Tag: Luke

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Feminized Jesus vs. the Fox – Luke 13:31-35

Jesus has been out teaching and healing when he gets a warning from an unexpected source – some Pharisees warn him that Herod wants to kill him.

But Jesus’ response is to slam Herod as a fox – crafty, sly and evocative of another animal, the serpent, both at the ear of Jesus in the wilderness and Adam and Eve in the Garden. It takes the word of God and twists it, incapable of creating anything on its own. Just like the devil in the wilderness, the Pharisees here are in fact seeking to take Jesus off his mission.

Jesus responds here with the same level of vehemence that he did to Satan himself, slamming both Herod and his center of earthly part harshly as murderers.

And yet he immediately follows this glimpse of his wrath with a deep and evocative picture of his mercy and empathy, painted in a way that is overtly feminized and maternal.

This is a harsh rebuke to the spirit of the age, which seeks a masculine Jesus and calls empathy a sin. Today both Christian and secular leaders speak of empathy as weakness and idolize the strength of the Herods of our current day. The church is called to reject the foxes of today with the same vehemence that Jesus did, but to love others with the same love.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, March 16, 2025

Images by Midjourney

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Overflow – Luke 1:39-45

The Incarnation at celebrate at Christmas is an overflowing of the love of God into a real tangible, concrete way. God knows we are not merely intellectual creatures, but need touch, need facts, need reality.

God could have done things differently but the fact that He descended, “became flesh and dwelt with us,” tells us something about His nature, and also ours. The Good News came in embodied form, so that we could encounter it in a personal way.

Scripture also tells us that “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Humanity was made to long for things – want and desire are core to our nature. They are on one hand healthy and good, but on the other hand when left too long will make the heart sick. Hope, when combined with fulfillment, bring healing. The birth of Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment, both as the “consolation of Israel” and as the answer to the “groaning of creation”.

The nature of God is relational – the Godhead exists in trinity, an eternal relationship that we replicate in our own relationships. The coming of Jesus was followed by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Person by which we enter into relationship with God, and by which we are bound into the Body of Christ, the Incarnation of Jesus now into His church.

Today’s passage is called the “Visitation,” the meeting of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth immediately after the Annunciation when Mary learns of her blessing and challenge. In this passage we get a picture of the physicality of the Incarnation. Jesus could have come like the Terminator, showing up as a fully formed adult but instead He began His humanity as all humans do, as a handful of cells replicating within His mother.

But even in that form, Jesus’ presence has power to bring joy, as the baby in Elizabeth’s womb reacts with rejoicing. This connection – between Mary, Elizabeth, the unborn John and the three unborn Christ is the first stirring of the church. The rejoicing comes in relationship and in community – and in diversity. The two women are in completely different stages of life, but are brought together by the work of God and ultimately the coming of Christ.

This relational aspect extends to our lives today, as we are told that Jesus is also in a way incarnate in the “least of these” around us. When we serve others we ultimately serve Jesus.

This Christmas, let us live out the rejoicing at the fulfillment that the coming of Christ brings – and let us also seek to bring that fulfillment to those around us.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, December 22, 2024

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Don’t Cry – Luke 7:11-17

This story is one of only two stories of Jesus raising someone from the dead, the other being Lazarus. This one comes directly after the story is healing the servant of the centurion, which was a story about Jesus’ power. This story brings that power together with compassion.

I he story here is a hard one. The woman is a widow, who has now lost her son, the one who was to provide for her in her husband’s absence. The loss of her son was more than just a wrenching emotional and personal loss, but a disaster economically. She had nowhere else to turn.

Hopefully no one here is in that place, but we know that circumstances can change and those of us comfortable today could see our fortunes change tomorrow, just as this woman had experienced.

Jesus stepping into this story is of a piece with the heart that scripture continually tells us God has for the immigrant, the widow and the orphan.

As a church, this compassion is the greatest witness we have to the world. But when many people interact with the church, they do not see the compassion that we envision Jesus looking at the widow with. They often see barriers, disgust, resentment and other barriers between the suffering and the people who are supposed to be of God.

