"You Always Had Me" (Luke 15:11-32)
The parable of the prodigal son highlights the contrast between a repentant sinner and a self-righteous individual. The younger son, after squandering his inheritance, returns home seeking forgiveness, possibly with a manipulative mindset, but ultimately accepts his father’s invitation to celebrate and enjoy their restored relationship. The older son, however, resents the grace shown to his brother. The older brother calls to his father’s attention his years of slaving for the family. He fails to see that his father never required him to slave for approval or acceptance but simply to enjoy the merciful status of sonship. This parable teaches that the Christian life is not about proving our worthiness to receive God’s favor but about pursuing our lord, living in communion with Him, and rejoicing in our relationship seeking to live out of gratitude and joy rather than boasting of one’s works.
The Sinners' Supper: Mercy in the Mess (Luke 15:1-10)
In this passage, Christ’s association with tax collectors and sinners challenges the Pharisees' understanding of holiness and reveals their self-righteousness. Christ responds with two parables: the shepherd who seeks out the one lost sheep, symbolizing his love for the lost, and the woman who finds a lost coin, emphasizing the joy of restoration. These parables contrast the Pharisees' lack of understanding of repentance and highlight the importance of seeking righteousness through Christ rather than self-reliance. It is remarkable that even the angels in heaven celebrate the repentance of sinners, urging believers to align with this divine celebration of redemption.
Considering Christ's Call (Luke 14:25-35)
Normally, God is often associated with love.. However, Christ challenges this notion by calling His followers to hate their families and even their own lives, seemingly to contradict Moses' command to honor parents. Christ is teaching the cost of true discipleship—one that requires prioritizing Him every worldly comfort, bearing the cross, and seeking God’s will over worldly ambitions. He warns against a superficial understanding of His kingdom, calling believers to count the cost and commit fully, even at potentially great personal sacrifice. True discipleship means losing one's life in the sense of reprioritizing values according to the cross, and living as a sacrifice to God. Thus, Christians must conform to Christ’s image, discerning His wisdom through the Spirit and aligning their lives with His priorities in faith.
Christ's Radical Feast (Luke 14:1-24)
We consider the transactional nature of social banquets in Rome, where guests were invited to elevate one’s status, with the radically different banquet of God's kingdom where the people too powerless to advance the host are invited. When Jesus dines with the Pharisees, they seek to trap Him, using a man with dropsy as bait. Yet Jesus, in healing the man, exposes the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. Through a parable, Jesus teaches that true honor comes not from self-exaltation but from humility and dependence on God. He calls His followers to invite and embrace the poor, crippled, and marginalized, reflecting the heart of God’s kingdom. Ultimately, the true banquet belongs to those who recognize their spiritual poverty and rely solely on Jesus for redemption, pointing to the fullness of peace and restoration believers that believers possess in Christ now and in the fullness when he returns.
How Can I Be Saved? (LD 23; Acts 16:30-31)
Christ’s blessings are received not by personal righteousness or covenant status but through faith in Christ and the Spirit’s work. Acts 16 illustrates this through the Philippian jailer, who, after witnessing Paul and Silas’s steadfast faith, learns that salvation comes not by human effort but by faith or believing in Jesus. Jailer’s conversion and the servant girl’s deliverance prove that deliverance is through God’s redemptive purpose and a restored humanity. Paul and Silas’s joy in suffering highlights the unshakable nature of faith, and the jailer’s baptism affirms God’s covenantal work, calling us to trust in Christ alone for salvation.
Establishing the True Vision of Peace (Luke 13:31-35)
The city of man, represented by Herod’s tyranny, gives an illusion of peace through threats and violence. Christ’s kingdom is contrasted as he lays down his succumbing to the tyranny of this age. Christ is warned by a faction of Pharisees of Herod’s threat to kill Jesus. Jesus does not cower, exposing Herod’s weakness and remaining resolute in his mission. Christ makes explicit that Herod is not the threat to Jesus, but earthly Jerusalem rejects him like they have with all the prophets. Jesus is the true protector, as he was in their exodus event. The irony is that the vision of peace in his age joins the world peace of Rome by rejecting Christ. However, God overturns their sentence of death through the resurrection. Christ calls humanity to walk through the narrow door; they are called to take his yoke upon them and to do so before Christ returns as the true king of glory—the stone the builders rejected God has set as the cornerstone. Let us not reject God’s word, but embrace the substance of the word as we bow our knee to Chris
Living in a Tomb? (Phil. 3:21, Lord’s Day 22)
Our current flesh was made for this world. Adam is from the dirt. He was created good in body and soul. We needed a glorified body that was fit for heaven. This is not because the flesh is evil, but because the flesh is earthy. In our fallen state, the curse is that the body will not be glorified, but by the redemptive work of Christ, we are guaranteed to be glorified as we are in Christ. Therefore, rather than seeing our bodies as unimportant or disposable, we should recognize that God not only created us with a good body, but Christ redeemed us as whole humans: body and soul.
