Friday 27th January - Luke 20

Today’s chapter is Luke 20

Tom writes:

The parable of the Tenants is where Jesus brings to a cataclysmic crescendo his confrontation with the temple leaders. Jesus insults their integrity, intelligence and insight. Can you imagine the looks on their faces as he announces to all that the temple leaders are going to be killed by God, crushed by the one they reject, punished most severely? Why couldn’t he just leave them alone? Well, as Christians today we have grown up seeing the cross mainly as the atoning work of Jesus to provide us forgiveness for our sins. Amen and Amen. The cross definitely does that. But what Jesus emphasises in this parable is that the cross is part of God’s plan to actually get some fruit out of his people. God wants his people to provide him with a harvest of worship and righteousness and blessing to the nations. And they just aren’t doing that. So Jesus comes not just to “forgive sins”, but to highlight the utter bankruptcy of the current leaders of creation. The Coming  of the Son of Man both seeks and saves sinners and shows the stubborn selfishness of stewards who desperately need to be sacked. We have to have both in our vision of Jesus if we are going to know the real him.

Chapter 19 shows us the utter generosity and kindness of Jesus to those who have done wrong. But if we just have a “Chapter 19 Jesus” we can never explain why anyone would want to kill him. Chapter 20 shows Jesus determined to bring an end to hypocrites ruling over creation. In Chapter 20 we see Jesus as the one who knows that a shake up and a clearing out is required if a brighter future is going to be born. Jesus’ parable points to his death being a “final day” for an old way of being human and a “first day” of a new humanity where goodness and order could be re-established all over the earth. This new humanity would be centered around Jesus, would be filled with his Spirit and would deliver up far greater fruitfulness to our God. And so, as we read these passion parables Jesus causes us to ask - has his atoning work not only taken away our shame but also made us live better? Beyond receiving forgiveness of sins from Jesus, are we actually now bearing delicious fruit to God? 

Question for reflection

Do you more often imagine Jesus eating with sinners or causing others to hate him so much that they want to kill him?