Jesus tells the woman not to cry – this is not something we are supposed to do! But Jesus is the one who has the power to step in and change circumstances so that there is no need to cry.

Luke is telling the story about a new kingdom coming to pass. Things are changing – and we live in the same changing and emerging kingdom. Whatever our anxieties, economic, political, personal, Jesus looks on us with compassion and is willing to heal us, even today, even in our modern age and circumstances.

After all this happens, the people were in awe. Psychology tells us that the people who are happiest are those who are able to look at the events of our lives through the prism of resurrection and redemption. They don’t use those words, of course, but that is the concept that we can rely on, not only as a psychological method but as the foundation of our reality. This means we can engage with hard things, can engage with suffering and even death with the knowledge that ultimately there is victory.

–Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, September 8, 2024

Images created with Midjourney.

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Jesus Heals an Ear – Luke 22:47-53

This is a story of Jesus healing someone that does not get as much attention, primarily because it comes in the story of the Crucifixion with so many other things going on. But it is worth close attention because it tells us a great deal about who Jesus is.

Just before this story, Jesus took the disciples from the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. This is a place he took them often, it says, but this time is different. With the Crucifixion looming, Jesus felt intense anxiety – so much so that he sweat blood. This is a reminder that Jesus was human, that he experienced all the emotions of Inside Out 2 and more. But we also read in the passage that Jesus was ministered to by angels when he prayed.

Meanwhile, the disciples had fallen asleep during this intense time of prayer. Jesus warns them to be alert (which is good advice for us, as well). And then shortly after that, his friend Judas arrives to betray him with a kiss. Jesus has every reason at this point to break down, and most of us would have.

Just before this, Jesus had instructed his disciples that a time of change was coming. “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” The disciples eagerly show him that they already have two swords, but Jesus response implies he was (as often happens) being metaphorical.

So then we see Peter use one of those swords violently – apparently ready to go down in a blaze of glory because he has absolutely no skills here, as indicated by the fact that he cut an ear rather than anything vital. But Jesus has every reason so be angry, every reason to lash out in the same way, but with infinitely more effectiveness. But even more within the bounds of his mission, he still has every reason to leave his enemy writhing there on the ground.

Instead, he kneels down and heals the man who came there to arrest him. This is a picture of how we are called to be, even in the midst of enemies who seek our destruction. Jesus taught his disciples to love their enemies, and now he shows them exactly what it looks like. We are called to the same.

We don’t know exactly what happened to Malchus next, but the fact that he is named implies that he may have become a Christian, known to the early church who Luke wrote this account for. Likewise, we never know if our loving actions towards our enemies will bear direct fruit or not, but our call is to create those opportunities by following the lead of our savior.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, August 3, 2024

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Road to Emmaus – Luke 24:13-33

This story comes on the same Sunday that the women discovered the empty tomb. The angst and wonder and confusion was still incredibly fresh. This pair of disciples – possibly husband and wife – were trying to sort through their grief and confusion over the course of seven miles. If it was Cleopas and his wife, she had just seen Jesus on the cross alongside his mother and others.

One question, though, was why they didn’t recognize him? He certainly looked differently than he did the last time they saw him, suffering on the cross. It’s always difficult recognizing people out of context. Also, if they had been expecting a resurrection, then they would have been expecting something much grander than just a quiet stranger on the road. But there is a supernatural aspect of this as well, with them being prevented from recognizing him.

One possible reason is to let Jesus directly address the loss of hope that the pair were experiencing. “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” They are clearly teetering on the edge of despair, while still focused on an expectation of political revolution.

And so Jesus, still unrecognized, begins to teach. He walks them through the whole Old Testament, no doubt familiar to them, but weaving the story of the messiah and the gospel through it all. This new event was not the end of the Old Testament, but the fulfillment.

Something in his teaching led them to invite him to join them for a meal. When he broke the bread at their invitation, their eyes were open and they saw Jesus for who He was. There are many angles to take here, all of them beautiful.

When we sit down at a table together and break bread, we are better able to see Jesus for who He is. When we engage in community, His face becomes clear.