Strive for the Narrow Door (Luke 13)
Jesus warns that we tend to ask the wrong question in our redemption. We tend to focus on whether they have done enough rather than whether they are striving to enter through the narrow door on Christ’s terms. Many assume they are spiritually secure, but without Christ’s redemption, they are lost. As Jesus journeys to Jerusalem, his followers expect earthly glory, yet he moves toward suffering, the cross, and ultimate victory through resurrection. This will happen in the city called the Vision of Shalom (peace) or Jerusalem. The issue posed to Jesus is how many will be saved rather than how one can be saved. Jesus calls for striving, emphasizing that salvation is not about religious heritage or outward association but a true commitment to him. The narrow door will not remain open forever, and many who assume they belong to God’s kingdom will be shut out, while unexpected outsiders will be welcomed in. This great reversal fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 25) of God’s feast, where only those who humbly trust in Christ will rejoice. Ultimately, salvation is not about human effort or religious status but about submitting to Christ and recognizing our need for his redeeming grace before the door closes.
Refined in Tribulation (LD 20; 1 Peter 4:14)
Peter, despite his past failure when he denied Christ three times, exhorts us to rejoice in suffering. This might sound hypocritical, but Peter is being consistent because Peter understands suffering as a refining process, much like precious metals being purified. Trials do not signify God’s abandonment or punishment, but strengthen faith, deepen union with Christ, and reveal our character. The Holy Spirit, who raised Christ and filled the temple, now dwells in believers, preserving and empowering them to persevere until the glory.
Joyful Slaves under Sovereign Scrutiny (Luke 12:35-48)
The Christian life is based on the assurance in Christ’s finished work and a call to active, faithful service. Christ not only secures our righteousness, but he also transforms our hearts, empowering us to live as responsive, vigilant servants awaiting our Master’s return. Jesus presents these parables to challenge us to serve Him diligently, trust in God’s provision, and glorify Him in all things as we anticipate the fullness of His kingdom.
We Are Risen and Resurrected? (1 Cor. 15:45; LD 17
The resurrection of Christ guarantees and assures believers of redemption and transformation. While Christ’s resurrection has secured our victory over sin and death, Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15 that we are still awaiting the final fulfillment of that victory in the full physical blessings. The resurrection declares Christ as the Son of God and grants us righteousness, new life, and the hope of eternal glory. However, we continue to experience the struggles of a fallen world, living in the tension of the “already (taste redemption) but not yet (waiting for fully glory).” Christ, as the last Adam, reverses the effects of sin and death, offering us true life and a future physical resurrection. Even in the first century, doubts about the resurrection arose, but Paul emphasizes that without it, our faith and hope are meaningless. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s resurrection power is at work in us now, progressively transforming us as we faithfully anticipate the final triumph when Christ’s returns to bring in the new heavens and new earth. We will be raised in our resurrection bodies because Christ has been raised.
Be Happy: Sell Everything? (Luke 12:13-34)
The passage examines Christ’s teaching on wealth and priorities through a parable about inheritance and a rich man’s desire to secure his future through self-reliance. Christ rebukes his mindset that prioritizes earthly kingdom security in the place of the heavenly kingdom, making explicit that true provision comes from God. The parable of the rich fool highlights the danger of self-centered planning without seeking God’s wisdom to order one’s steps. While wise stewardship is encouraged, Christ warns against placing ultimate trust in earthly security. Instead, believers are called to seek God’s kingdom first, trusting that he will provide for their needs, just as he cares for creation. The reason for this is if God cares for the fading flower and the unclean bird how much more his children he has redeemed in Christ.
