{"id":11363,"date":"2020-09-07T20:00:55","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T03:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_7_11-23-copy\/"},"modified":"2020-09-06T17:48:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T00:48:03","slug":"luke_7_24-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/luke_7_24-35\/","title":{"rendered":"Living for Heaven’s Praise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Luke 7:24-35 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Luke 7:24-35.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Luke 7:24-27 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-27:\u00a0\u00a0Jesus\u2019 friendship with John was one typified by mutual honour and respect.\u00a0 Despite both of them being the most prolific preachers Israel had ever seen, there was seemingly no competition between Jesus and John.\u00a0 Whether in private or in public, Jesus and John honoured one another.\u00a0We see an example of this here as Jesus\u00a0backs up his cousin John at a time when John was imprisoned for speaking out against King Herod\u2019s incestuous relationship with Herodias.\u00a0 Many in the crowd listening to Jesus were likely followers of John who were now following Jesus, just as John encouraged them to do (John 1:35-37).\u00a0\u00a0Listen to what Jesus says of John. To paraphrase Jesus in verses 24-27, \u201cYou didn\u2019t\u00a0travel long distances to a dry and difficult place like the desert just to hear someone whose opinions were nothing more than the product of popular opinion (\u201ca reed swayed by the wind\u201d \u2013 v24), or to hear someone living in ease and luxury (\u201ca man dressed in fine clothes\u201d \u2013 v25).\u00a0 Instead you went out to the desert to hear a prophet, and not just a prophet (v26), but the one who himself is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, a unique and singular messenger sent by God to prepare the way for the Messiah (v27).\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s how Jesus described his cousin John.\u00a0 In the next verse Jesus will tell the crowd that they will not find a human being alive on this earth who is greater than John (v28).\u00a0 That\u2019s how much respect and admiration Jesus had for John the Baptist.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A happy relationship is one where the two parties in that relationship treat each other with honour and respect.\u00a0Just as Romans 12:10b says, \u201cHonor one another above yourselves\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Make it your goal to speak graciously about others in public.<\/strong>\u00a0If you must criticize that person, do so privately when you\u2019re alone with that person.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Just as Jesus honoured John here,\u00a0go out of your way to appreciate and honour those who consistently go out of their way to serve you<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    2. Notice that Jesus didn\u2019t say these words about John the Baptist until after John the Baptist\u2019s messengers had left (v24). It is quite possible that John the Baptist never heard these words of praise from Jesus until he was in heaven.\u00a0 It\u2019s a reminder that\u00a0the most important praise you can receive is not from people on earth but from the Lord Jesus<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0So don\u2019t live for the approval of people.\u00a0\u00a0 Live to please Jesus Christ.<\/strong>\u00a0 And if you dedicate your life to serving Jesus and don\u2019t feel as appreciated by people as you\u2019d like to be, remember that we\u2019re living not for the praise of people on earth but for the praise of heaven.\u00a0\u00a0What people on earth say about you is not nearly as important as what God will say about you in heaven.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Luke 7:28 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
      \n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I 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.”
      \n<\/em>
      \nOn verse 28:\u00a0 As discussed above, Jesus gave John the highest compliment when he said, \u201camong those born of women there is no one greater than John\u201d (v28).\u00a0 But what does Jesus mean when he says, \u201cyet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he\u201d?\u00a0 It means that\u00a0whereas John was preparing the way for Jesus and his kingdom to come, we who trust in Jesus Christ actually get to experience and be part of Jesus\u2019 kingdom.<\/strong>\u00a0 We get up close and personal access to something that John was only able to see from a distance.\u00a0 In this way, even the least believer in Jesus\u2019 kingdom is \u201cgreater\u201d than John.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Here\u2019s an illustration that might help: \u00a0if Jesus\u2019 kingdom could be compared to a house, John spent his entire life paving a road that leads to that house. John paved that road so that people could easily get to that house, but John himself never got to enjoy that house in all its glory. At the end of the road that John paved, Jesus came and built this glorious house. Now everyone who places their trust in Jesus gets to live in that house and enjoy the full benefits of that house. In this way, we as New Testament believers living under a new covenant that Jesus established are \u201cgreater\u201d than John because we get to access blessings John never got to have during his lifetime.<\/p>\n

      As Pastor Jon Courson would write, \u201cJohn was part of the Old Testament economy.
      \nYou are a New Testament believer. John was a herald of the King.\u00a0 You are a friend of the King. John was a friend of the Bridegroom.\u00a0 You are the Bride of the Bridegroom.\u201d (Courson, Jon.\u00a0Jon<\/em>\u00a0Courson’s Application Commentary \u2013 Jon Courson’s Application Commentary New Testament<\/em>. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004. WORDsearch<\/em>\u00a0CROSS e-book)<\/p>\n

      Luke 7:29-35 (NIV)<\/strong>
      \n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0(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.
      \n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
      \n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?
      \n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’
      \n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
      \n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”‘
      \n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”<\/em><\/p>\n

      On verses 29-35:\u00a0 Unlike the masses who flocked to John the Baptist\u2019s message and were baptized by John (v29), the Pharisees and teachers of the law had rejected John the Baptist (v30). Now they were rejecting Jesus as well.\u00a0 So in verses 31 to 34 Jesus compares the situation to Pharisees and teachers of the law to stubborn children who are difficult to please.\u00a0 For John came preaching the kingdom of God as an austere aesthetic living an extremely simple life and the Pharisees rejected him (\u201cwe sang a dirge and you did not cry\u201d \u2013 v33).\u00a0 Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God as a normal guy who joyfully ate and drank with the common people and the Pharisees rejected him (\u201cWe played the flute for you and you did not dance\u201d \u2013 v33).\u00a0 Despite the Pharisees rejecting both John and Jesus, Jesus says that he and John (who are both \u201cchildren\u201d of wisdom \u2013 v35) and their preaching about God (who is \u201cwisdom\u201d) will be shown to be true after all (v35).<\/p>\n

      What can we learn from this?\u00a0 No matter how hard you try there will be certain people in life that you will never be able to please.\u00a0 You don\u2019t need to.\u00a0 Live for God\u2019s approval and focus simply on doing what God has called you to do.<\/p>\n

      Heavenly Father, may I be one who honours others above myself, who appreciates and never takes for granted the blessings that come with being in Your kingdom, and who lives not for the praise of people but to please You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em>
      \n<<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Today\u2019s passage is Luke 7:24-35.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

      Luke 7:24-27 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n24\u00a0\u00a0After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?
      \n25\u00a0\u00a0If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
      \n26\u00a0\u00a0But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
      \n27\u00a0\u00a0This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

      On verses 24-27:\u00a0\u00a0Jesus\u2019 friendship with John was one typified by mutual honour and respect.\u00a0 Despite both of them being the most prolific preachers Israel had ever seen, there was seemingly no competition between Jesus and John.\u00a0 Whether in private or in public, Jesus and John honoured one another.\u00a0We see an example of this here as Jesus\u00a0backs up his cousin John at a time when John was imprisoned for speaking out against King Herod\u2019s incestuous relationship with Herodias.\u00a0 Many in the crowd listening to Jesus were likely followers of John who were now following Jesus, just as John encouraged them to do (John 1:35-37).\u00a0\u00a0Listen to what Jesus says of John.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11363"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11364,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11363\/revisions\/11364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}