Keeping Watch

Keeping Watch

One Sabbath, when he went in to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they were watching him closely. ² There in front of him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. ³ In response, Jesus asked the law experts and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ And to them, he said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” ⁶ They could find no answer to these things.

⁷ He told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they would choose the best places for themselves: ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit in the place of honor, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host. ⁹ The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place.

¹⁰ “But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ You will then be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
^{Luke 14:1–11}

One Sabbath, when he went in to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they were watching him closely.

We too…keep watch…on Jesus…in our lives. We do.

How so? Let’s be honest…we watch Him carefully so that we also can catch Him…

Well…we expect Him to be… yes, in a way even dishonest… doing the opposite of what He tells us He will do…

Being different than what He says…

Not keeping His promises.

Why? Because that is our built-in position… our inherited unbelief… distrust… lack of love for our Lord and God.

Don’t be surprised by this. This comes from our flesh—the world… and the devil, and which… because of it, expects the other shoe to fall… expects trouble, expects dishonesty, treachery…

Yes, even from Him… actually… especially from Him!

And even if not these, …then punishment… judgment… at least… because of what we are and what we do.

Well shouldn’t we be?

Yes…of course….

But even then… when IT SEEMS to be the case, when this is what should happen…should be…

It isn’t. He is just the opposite of all that…of what we are…

We…well…we instead try to find the slightest things to build a case…against Him…to disprove… and then miss the whole point…the whole unfolding development of all that God is doing…

And this…His doing…all happens to… no really… it is for us.

You see, even the Sabbath was made for us. It was to be a day of rest, not a day of labor. We were to cease … a reprieve… from Him… from being caught in the curse of Eden …

… at least for just one day…

An oasis…a pause…still to be in effect…even after the fall…even after all that we have done…

If we would just take it!

But no, we have to turn that into a work… into a labor that binds us…that makes us angry and frustrated…

Why do I have to go to church? Why do I have to let my workers…my animals have a day off? How much money am I losing? When will I get to sleep in? What if I don’t get the crops in on time? I’ll miss that one big sale!

I’ll not be able to afford…

What? Nothing that He can’t and won’t make up…cover… make sure of…

And aside from this, would we really leave our child in a hole? Do you think that God wants that?

Sure, we do! We think God wants to ruin all good things, just so that He can have His way!

What do we do with this…then…this, our nasty selves?

Paul asked the same thing in Romans 7? He asks, who will rescue him from this—his own body of death? As that is where this unbelief … this mistrust…this lack of love for God resides… and then will lead us… if it could…

And so who is it that rescues us? The one whom we don’t love, trust and believe in above all else!

Well, Jesus…of course. Still! Even so. Especially because of!

So instead…so this time at least…look what He still does…and does even knowing just what we are like and what we will do!

Well… can we? No.

So now what? Well…He tells us…He shows us by telling us a story about what He does…has and will do.

And this story will go out and into our ears…into our minds and hearts. That is what it is to do…what He intends it to do…

Listen and see: 

⁷ He told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they would choose the best places for themselves: ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t sit in the place of honor, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host. ⁹ The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ “But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ You will then be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

And so…then…what sort of response will we have to it…to Him?

First, we wonder where we come into the story?

But no, first, we must see where Jesus come into the story? He was the highest and deserved the highest place, but for our sakes took the lowest…

So that He…and His party…is it a party of 5? A party of a 1,000? Party of 7,000?

This so that WE Could be taken up to the place and seated right next to the King Himself, His Father.

So…then…seeing what He did…will you insist on your rights? Insist on my position in this life? Will you or I try and pretend that we are better than He describes…that there has to be something to recommend me to my proper place?

Instead, will you trust Him…that that is what He intended all along?

Now if you have not noticed Jesus is really asking us to go ahead and see if it isn’t so. He is letting you prove that He stands behind what He says.

Of course there is always that voice that yells at us that it is never NOW…it is never HERE on earth…that we always will have to wait…

So? It’s not such a big deal. Not in reality. Ever hear that it is lonely at the top. That we should never envy the rich?

Why? Because it is the truth. But it is not the case if we are there with Him and only if it is by His doing….and in a place where wealth will not rust, be stolen or be moth eaten.

And another thing…I happen to know humble insignificant people that are highly honored…in the best sort of way…

And even if we have to wait for a bit…it will be worth it. Heaven will be worth it.

But is this really Jesus letting us test Him? Well, I would not put it like that so much as He giving us the opportunity to trust Him.

Scary, isn’t it? Against the grain…against our instincts?  

Yes…very much so.

But the faith…which we have in Jesus overcomes this…because He overcame this…in His perfect sinless human body…

…overcame the world…and the devil…putting to death…in His own body…all that is against this faith…this trust…this love of He who cannot and will not fail us…fail us ever!

And then to put to shame…not our failures…but the world and the devil…

Then… He rose from the dead. Scorning this shame.

So… all those reasons? All those voices? They are silenced. He is Risen. Let them clamor!

Go ahead then… take the lowest place. Take the risk and give up yourself as Christ has given Himself. Your life even is safe…

Dead in Christ, means only a brief sleep, then it is alive forever in Christ. Exalted with Him at the right hand of the Father. Bright shining as the Son. As He is… Ruling with Him.

How much more do you want? How much of higher place of honor is there than that? There is none. It is ours in Jesus…whether high or low here. With Him…

How much more can you ask?

So go ahead and watch. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

Go ahead and see if it isn’t so! He does what He says and says what He does.  And it lasts forever.

Amen.

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