Luke 11
COMMENTARY:
: 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. (2250 “daily” [hemera] means daylight period, time, or twelve hours.)
DEVOTION: The Bible informs us that each day has sufficient evil in it. We are not to be ones who plan ahead without asking the LORD regarding our plans. HE wants us to come each morning to HIM for direction for the day. We can plan but we have to say “if the LORD will.”
Most of the time many individuals who claim to be followers of the LORD thin what is going to happen will happen and God has nothing to do with it. They don’t consult God because they think that they can make their plans independent of God. They say no prayer like the disciple’s prayer to ask the LORD for guidance.
The LORD is specific regarding how HIS disciples were to pray. They were to pray for the LORD’S will to be done each day. They were to address the Father each time they prayed. They were give the Father reverence each minute of each day.
One believer told me that they believed “whatever will be will be” in a conversation. It seems that we live in a time period when we really don’t believe that God can change things. We don’t believe that pray matters. The Bible tells us to pray and yet most believers have so little prayer. Many don’t even pray for their meals each day. We have become a people that are not thankful for each thing that the LORD does for us. John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. Jesus taught HIS disciples to pray. Pastors are to teach their people to pray. God still has not changed HIS mind regarding us communicating with HIM.
One person in one of the churches I preached in for a while told me that the Baptist way to pray is to address the Father through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name. It is not a Baptist way it is the Biblical way.
CHALLENGE: Either you believe in prayer and practice it or you don’t believe in it and don’t give any time to prayer. One is obedient and the other is disobedient and sinning.
: 28 But HE said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. (191 “hear” [akouo] means to listen, receive news, to give heed to, to understand, obey, or perceive.)
DEVOTION: A woman lifted up her voice praising Mary for being the mother of Jesus. She praised her ability to feed Jesus while HE was a baby. She was excited that Jesus was born and helping HIS people know the plan of God. She was like most of us that talk before we think. She didn’t say anything wrong but she needed to be corrected by the LORD regarding what is the true blessing that we should look forward to in the future.
HE gave her instruction regarding what should get her excited. HE wanted her to be more excited about the ability to hear the word of God and practice it. It was not enough to just hear the word of God. Many people attend church and then leave without the word of God having any effect on them. They continue life as if they had never been in church.
The ones who are blessed are the ones who apply the word of God to their life and give example to others what Christianity is all about. It is not about churchianity it is about being a follower of Christ. The church and its people can let some people down but individual Christians can encourage those who want to know the truth and follow it.
CHALLENGE: Are you listening to the LORD? HE is trying to communicate with you through HIS Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
: 32 The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas, and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (3340 “repented” [metanoeo] mean to change one’s mind, to change one’s ways, feel remorse, am converted, to perceive afterwards, forethought, or new behavior.)
DEVOTION: Jesus was asked for a sign to prove HE was the Messiah. The ministry HE had manifested before them was not enough for them. They wanted fire from heaven or something that would convince them that Jesus was who HE says HE was.
Jesus refused to give into their challenge. HE gave them some Old Testament examples of people who repented and those who didn’t repent.
HE called the present generation an evil generation. They were religious but not true followers of the LORD.
Then HE mentioned the ministry of Jonah to Nineveh where they repented after he preached to them. Jesus told them that a greater than Jonah person was present with them now.
Also the queen of south came to Solomon and a greater than Solomon was present with them.
HE makes the statement that the men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment of HIS generation. They will condemn it. Why? Because they would not listen to Jesus for HE is greater than any other prophet they have ever heard about or seen.
CHALLENGE: Listen to the LORD regarding repenting of your sins and not act like other generations of people who just ignored HIS teachings. Repentance is necessary.
: 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. (2807 “key” [kleis] means has power to open and shut, denote power and authority of various kinds, or means of acquiring something.)
DEVOTION: Jesus was dining in the home of a Pharisee. What an awesome responsibility the religious leaders had in Jesus day. They were the ones who could lead the people to follow the Messiah or reject HIM. Their choice was to reject Jesus as the Messiah. They didn’t want to lose their power with the government of Rome. They wanted the people to follow their traditions rather than the teachings of the Word of God.
The religious leaders were training the people to follow traditions that were going to keep them out of the kingdom of God. They were leading them away from God. They were preventing them from going into heaven when they died.
Jesus declared “woes” to them because they were on their way to Hell for eternity. They were going to receive the greater judgment because they were not only going to Hell themselves but leading others who thought they were headed in the right direction the wrong way.
The key to heaven was Jesus Christ. HE was and is the only way. The people that Jesus was talking to that day had a choice to make. Follow HIS teaching or the teaching of the religious leaders. The sad fact is that they chose the religious leaders.
Jesus confronted the religious leaders with the fact that it is not the external that is important but the internal. Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees looked good on the outside but inwardly they were evil. HE pointed out that they could tithe to the smallest grain of herb and miss the point of showing the love of God.
Right then a lawyer confronted Jesus with the fact that he was not only condemning the Pharisees but them also. Jesus told him that he was right. Jesus was condemning the religious leaders for their external religion. The true religion was on the inside and expressed in the outward actions. The Pharisee, scribes and lawyers wanted an external religion without any internal change. Jesus told them that they were full of darkness. He also told them that they were hindering people from getting into the kingdom. They had the power and authority in Jerusalem to train people correctly regarding God but they chose to not train correctly. They were the ones who were stopping people from coming into the kingdom of God and they were going to be judged for it.
Are we stopping people from entering the kingdom of God? Are we preaching an external religion only? Are we practicing an external religion only? It may be true that some of us are leading people away from Christ instead of toward HIM. We may be the only witness people see that represents Christ.
CHALLENGE: Watch out for an external religion. Examine our internal relationship with Christ. What do we see?
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