It's Day 6 and we're in Luke 6.
Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verses 3-5 - This really hit me hard. How often do I say, "What that really means is. . ." and explain away a passage by making it easily fit within my theology? I need to dwell with the verses and receive them on their own terms, even if that creates some struggle.
Help:
- Verses 1-2 - This was one of the rules the Pharisees had come up with: doing something as simple as this was classified by them as "work" and therefore banned on the Sabbath.
- Verses 3-5 - Jesus reminds them that others did things that would have been "immoral" by their made-up rules.
- Verses 20-26 - This speaks to who is more likely to have insight into God and who is less likely.
- Verses 29-30 - This doesn't mean that if we're beat up we can't defend ourselves. The slapping has more to do with slapping as an insult.
If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.
If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.
Your Comments and Questions:
- "In my notes of my study Bible it refers to Jesus as the oldest child. During a Bible study I did a year or so ago I was taught that Jesus was the youngest and most likely Mary’s only child. That his siblings were Joseph’s children from his previous marriage." - Good question. The Bible clearly indicates that Jesus had siblings, but it does not tell us if they were older or younger. There are basically two possibilities. 1. Option one is that Jesus was the oldest child of Joseph and Mary. Neither had children from previous marriages. After Jesus was born, the couple had other children, who are the siblings the Bible mentions. This means that while Jesus was an immaculate (non-sexual) conception, Mary and Joseph then had children the traditional way. 2. The other option is that perhaps Joseph had children from a previous marriage. (Here it is normally presumed that Joseph was significantly older than Mary.) Jesus was an immaculate (non-sexual) conception. But even after that, Mary and Joseph never had sex. This second view is the Catholic view because they believe in Mary's "perpetual virginity." That is, because of the elevated place they give Mary, they argue that she and Joseph never had sex during their marriage. In sum, the first view is generally believed by Protestants; the second by Catholic. It will not surprise you to know that I hold to the first view.
- "Where do demons go when they are cast out?" - Good question. In general when Jesus cast out a demon from a person, that demon was, in effect, released back into the world. So that person was freed from the demon, but the demon would go on and likely bother others. At times, though, demons are bound so that they can't torment people anymore. You see a reference to this in Luke 8:31, when Jesus is casting out a person with a "Legion" of demons and they beg Jesus not to be cast into "the Abyss." The Abyss is a holding place for demons who are no longer allowed to roam the earth freely but instead are being held for judgment. You might remember that term from last week's Sunday morning sermon because "the Abyss" is where Satan will be bound for 1,000 years during the Millennium. We do have other references to demons currently bound there (Jude 6, for instance).
