April 17
Josh 15:1-63 | PS 86:1-17| Prov 13:9-10 | Luke 18:18-43
We think that we know what we need for happiness or success, but often we are wrong. The husband of someone who works for me was an avid golfer. He had a group of buddies and would spend the majority of his free time on the golf course. One day, one of his three friends literally died on the golf course, in the middle of their round of golf. The paramedics were called in, but it was to no avail. This man was distraught at the loss of his friend. But once the dead man was taken away, his other two friends suggested that they continue their round of golf. This one man did not. He has subsequently slipped into a depression, and to be honest, I don't know him very well and can't state how much this event contributed to where he is now. Most live for things: family, friends, jobs, pastimes, etc. We believe that without these things our world would collapse. Jesus explains the true formula for joy and fulfillment in Luke 18:29-30, "So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”"
We come to a familiar story in the rich young ruler in Luke 18. This man seemingly had everything, but comes to Jesus with a question in 18:18, "Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”" After a bit of dialogue, we read the conclusion of this interaction in 18:22-23, "So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich." In those days, most thought that those with riches were especially blessed by God. So, when Jesus said this it caused concern among His followers, to which we read Jesus' response in 18:26-27, "And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Though they don't realize it, Jesus then provides the solution in Luke 18:31-33, "Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” Fourteen hundred years before this, the Jewish people had been in Egypt, and in bondage for many of those 400 years. There seemed to be no solution. It seemed impossible, considering Egypt was the most powerful nation in the world. But when the Passover lambs were killed and the blood was applied to the doorframes, God provided their freedom from Egyptian slavery by their covering of blood. We are all in bondage to sin. Some of our sins seem impossible to overcome. We have allowed these sins to become ingrained. But it is the blood on the cross shed by our Savior, Jesus, that frees us from the bondage of sin. Knowing this solution, we should be desperate to seek it, as we read of the response of the blind man near Jericho in 18:39, "Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Besides our bondage to sin, we are in bondage to the fear of death. To which we need to take to heart this truth, "He is Risen!" Jesus conquered death by being the first fruits of raising from the dead. Now all of us who have placed our faith in Him will likewise experience eternal life in heaven when we breathe our last on earth. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: