Fire
Luke 12
There are a few connecting points in this chapter from Luke. The first comes from Jesus' disapproval of the religious leaders. He says they are phony and contaminating. The religious leaders say one thing and do another. They preach one thing and whisper privately something else. Jesus says eventually your true self will be revealed, so don't act like that. I imagine Jesus is saying much of this in regard to himself. Many of the religious leaders pretty much hated Jesus. They would play nice in front of him and affirm his actions to the crowds of people, but when Jesus was gone and the crowds left, the religious leaders seethed with anger. Jesus' response to this is reasonable, though. If you bad-mouth Jesus because of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be "overlooked." But when you knowingly attack God and the Holy Spirit that won't be overlooked.
A little later Jesus tells the story of a master with servants. The master leaves his home to be managed by the servants. If the head servant does what he is supposed to do, when the master comes back all is well. If he does whatever he wants, mistreating the other servants and maids, throwing parties for his friends, getting drunk, the master is going to beat him severely and put him at the bottom of the ranks. Jesus, again, makes a concession here: "But if [the head servant] does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand."
Despite these concessions to those who are ignorant and misunderstand Jesus, ultimately Jesus is not about making excuses for others. He has come to change the world! There is no appropriate mediocre response to Jesus. Either you understand who he is and change your life because of it, or you don't understand and are reprimanded for it. Either you live a life for Jesus, affirming the fullness of life for others and the miracles he performs along the way, or you reject it and are punished like the head servant who lived recklessly while the master was away. Jesus is here to start a fire. He says, "I wish it were blazing right now! I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up."
There are a few connecting points in this chapter from Luke. The first comes from Jesus' disapproval of the religious leaders. He says they are phony and contaminating. The religious leaders say one thing and do another. They preach one thing and whisper privately something else. Jesus says eventually your true self will be revealed, so don't act like that. I imagine Jesus is saying much of this in regard to himself. Many of the religious leaders pretty much hated Jesus. They would play nice in front of him and affirm his actions to the crowds of people, but when Jesus was gone and the crowds left, the religious leaders seethed with anger. Jesus' response to this is reasonable, though. If you bad-mouth Jesus because of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be "overlooked." But when you knowingly attack God and the Holy Spirit that won't be overlooked.
A little later Jesus tells the story of a master with servants. The master leaves his home to be managed by the servants. If the head servant does what he is supposed to do, when the master comes back all is well. If he does whatever he wants, mistreating the other servants and maids, throwing parties for his friends, getting drunk, the master is going to beat him severely and put him at the bottom of the ranks. Jesus, again, makes a concession here: "But if [the head servant] does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand."
Despite these concessions to those who are ignorant and misunderstand Jesus, ultimately Jesus is not about making excuses for others. He has come to change the world! There is no appropriate mediocre response to Jesus. Either you understand who he is and change your life because of it, or you don't understand and are reprimanded for it. Either you live a life for Jesus, affirming the fullness of life for others and the miracles he performs along the way, or you reject it and are punished like the head servant who lived recklessly while the master was away. Jesus is here to start a fire. He says, "I wish it were blazing right now! I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up."