Luke 17- Andy's thoughts

It’s not about You

Communal living- holiness and forgiveness
This chapter opens with some very practical teaching about how we are called to live in community with others. Don’t tempt each other. Call each other out on sin. Forgive each other. These commands would be irrelevant if our Christian experience was all individualized. But Christ calls us to live in community. He calls us to be actively involved in the lives of other Christians. And as we do this, we are to encourage each other toward holiness and forgive each other when we fail to do so.

The Importance of Faith- is not the quantity of our faith but its object
I think that the disciples were pretty surprised to hear that they had to do all of this, especially the forgiving part. In response to this teaching, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. I think that they believe that if they had more faith, then they could do more of what Jesus asked of them. It is therefore surprising that Jesus essentially tells them no.

I would imagine that asking for more faith would be a good thing but Jesus says that to do so is unnecessary. Our quantity of faith means nothing. The object of our faith means everything. When we focus on our faith, we are actually focusing on ourselves. Let us focus on Jesus and his mission. Seeking great faith means focusing on what we are doing. True faith is focusing on the greatness of God and what He will do.

Our relation to God- servants not masters
Jesus then tells a brief account of a servant knowing his place in relation to his master. Initially, this comes across as rather cold and brusque. However, I think it is good for us to be reminded that God is God and I am not. I think he is reminding us that following him is not about us. At times I need Jesus to speak a bold word into my life reminding me of his lordship. Perhaps, I need this at more times than I realize.

Healing -is about God not us
When Jesus heals these ten men with leprosy, his compassion is seen. I think that all ten showed good obedience to Jesus. They all went to the priest like Jesus commanded. They did this before they were healed too, trusting that it would happen. What is significant about one of the ten coming back to Jesus? This shows that when God heals someone, it is to show the power and mercy of God. While it is good and right to be excited about ways that God heals us, it is not just for our own merriment that God heals. These moments are not all about us. They should point us back to God.

Christ’s Return- is about… well, Christ
In case it hasn’t been obvious what I think this chapter is teaching- Jesus concludes this chapter with a very sobering account of what he will go through and what the world will later go through. In verse 25, Jesus tells us that he will suffer terribly and be rejected. He goes on to say afterwards that the world will suffer terribly and be rejected. He alludes to Noah and Lot in order to remind us of people who were saved out of God’s judgment.

Kathleen, you are right about this stuff not being talked about a lot, at least not in ORB. I don’t think it is intentionally omitted out of any theological disagreements. I think that there are just a lot of things that the Bible talks about and so we just haven’t gotten into a lot of eschatology (the study of the end times). In the larger Christian community, especially in the evangelical community, this is widely discussed and hotly debated. I will not try to summarize those discussions here.

I will say that it is worth noting the types of questions the disciples and Pharisees ask concerning the Last Days. They are asking “when” and “where” questions. Jesus does not answer those questions. Beware of preachers and teachers with an unhealthy focus on the where and when of the eschaton (end times). If Jesus doesn’t elaborate on it, then why should his followers?

Jesus does address the question of “who,” “what,” and “how” somewhat. Who should be concerned? Everyone. What should we do? Be prepared. How should we prepare? Don’t cling to your life; instead let it go.

All of these teachings drive home one point very clearly. It is not about us. We are not to be the focus of our attention. Our relationship to Jesus should lead us to live in community with other Christians. Our faith in Jesus should lead us to focus on him and his power. Our service to Jesus should lead us to seek his praise not our own. Our deliverance and healing by Jesus should lead us to worship and thankfulness. Our longing for Jesus’ return should lead us to relinquish our self-absorbed lives and instead seek to live new ones in Christ.

Application:
• Do we have the depth of friendship and accountability with another Christian where we are free to call that person out on sin?
• Do we have the depth of friendship to trust that person to call us out on our sin?
• Are we making time to specifically tell God “thank you”?