Jesus and Jerusalem

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Luke 9v51

I've skimmed over this verse many, many times. I never really thought about how significant this piece of info was to the story Luke is crafting. For those that have carefully read and reread and reread again (using a good commentary really, really helps), you'll notice some patterns and developments in the story. And this verse is an important hinge.

From this point in the gospel, Jesus will be journeying to Jerusalem - and he will finally arrive there in 19v45. What does Jesus do when he finally arrives in Jerusalem? He goes to the temple and causes trouble. Everything in between is done while on the journey. If you didn't already notice, while on the road to the temple, Jesus does a lot of teaching, a lot of parables, a lot of confrontation, but not as much healing or miracles. There is a definite shift in the development of the story.

We talk a lot about context - putting the stories and teachings of Jesus in their original setting - first century Palestine, second temple Judaism, east Mediterranean Roman Empire, etc. The more we learn through the sciences about past cultures, the better we understand the original contexts of the gospels. But something that is also often overlooked is what we call cotext - locating the story and teaching of Jesus within it's part in the overall gospel. When we look at this verse about Jesus setting out for Jerusalem - how does the surrounding verses and chapters influence it? Does it matter that most of the healings and proclamations of the kingdom of God happen in Galilee? Does it matter that most of the parables and ethical teachings happen in Samaria and Judea? Does one story connect to the next, does one parable connect to the next, or do they all stand alone?

Maybe you are yawning at this part of the post, so I'll end it. But let me say this: what you read in Luke is part of a carefully crafted story that is meant to convey layers of info. It's not a mysterious code to be deciphered, but the work of a brilliant author who meant to communicate a rich and powerful story. He's not writing to children, he's not writing for a brochure or a glossy magazine. He's not writing a fun summertime novel. So read carefully, ask lots of questions, try to connect dots, look for patterns and themes, go for the big picture and notice small subplots. Notice the characters, attitudes, developments, etc. Luke worked hard to write a story for the ages, one that would challenge your mind and engage your heart. Let it.

Jesus and Feeding Lots of People

When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."
He replied, "You give them something to eat."
They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd."
(About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."

The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Luke 9v10-17

The disciples have just returned from an amazing mission - they've gone in the name of Jesus to proclaim forgiveness of sins to those who will repent as well as healing all the sick that would come for help. What a beautiful experience - what a thrill to have God's power flow through you to bring wholeness to the lives of very oppressed and broken people. And it's on the heels of this event, as the disciples are reporting the awesome way God used them - in this moment he gives them an opportunity to be used of God again, on a much bigger scale. And they flail.

Jesus tries to get away with his twelve apostles and other disciples, but the crowds gather and follow - for obvious reasons. They won't go away, so Jesus turns around and forgives the penitent and heals the wounded. Exactly the kind of stuff the disciples had been doing in the prior days. As the day wears on, Jesus asks his twelve apostles to feed everyone. In a moment of unbelief and complete disconnect, they blink back at Jesus and act incredulous. Where would we get the food? How could we pull of this impossible feat?

I'm sure Jesus blinks back at them. They just got done healing lepers and cripples and demoniacs and the mute and the blind and the bleeding...in the power of the Spirit of God. But to feed thousands of people...is this a miracle on a different scale such that God is now impotent?

Being the teacher that he is, Jesus instructs the disciples (not the Twelve? maybe he had them sit down on the grass and watch...) to divide the people up into groups of fifty. Jesus takes the now famous five loaves and two fishes, looks to heaven, gives thanks, and then breaks them up into pieces. Somehow there are twelve baskets available for Jesus to put his bread and fish into. The disciples use these baskets to dispense the food. And there are twelve baskets left over full of fish and bread. One for each of the unbelieving, blinking, apostles.

The abundant leftovers brings to mind the challenge God posts through the prophet Malachi: bring me the tithe and I will provide more than enough. Obey me, trust me, hear what I say and do it - and I will do my part. It will be worth it. The Twelve - on the heels of being used by God to usher in his kingdom through forgiveness and healing stumbled when it came to trusting God with feeding people. The each got a basket for themselves...and the story Luke didn't record was what the Apostles maybe did with those twelve baskets. Maybe they went to the surrounding villages - the ones they thought could provide food for the masses...maybe Peter and his gang went to those same villages and gave them the extra leftovers. Maybe the Twelve had a heart after all...maybe they learned their lesson. Not that they wouldn't need to learn many more.

Jesus and His Family

Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him,
but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.
Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."
He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Luke 8v19-21

Considering how much attention Luke gives to Mary the mother of Jesus, and how much affection Mary seems to have for Jesus, this little story seems kind of harsh. But then maybe a lot had changed between Jesus and Mary. Maybe Mary didn't have faith in her son? Maybe her attention drifted to her other children...and with Jesus becoming such a unique son, she didn't quite know what to do with him. I'm sure she had committed her early songs to memory - her songs and memories of those first days with Jesus: the angels, the shepherds, the Magi, the Presence of God. But that was then, and this was now: in dealing with the real Jesus, the real Messiah, the real God-in-the-flesh, maybe she didn't know what to think.

Regardless of what is mom and family thought of him, Jesus was resolute about what was priority number one: Hear and Do. It's interesting that the letter of James - a brother to Jesus - carries a similar theme. It seems that Jesus was able to win his family over - they did choose to have faith in him, to trust that he was the real thing, to believe what he said.

This is essentially Jesus' message to Israel: Hear God's Word - and live it. Love God and Love Your Neighbor. Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God. Give Mercy to the Alien and Stranger, to the Widow and the Orphan, to the Enemy and Wicked.

Family is central to everything in the ancient cultures - Jesus makes a radical statement by redefining how his family is. But Jesus ministered in very dire times: judgment was coming unless people repented of their ways and committed to living out the Way of God. We know, though, that Jesus was fond of his family, especially his mother. Jesus is not dismissing his family, but expanding his family. And it's really easy to join his family: hear his words and put them into practice.

Jesus and the Scattering of the Seeds

How effective was Jesus when it came to preaching and saving people? He tells a parable that reveals part of how he measured his effectiveness. If here playing baseball, he would have a .250 average - which, for the record, isn't that impressive. Here's the parable he gives -

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:
"A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.
Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."

When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."
His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,
but to others I speak in parables, so that,
" 'though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.'

"This is the meaning of the parable:
The seed is the word of God.
Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Luke 8v4-15

According to some scholars who are working hard to better understand the culture and context of Jesus' teachings and actions, it seems more and more that Jesus was preaching and saving people with 70AD in mind. Not so much the exact date as much as the judgment that would come to pass in that era. Jesus had come to announce God's plan to restore all in Israel who would hear and respond; to those who listened and acted accordingly, the would be spared judgment. But for those that rejected Jesus and his announcements, they would be the ones who precipitate the coming judgment when Rome would destroy Jerusalem. It's this crisis that Jesus has come to prevent. And it is worth mulling over this parable with this judgment in mind.

The parable is about four general responses people have to the announcement of God's Word - its still observable today. Jesus would have everybody hear and produce a fruitful crop; Jesus would have everybody be saved...but not everybody will listen and follow. The key to averting the coming judgment is to retain the Word of God in your heart and abide by it. To not retain it results in the kind of life where a Rome is destroying a Jerusalem, where self-destruction and deep sorrow come to pass in this life...and the next.

How effective is Jesus? For those who hear and retain His Words, he is very, very, very successful. For all the others who don't retain his words...he still dies for them, he still forgives them, he is willing to sow again...and again...and again.