And it came to pass, as He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him: and He asked them, saying,
“Whom say the people that I am?”
They answering said, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again.” He said unto them,
“But whom say ye that I am?”
Peter answering said, “The Christ of God.” Luke 9:18-20
Luke 9
…But to save
“And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?’ But He turned, and rebuked them, and said,
‘Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save.’
And they went to another village.” Luke 9:51-56
Hand to the Plow
“And Jesus said unto him, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’ ” Luke 9:62
When Jesus extends His call to follow Him it is a matter of urgency. It is not a wait and see if it checks out. Neither is there time to say “Good bye” or to take care of family burials that are yet to happen some unknown day in the future.
When one plows a field they must keep their eyes focused straight ahead, so that they can have a straight row or furrow.
The one having taken the plow, and looking back is quickly off course.
Let us who are in Christ Jesus and are following Him be ever faithful to the task He has given us and keep our focus straight ahead, keeping His word, and hiding it in our hearts making it the main words we think, live and share. Keep your hand to the plow; look straight ahead. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
If you have taken your eyes off Jesus, or have never had your eyes on Him, and are focusing on family issues, debt, loss of a job, loss of a family member; just remember Jesus makes you fit for kingdom service.
Call on the name of Jesus. He is the One who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again for our justification.
Prayer for January 27, In the year of our Lord 2021 Wednesday
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 27:6
“And Jesus said unto him, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’ ” Luke 9:62
Father, all glorious and Mighty; in You do we trust. You have made the stars and the planets, the seen and the unseen by human eye.
Thank You for friends who care enough to hurt us once in awhile, and are there to encourage and strengthen us through tough situations. May we always be alert and aware of those who always praise us, but never warn us,
We ask, Lord, also that as we have been called to follow Jesus may we always be faithful to Your leadership and guidance; and never look back, but keep our eyes on the prize that lies ahead.
We ask also, Lord, for the filling of Your Spirit that we may always reject the evil, choose the good and the holy and the righteous that Your name be honored and glorified.
Forgive us our sins and cleanse us in the daily washing of the water of Your word. Keep our rows straight as we look toward home. Amen.
Words of Jesus; Son of God, God the Son – 090120
“Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And He said unto them,
‘Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.’
And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.” Luke 9:1-6 (KJB)
What He Should Accomplish At Jerusalem
“And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.” Luke 9:30-31 (KJB)
Jerusalem. The city of Peace. The city of David. Sometimes called the city of God. It is also a city of great division, scorn, and evil.
It is the city of great admiration of the people of Israel, and the world. It has been said, “As goes Jerusalem; so goes the world”. David in one of his Psalms tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
Jesus is said to have had His eyes set on Jerusalem (Luke 9:51, 53), and that was due to the calling in His life since before the foundation of the earth was set. In the text before our above verses Jesus is on the Mount speaking with Moses and Elijah about the coming days; and not too far off.
Jerusalem would be the place of His great sacrifice. Jesus would lay down His life for the sins of the whole world; and He would do so because He loved, and revered His Father; and He loved lost, condemned sinners.
In the mind of the ordinary human being, dying does not seem like much to accomplish. Some of the teaching I have heard among the prosperity gospel folks, makes it sound as though Jesus failed in dying on the cross. One of the final statements Jesus made before He died on the cross was, “It is finished” (John 19:30). May I shout with the words…. IT WAS HIS VICTORY… ; and His bodily resurrection is the proof of it (Romans 1:4), and our justification.
Jesus accomplished, at Jerusalem, all that He had came to earth as a man to do. He accomplished in His death all that the Law and the Prophets could not do – the redemption of Israel, and the redemption of all those in the world who will come to Him believing; receiving the blessed gift of His grace.
Call on His name believing. He will hear. He will save.
The Fashion of His Countenance
“And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and his raiment white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him. And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias:’ not knowing what he said.
While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying,
‘This is My beloved Son: hear Him.’
And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.” Luke 9:28-36 (KJB)
Let us hear from F. B. Meyer, and what he has written on this glorious scene of our blessed Savior…
“From some aspects this was the highest point in our Savior’s earthly career. He was the second Adam and had not sinned. There was no reason, therefore, that He should die. He might in a moment have been changed; that which was mortal might have been swallowed up of life. The door through which Moses and Elijah had come stood open, and by it our Lord might have returned. But He could never, under those circumstances, have been the Savior of mankind. He knew this, so He turned His back on the joy set before Him and set His face toward Calvary.
Moses came as representing the Law; and Elijah, the Prophets. Each of these great departments of divine revelation had anticipated His coming, Luk_24:27; Luk_24:44. As stars fade in the sunrise, so their mission was now merged in Him. They spoke of His decease, literally, His exodus, and it was from this that Peter caught the term which he applied to his own death, 2Pe_1:15. The Apostles never forgot this manifestation of the glory of the Lord, 1Jn_1:1-4; 2Pe_1:17. When you hear that Christ is the Beloved of God, remember Eph_1:6.” THROUGH THE BIBLE DAY BY DAY – F.B. Meyer
The Plough Man
I grew up on a farm. A small farm by some’s reckoning; and large to others thinking. It was mostly a Dairy farm, and we had beef cattle too for some of the time. It still required plowing ground once in a while to sow Alfalfa hay, and certain others types of grass hay.
To plough [plow] in a straight line requires looking ahead. If you look back, for whatever reason, you will end up with a crooked row. Having said that let us look at our Bible text for today:
“And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.’ And He said unto another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.’ And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’” Luke 9:57-62 (KJB)
For the two men in the text, they wanted to follow Jesus, but they had other things to do. The first would have had to wait for his father to die, then bury him. The second evidently had guests in his home, and saying their farewells would have taken much time away.
The lesson of the story, of these two men, and their desire to follow Jesus is this; If you are going to follow Jesus, then follow Jesus, preach the kingdom of God – and that is Jesus – and do not look back.
Let me leave you with the commentary of John Gill on the “is not fit for the kingdom of God” closing of verse 62…
“is not fit for the kingdom of God: that is, to preach the kingdom of God, as in Luk_9:60. He cannot serve God and mammon, his own interest, and the interest of Christ; he cannot rightly perform the work of the ministry, whilst his thoughts and time are taken up in the affairs of the world.” John Gill’s EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE
The Greatest
“Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, ‘Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receives Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receives Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.’” Luke 9:46-48 (KJB)
Within the world in which we live there are many who seek to be seen, and known as “The Greatest”. This notion even fell upon the disciples of Jesus; and in many cases; it still does. Jesus was dealing with this in the above verses.
When I was a child there was a man in the sports world who liked to see himself as the greatest; he was the one who used the poetic phrase, “Float like a butterfly; sting like a bee”. He is no longer the greatest, neither was he ever the greatest. He met death as well; and just as every human being will.
Who is the greatest? Jesus answers that question above. Whoever receives a child in His name receives Him, and whoever receives Him receives Him (God the Father) who sent Him. The least among us is the same who shall be great.
Let us think on that one for awhile, believe it, receive it, and do it.
Broken Pieces 