Category: Luke

Read Luke 22:39-46

Oh the emotion!

Jesus knew that his followers would be tempted  this night. Satan had been waiting for this moment with a different sort of anticipation than Jesus. We can take note of Jesus’ actions here. When faced with the biggest trial of his life, literally, he turned to his father in prayer. Do we do that? What do we do when trials come?

Another great example we can glean from Jesus’ moments in the garden are when he pled with God to let this suffering pass (showing his humanity loud and clear). Yet, he truly only wanted his Father’s will to be done. How many times have we told God how he should answer our prayers? God’s will is what we should be praying for. Sometimes it isn’t what we expect. Always, it is better. Continue reading “Luke 22:39-46 – If Possible”

Read Luke 22:31-38

This is an interesting exchange here. As I imagine these final hours, Jesus is clear on what it is to happen. Prophecy is to be fulfilled, and he has the lead role, so to speak. His followers and closest friends are a bit clueless, yet have seen so much already.

I thought it was interesting that Peter is singled out. Jesus tells us here that Satan has wanted to sift them ALL out. We know Judas as already fallen prey to Satan. Jesus has pled for Peter. It is here that Jesus tells Peter to be the leader to help the others get back on track. Yet, he warns Peter that he’ll fall and fail before he overcomes and returns to his senses. You can imagine how crazy Peter must have thought Jesus was at the thought of what he was saying. Continue reading “Luke 22:31-38 – Believe it or Not”

Read Luke 22:7-30

Such a fitting time for Jesus to be having his final dinner with his friends. There are so many beautiful connections between the Passover meal and what is about to happen to Jesus in his final hours. He is our precious sacrifice indeed! Traditionally, the Passover meal or seder is done to remember and retell the story of the Israelite’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. So fitting that this meal would be Jesus’ last meal.

I love how Jesus tells the disciples exactly where to go and who to look for when they asked “where?” Don’t you wish that our life instructions were that easy, that God would just straight up tell us go here, find this person, etc. Maybe he does and we just don’t ask the right questions? Maybe we don’t believe we’ll get a straight answer? That’s when prayer comes in – we not only ask but believe. Continue reading “Luke 22:7-30 – Last Supper”

Read Luke 22:1-6

This is not one of my favorite passages. I had always wondered when it was that Judas became lost, heading down the path of destruction. We are told here it was Satan who entered him. The old phrase, “the devil made me do it” is what we’re seeing here. Did I miss where it said the same for the religious leaders and teachers?

We’ve seen how the religious leaders have been bothered by Jesus as their authority has seriously been put into question. But for that frustration to escalate to a desire to kill seems a little extreme to me. The law of Moses they are so careful to follow and interpret clearly says “Do not kill.” I don’t know how you can refute the word of God here, and yet they seem to ignore it when plotting to kill Jesus. Certainly Satan is at work in them, too. Continue reading “Luke 22:1-6 – Betrayal”

Read Luke 21:5-38

Straight from the mouth of Jesus. We hear him talk about the future. There are so many things we could focus on in this one passage. I’m curious what stood out to you as either surprising, wonderful, frightening? Feel free to comment in the comment section to begin some conversation. Bottom line, we aren’t meant to know when this will happen, but Jesus has given us some clues.

Many of these clues have been evident over the ages, and people have thought and even predicted the end of the world. I prefer how Jesus says, “the kingdom of God is near.” I’m sure when Jesus told them about the temple being destroyed, the people could not imagine it would happen again. This was the rebuilt temple after all, and it was so majestic! But it happened, just as Jesus said, in 70 A.D., never to be rebuilt again. Continue reading “Luke 21:5-38 – What’s to Come”