Malcolm’s BiBlog

“Set Free” Sabbath

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:51:08 +0000

After the fig-fruit challenge, Jesus is given an opportunity to do a live demonstration of the conviction and compassion that will be necessary to bring change to Israel and the world.

Luke 13:10-12 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”

Jesus seeing her and calling her forward reveals that people with compassion notice people with needs and take initiative in helping them. The woman might have been embarrassed at being singled out but Jesus knew her gratitude would outweigh her embarrassment. Jesus loved setting people free and still does. I love the way what is happening is expressed - “set free”. She is being healed, yes, but it is not just the physical problem that is being cured - she is receiving a whole new life. She is free to become what God intended her to be.

Luke 13:13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

The hands of Jesus have “conviction” that match his words in verse 12. She is touched by the faith of another and her life is transformed. What a powerful image and illustration of the same faith life-transformation that happens even today. She straightens and she praises. When our lives are straightened out by God this is exactly what happens. Compassion to see and conviction to touch work together here.

Luke 13:14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

Did this synagogue ruler see regular healings on the other six days of the week? I hardly think so. Was this the first time in 18 years the woman had been at this particular synagogue? We do not know, but I can well imagine that she used to come here with hope, but as the years went by and the healing did not come she attended less and less often - until she heard of Jesus, gave it one last desperate try, was healed and now - is rebuked! This ruler is blind and heartless. No heart and no power. A compassion-less, conviction-less and powerless position. This person is no spiritual leader. He is what Jesus says he is - a hypocrite.

Luke 13:15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

They know how to be (appropriately) compassionate with their animals. But they do not see the same connection with people! They know, scripturally, how important humans are to God (made in his image) yet they treat them with less concern than animals. No wonder Jesus called them hypocrites. They claim to lead God’s people in a way that God would approve of yet treat people with, effectively, contempt. These leaders are religious in the extreme, but do not know the heart of God. Indeed, they do not know God. What a powerful warning to church leaders today. We can devise systems, structures, programs that get in the way of God and yet we insist on them as being God’s will. Any plan that interferes with a person’s best interests cannot be godly.

Luke 13:16 “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Jesus calls the woman a “daughter of Abraham” which displays the source of his compassion for her. She is a woman of the promise. She is one who is the result of God’s promise to Abraham that he would bless him and multiply his descendants and that they would inherit the promises. There is also an implicit warning of conviction here. God also told Abraham that he would curse those who cursed him. Not helping Abraham’s family was tantamount to not helping him. Indeed, here the Pharisees are not only not helping they are actively seeking to prevent Jesus healing the woman and setting her free to live a more blessed life. Thus they are opposing Abraham and opposing God and so stand in the same line as those of Matthew 25 who are identified as the goats who did not help one of God’s “children”.

Luke 13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

People of conviction and compassion do not delight the un-compassionate and those lacking conviction or those with misplaced conviction. This is because the “compassion and conviction” person shows up what is lacking in others. The delight, on the other hand, is reserved for those who are more interested in changing lives and destinies than in preserving vested interests.

Fig Fruit

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 09:32:08 +0000

Are you ready for another scary story? After two real-life contemporary stories, Jesus tells one of his own to try and drive the compassion and conviction point about repentance home.

Luke 13:6-9 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

The vineyard represents Israel, I presume. It often did in the Old Testament. We have no vine in our garden, but we do have a fig outside our front door. It produces lots of fruit every year, although not much of it is edible because of the climate in London. Still, we ate a few ripe figs from it this year, and very tasty they were too!

The fig tree in the climate of Israel was normally an abundantly fruitful tree. People virtually lived off it. The fig was called the “bread of the Sahara”. Expecting fruit was normal. Waiting three years sounds extraordinarily patient. The owner is persuaded by the manager of the vineyard to wait one more year. This is a sign of compassion.

Is Jesus the “manager” asking God (the owner) for more time to persuade his people to repent? This is what seems to be the context. Jesus is telling his audience that they are in a time when God has already been amazingly patient with them. This is now the last phase of his patience. The time in which they live is the time during which God’s expected fruit must be produced. God is fertilising the ground with the presence of Jesus and, soon to come, the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2). After Pentecost God will empower his Apostles to spread the gospel and there will be a little more time. But AD 70 is on the horizon.

Jesus is teaching his hearers that the conviction of God is tempered by the compassion of God. He, Jesus, is the carrier of the warning. He brings that warning with conviction but in a spirit of compassion. Is there something we have been holding onto that you need to repent of? God is patient, but there comes and end to all things. Maybe even this blog is a compassion-attempt by God to help you to repent. If it is the “third-year” warning, please take it seriously.

Tower Tragedy

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:21:32 +0000

Jesus moves on to discuss another tragic incident. How will he approach this? With compassion? With conviction?

Luke 13:4 “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?”

Jesus is in touch with the major events of his time. He is no hermit. Neither is he dismissive of the matters that would be bothering his audience. Doubtless there were some with him at this time who were thinking precisely what Jesus suggests they are thinking - that the 18 unfortunate Siloamians were killed because of sin.

Perhaps he sensed a judgmental attitude. Perhaps he could “hear” their question. “Why did they die and not me?” It seems to me that when people die today in tragic circumstances the question asked is something like, “They were innocent. Why would a good God allow them to die? Has he no compassion or sense of fairness?” However, in ancient times the question might have been more like, “Why did God chose that time and that method to give the guilty what they deserve? Aren’t I lucky to be righteous? I’m glad God is just.” Am I being fair? I am not sure, but Jesus is keen to let his convictions be know on the matter.

Luke 13:5 “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

So the convictions of Jesus are clear. The tower accident was tragic, but so would it be if his audience do not get the point. They (and we) are just as guilty as the next person. Our job is to be ready when our time comes (see much of chapter 12) and not to worry about the fate of others who have already died.

This is a statement of conviction motivated by a compassionate regard for the spiritual well-being of the crowd. Repentance is not a demand so much as a life-belt. Do you need to repent? Count yourself lucky you are alive to even contemplate the question!

Tragic Teaching

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 07:40:45 +0100

How do you feel when you hear about a tragic event on the news? And how do you feel when someone dares to draw a spiritual lesson from that news? Let’s see how Jesus does this. Will he be delicate?

Luke 13:1 “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.”

Hearing such news must have been awful for Jesus and everyone present. The situation was bad enough in and of itself, but the fact that the people were Galileans, from Jesus’ home area, must have made it much worse. Did he know any of these people? Could he find out what had happened to them in detail? Was he worried about them?

Luke 13:2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?”

It does not seem so. Perhaps his attitude here is similar to when he tells the man to let the dead bury their own dead. Incidentally, why did the people tell Jesus about this incident? I think there may have been two possible reasons. Either it was because they knew Jesus to be a person of compassion and conviction who would be outraged by what Pilate had done and filled with grief for the people who had been mistreated. Or it may have been because they were hoping for a political reaction from Jesus. They might have been looking for him to take a political stance to help them with their opposition of the Romans. Or possibly they were trying to stir up trouble for Jesus because they opposed him. Either way I doubt the reaction they got was the one they expected!

Luke 13:3 “I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Jesus’ reaction to the bad news is to step beyond a distant (and practically useless to his audience) compassion and also beyond a political (and distracting to his audience) conviction to draw a lesson for all people of all time - and most especially useful to his audience. A person of conviction does not waste energy on a subject that has no relevance to his audience. The question is, “Who am I with now and what do they need?”. Similarly with compassion, the question is not, “What is my favourite topic?”, but “What do these people right here, right now need?”. Jesus is never self-serving with his convictions and compassion. They are tempered (but not compromised) by the people he is with and the circumstance in which he finds himself.

Next time we will look at part two of his reaction to tragedy.

Dry County

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 17:56:29 +0100

There are times when compassion runs low. We are not so concerned when it is our compassion to others that is running out, but we are very concerned when we sense that the compassion of others for us us running out! Jesus was loved his hearers enough to warn them of a time in the future when, if they did not prepare themselves, they might face judgment through conviction at a time when compassion had run dry.

Luke 12:58-59 “As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

There is nothing vindictive in what Jesus is saying here. There is no sense of relish in his voice that this fate could afflict some of his hearers. Instead there is compassion mixed with conviction. A sensible person will try hard to avoid judgment when an alternative is offered. Why not avail oneself of the opportunity for reconciliation while it exists? It will not exist forever (which is part of his point in his teaching on repentance at the start of the next chapter). The emphasis is not on trying to be reconciled, but on trying hard to be reconciled.

How often we fail to see eye to eye with someone because we have done what we see as our bit to attempt reconciliation and, not seeing our efforts reciprocated, we give up. Perhaps trying harder would have brought about the desired result. We may never know for sure, but a clear conscience can only belong to those who have tried hard. As usual with his warnings, Jesus is clear, unambiguous and yet somehow gentle.

Next time we will look at how Jesus handles a situation where it is assumed that people deserve the tragedy that comes upon them.