen on His Son instead of on us, so that we have cause and incentive to repent. We see the mercy and forgiveness of God that His judgment should have fallen on us instead of on Him. God was happy to place our sin on Christ that God might created a nation of worshippers to glorify Him throughout eternity. (79b) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Satan will control your mind if you don’t – After His resurrection Jesus breathed on them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” meaning they didn’t possess the indwelling Holy Spirit until then. It’s the indwelling Holy Spirit who helps us understand the word of God, while the anointing of Pentecost, which came later, helps manifest our understanding of the truth in the world as a spiritual kingdom that God will continually manifest until it takes on a physical shape at His second coming. Jesus was training their minds so when the Holy Spirit came, it would be like putting new wine into fresh wineskins. (116g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through the words you speak (126d) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> Peacemakers >> Peacemakers avoid violence (170c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Pursuing the glory of man turns us in the wrong direction >> Fighting God to keep the glory of man (247a) Priorities >> God’s priorities >> God’s interests >> God is interested in His people >> God is interested in the Church Lk 9-55 (160b) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit spirit Lk 9,56-62 (197b) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Spiritual laziness >> Rebelling Against what God wants you to do >> Refusing to take on responsibility Lk 9-56 (207l) Salvation >> Salvation verses >> The kindness of God >> God is kind to sinners >> He seeks and saves that which was lost KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Lk 9,57-62 (5h) Responsibility >> Discipleship tested >> God tests your loyalty >> Your commitment to follow Jesus -- These verses go with verses 23-27. (174k) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Lip service – Jesus wasn’t trying to dissuade the man from following Him, but was letting him know that the road was difficult and the life of ministry was challenging. It’s not all fun and games; some of it is grueling and hard on the flesh. There will be parts he won’t like and recanting his faith is a poor option. Jesus would rather He never started his journey of faith than to start and then quit, because then he has less hope than when he started. (175g) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >> Dodging the issue (willful ignorance) >> Evading the heart of the matter (200f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Selfish ambition >> Having more important things to do – Although the man seemed committed, he asked if he had time to go bury his father, meaning that he had not yet died. 'Let me wait for my father to die, then I will come follow you,' is what he was saying. There are lots of people with good intensions who never get around to serving the Lord. Jesus was saying that if he goes back home, he will be going back to the dead and become one of them. Let those who have no interest in Jesus help his father, but the call of God is now, and he must answer the call regardless of his situation. God knows our circumstances; if He calls us, His expectation is to drop everything and follow Him; that is what his disciples did; they didn’t ask any questions; they just followed Him. The Church today believes in God’s grace, mercy and love, but it doesn’t believe in God’s expectations of us. When God calls us, He expects us to drop everything right then and there and follow Him, no matter what we were doing, and if we respond with excuses, He considers it backtalk. Jesus’ commitment to His Father was altogether complete, and he made the same expectations on His disciples, complete devotion. What kind of devotion do we see in the Church today? People serve Him if they feel like it. Lk 9-57,58 (158j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Love sickening sweet >> Loving words that lack action -- These verses go with verses 61&62 Lk 9,59-62 (215l) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> Suddenly >> The disciples immediately followed Jesus – The call of God is what Jesus said about being born-again, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Combine that with the parable of the sower of seeds, how the sower threw the seed and some landed on the road and the birds ate it. God’s calling is like the seed that fell on the road; if we wait for a couple days before responding, the birds will have already digested the seed and expelled it. In a couple days we might consider following Jesus and won’t remember what we were thinking; it won’t make sense anymore; it will suddenly seem ridiculous. Satan had a chance to steal the seed, and now the moment of clarity has passed, and there is no promise that the Holy Spirit will return. When we feel the tug of His Spirit, we must respond immediately; that goes not only for the day of our spiritual birth, but also for our walk with Jesus throughout our lives. Lk 9-60 (59c) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> My father just died / Wait until my father dies Lk 9-61,62 (2d) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Keeping your commitments >> Complete God’s calling in your ministry as Christ did – Jesus preached a lot about being ready always. If He were to come today would you be ready? That is the question He wants us all to answer in our hearts. We must always be somewhere in the process of preparing for His ministry that He would personally convey to us. You must ask the question, what if that fellow in the Bible had been prepared and would have answered Jesus correctly and dropped everything to followed Him, how would that have changed his life. No one can afford to miss God’s calling. Therefore we must always be in a state of preparing for His visitation, because He has something for us to do. (158j) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >> Counterfeit godliness >> Love sickening sweet >> Loving words that lack action -- These verses go with verses 57&58 (231k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Count the cost >> Don’t look back >> Don’t look back to bondage – Don’t look back; don’t change your mind; don’t have second thoughts. Anyone with second thoughts is unworthy of His Kingdom. See next page