Today you should read: Luke 13:1-17
It’s very easy for us to judge other’s sins while ignoring our own. We are also tempted to look at certain sins as worse than others and while it’s true that consequences on earth can be worse than others, we are all called by God to respond the same way to any sin, small or large, REPENT! Jesus starts off ch. 13 reminding us of this truth and I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that he shares the parable of the barren fig tree right after. Repentance and Bearing Fruit are probably 2 of the biggest indicators of a person who truly knows Christ.
We are all still Sinners when receiving Christ, and we will never be perfect until we’re with Christ but through the gift of the Holy Spirit we should have new desires for Him and against sin. This should cause us to live a life of continual repentance. But not only should we have convictions and be repenting of sin but we should be living a Christian life the bears fruit. As our lead pastor, Tim Parsons quotes often “Anything that’s healthy reproduces.” That’s exactly what Jesus is saying here in verses 6-9.
Last of all we see Jesus healing a disabled woman on the day of the sabbath and this caused indignation amongst the leaders of the synagogue. Jesus did not hold back at this hypocrisy. He was amazed that they would look past the miracle and compassion to make a big deal about a legalistic law and brought up the times that they “work” on the sabbath as well. Scripture says this brought shame on the religious leaders and a celebration to all who saw Him perform the miracle and sick of the legalism.
This reminded me of the time in Louisville when Jessica and I were newlyweds attending seminary. She worked for a nannying company and was hired for a synagogue on a Saturday (their sabbath day) to watch kids but before watching the kids they led her to each room they would use asking her to turn on the lights or the oven or whatever other thing that would’ve been seen as Work that day. They said “since you’re not one of us, you can work on this day” and I remember her coming home astounded at the legalism. Let this serve as a reminder that there’s always a motive behind a law and the heart behind it is more important then the law itself.
What stood out to you from our passage today?
By: Erik Koliser — West Campus Pastor
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