SCRIPTURE: Luke 7
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” [Luke 7:28] Here we see God’s radical value system. John the Baptist is the forerunner of the messiah, yet in God’s kingdom, even the ‘least’ are greater. Who are the ‘least’? Those that are commonly looked down on by society, outcasts, untouchables, foreigners, widows, orphans, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc. In God’s eyes, they rank at the top, the ones’ He loves with a special love. He loves all, but has a special place for those who special needs.
Why? Its not because they are better (i.e. inherently more valuable) for all are equal before God. It is because they sense their desperate need, their unworthiness, their need for mercy or help. Jesus explains this to Simon when the woman anoints His feet: ‘Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?’ Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.’ ‘You have judged correctly,’ Jesus said. [Luke 7:41-43] Both receive mercy, but one loves more.
The key is pride vs. humility. Proud hearts cannot tolerate mercy, but humbled hearts know they need it, desperately. The recurring theme of the bible is the humbling of the proud, and the exalting of the humble [see Mary’s song, Luke 1:52-53].
This is a important reminder for the church today. The people that are most open to Jesus are the ones’ least likely to go to church. They came in droves to the radical preacher by the Jordan, but avoided the synagogues. They saw hope Jesus, but not from the church. The church expressed judgment, they shamed ‘sinners’ and avoided contact with them. They didn’t dress right, their behaviours were unacceptable, they would have to change first if they wanted to be accepted.
So who are the least that are the greatest today? Homeless? Gang members? Drug dealers? Homosexuals? Those with mental illness? Those with AIDS? Who else? How many of them do we welcome among us in our gatherings? Or do they avoid us because they find rejection, not hope, among us? If the Lord’s value system is different than the worlds’, which one should we as Jesus-followers adopt?
PRAYER:
Lord, forgive us for not realizing our desperate need, that we are as untouchable and unworthy, and in need of Your mercy.
All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
Once again the focus is on our hearing. Jesus came to save the lost and they heard His Word. Yet the religious leaders of the day, were lost in their own way and blind to see His Way and deaf to hear His Way. They were self-righteous lost in their own religious ways. All too often we have the wrong view of ourselves that we are not the ones who need healing because we are okay. All too often we are blinded by the log in our own eyes, impairing our vision.
Lord Jesus I come to Thee. Be my Master and Ruler of my heart.
Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of earth’s sorrows into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessèd will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy throne,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.