A Walk Through the Gospel
Week Twenty
May 11, 2025
Luke 18:9-19:10 Key Verse - They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.
— Luke 18:32,33 (NIV)
From this week’s passages, Luke, physician and artist, has created for us a beautiful tapestry woven under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and threaded with warm golds, brilliant blues, deep scarlets, and rich purples against the background of earthen tones. It hangs before us, an enigmatic portrayal of the Gospel weaved in parable, teaching, and story, waiting to be appreciated by those who will invest the time to take in its message with wonder.
In reading these passages, it is helpful to understand that Luke’s gospel is not purely chronological in its account of the events from the life of the Galilean. Luke’s literary tact was a “systematic arrangement grouped around themes he wished to emphasize.” ¹ (God does use the personalities and styles of the people he chooses to employ for his purposes.)
As our eyes gaze across this unfolding panoramic, they are drawn to the center of this tapestry — pulled in by its main subject, the Gospel. You see, Jesus did what we could not. He lived the perfect life that we constantly fail to live, the only one able to bear our sins on the cross, die for us, and rise from his tomb to victory. He was mocked, insulted, spit on, beaten, whipped, crowned with thorns, and hung on a cross for us — for all to see. All of this ends in hope — an empty grave, a risen Savior, our Advocate and Intercessor, ascended to prepare heaven for those of us who will believe.
As we move outward from the center of this wall-hanging of artistic beauty, we see the grave danger of self-righteousness and the great value of humility taught in parable. Flowing from parable, we move to teachable encounters, taking in the Lord’s heart and affection for child-like faith and his moving address to our attitudes of can-do self-sufficiency. Panning further on our eyes view the Gospel come alive in the stories of a blind beggar and a “blind” rich man — two men suffering from two types of blindness. And finally, our attention is drawn back to the central message of hope —God does the impossible and brings salvation to the lives of real people.
What is God sewing into your story today? Is the Sovereign Seamster drawing the warm gold thread of his divine presence through your life? Do you see the brilliant blues of his faithfulness and love weaved across your life, an overarching limitless sky of supply? Are you warmed by the rich purple fibers of royal adoption? Do you sense the deep scarlet thread of redemption crossing your heart? Know this: Jesus desires the truth and beauty of the Gospel to come alive with the brilliant colors of his artistry in your life.
And may this beauty be seen by all.
Monday
May 12, 2025
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable …
— Luke 18:9 (NIV) (cf. Luke 18:9-14)
Self-righteousness and contempt of others are prison bars, evil twin traits that bind and cage. But humility is a key and it unlocks the jail cell of self-sufficiency. Free is the man who knows his need — and our greatest need is our need for a savior; for the Savior. In today’s Scripture, Jesus is presenting us with a parable of hyperbolic opposites. God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud-hearted. Two men. One walked away justified by the faithfulness of the Savior; the other with nothing but his prayers prayed to self, stuck to him like sticky-notes, and his soul bloated with a false assurance.
The cross is an affront to our pride. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
What is the first step to receiving grace from God? How are humility and need related?
Tuesday
May 13, 2025
I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
— Luke 18:17 (NET) (cf. Luke 18:15-17)
I love the wide-eyed wonder of a child discovering something for the first time. I love seeing how he embraces the experience, takes it in, and receives it with joy. Caution and cynicism haven’t been fully learned in the heart of a child. Trust thrives and self-importance hasn’t had a chance to yet. In this first of two teachable encounters (we’ll look at the other on Wednesday), Jesus begins to elaborate on the parable he’s just told (c.f. Luke 18:9-14). The kingdom of God belongs to the child-like heart. Worldly wisdom and intelligence don’t secure an address in this realm. Significance and stature don’t buy a house in this domain. Entrance to this kingdom is not earned, it is received and embraced wholeheartedly.
What are some child-like qualities that Jesus may have been referring to? In what way does a child receive something?
How do wisdom and maturity live alongside a child-like heart? How can one maintain child-like receptiveness with God?
Wednesday
May 14, 2025
But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
— Luke 18:27 (BSB) (cf. Luke 18:18-27)
Jesus knows the heart, and the heart of the rich young ruler was energized by the insidious triumvirate of riches, youth, and power. “What good must I do?” Jesus felt a love for this young man, and so he speaks from his heart to the core of this man’s heart. In our second teachable encounter, Jesus challenges the mindset that the kingdom of God operates like the kingdoms of men. He does this by speaking two truths. Firstly, no one is good but God alone. Flattery does not change who one truly is. Secondly, all of our efforts to save ourselves fall short of the glory of a perfect God. Eternal life is not a thing to barter for or achieve. Let us learn from the children in our first teachable encounter.
What is Jesus referring to when he uses the word, “good”? If not by our goodness that we enter eternal life, then by what?
What is the hope Jesus holds out for those of us who know we fall short? What is impossible for man?
Thursday
May 15, 2025
Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
— Luke 18:43 (NLT) (cf. Luke 18:35-43)
The power of the Gospel is lived out in the real lives of real people. Our first life-story is of a blind man who was more sighted than some of the seeing. His brokenness brought him humility and released him from the baggage of pride and self-importance. Desperation births desire and this man’s desire freed him from proper etiquette and people’s opinions to receive from Jesus the thing he wanted most — to see. And what was the first thing he saw? The face of his Savior! He was now face to face with the one he had heard of and believed in. And so it will be with us who have heard and believed. The first thing we shall see after waking from the sleep of death will be the beautiful face of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How do we know that the first person the now-seeing man saw after receiving his site was Jesus? How do you think this man felt after gaining his sight?
Why do you think the blind man started following Jesus? What effect did this healing have on those who were present in this encounter?
Friday
May 16, 2025
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
— Luke 19:9-10 (BSB) (cf. Luke 19:1-10)
Our second life-story involves a short, despised, wealthy tax collector. Like the blind man, he wanted to see. Unlike the blind man, he was called by name. Zacchaeus in Hebrew means pure, innocent. Innocent … like a child. In his desperation to see Jesus, he ran ahead of the crowd and then climbed a tree. He was willing to put aside his dignity so he could get a glance at Jesus. And as Jesus pauses to engage this man with the child-like heart, we see the impossible come to pass. The rich man welcomes Jesus with joy and finds in himself a changed heart. The Shepherd had found his lost lamb and this lost lamb had found his Savior. This day the Gospel of grace would take root in Zacchaeus’ heart and he would never be the same.
What was one indication that salvation had come to Zacchaeus? In what ways has your life been changed by the Savior?
What was the turning point in this story for Zacchaeus? What turning points have you had in your walk with Jesus?