And of course they had very recently seen Jesus break bread at the Last Supper – this was His body, broken for them.

And then, he dissappears! This is making it clear to the disciples that Jesus will not be interacting with his disciples in the same way that he had before, or that they would expect. We run into this as well, with our own expectations of how Jesus will show up and how God will demonstrate His love.

Can we feel the love of God through struggles? See Jesus in the face of someone we dislike? Hear the words of Christ in the mouth of someone we are in conflict with.

This story is also a reminder that the scriptures all by themselves do not do the work of God. In fact, the Bible has often been used to justify oppression and sin. It is when Jesus works through the scriptures that His will is done. It is when we hear the scriptures through the lens and person of Jesus that we get real truth and real power.

And so they leap up from their unfinished meal and immediately head back to Jerusalem, even though it is already night. They have a word of hope to share with those who need it and they do not wait around to share it. Can we do the same?

Is there an area of your life when you were expecting God to show up, where you may need to pray for your eyes to be opened to see his He is working in ways that you may not expect? And when you see it, will you run to tell others?

— Sermon Notes, Alison Robison, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 14, 2024

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The Perplexing Resurrection – Luke 24:9-12

We’ve just wrapped up a series going through the book of Mark, ending on Easter with Mark’s rather abrupt finale. We’ll now pick up the story as told in the gospel of Luke.

One thing to note is that the two accounts of the resurrection have some differences. In fact, all four of the gospel accounts of the resurrection have differences – which women went to the tomb, what angels were there, where was the stone, things like that. It’s important to understand that there is one true gospel story and four different accounts of it. Each author noted different things and considered different things important for them to include or highlight. It’s left to us as a puzzle to put together.

That mirrors the confusion that we see in the story itself. The women are perplexed, Peter is wondering or marveling. That wonder, that confusion, that questioning is the first step towards understanding. This is why children ask so many questions – so let us come as little children, wondering and marveling even, maybe especially, when we are confused by events or what God has to say.

Asking these questions puts us in a position of humility, which is one of the reasons it can be hard for us to do as adults. Even Jesus, when taking the ultimate posture of humility on the cross, asked His Father “why?”

Sitting in wonder and questioning together can be a holy thing. When we want to put out simple answers instead of living in the question, it can lead us to race ahead to wrong and even harmful conclusions. Life is not a race to get to the right answer first.

While there is value in answers, in truth, knowledge and understanding, but there is also value in the process in that direction.

Back to the story – the women were perplexed. Paul used the same Greek word in his second letter to the church in Corinth:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

The word “perplexed” in both places is aporeō, and the contrasting word “despair” is exaporeō. So while we can live in confusion, questioning and wonder, if we keep ourselves focused on the person of Jesus, we can avoid despair. The women and disciples were confused, but they were looking for Jesus – and Jesus eventually found them.

Are you in a place where you don’t have answers? Are there those around you? Don’t race ahead to find pat answers, and don’t veer off course to despair. Instead, be ready to live in the questions while seeking the ultimate Answer to all our questions.

–Sermon Notes, Alison Robison, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 6, 2024

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Something New Piercing Through – Luke 2:25-35

On New Year’s Eve we naturally want to take the time to consider both the past year and the year ahead, and how to improve ourselves. The concept of New Year’s Resolutions is a normal one. Many of them spring from internal desires for real change in our behavior. Usually we start strong and then it peters out after a while. We can get cynical, even, about our or others’ ability to change.

But real change is what Simeon speaks about in this passage, and real change is what Jesus offers us. Simeon’s song here in one of four songs in the first two chapters of Luke – we discussed Mary’s song, the Magnificat, a couple of weeks ago. Before that, we had Zechariah’s Song and afterwards the Angel’s song.

But in this moment we have this incredible juxtaposition of a newborn baby with the ancient prophet. We have the child who contains all the power of Creation and the old man who has been waiting for the “consolation of Israel”.

The Holy Spirit looms large in this story. The work of the third person of the Trinity is a consistent theme throughout both Luke’s gospel and his book of Acts. In chapter 1, there are four separate references to being filled with, strong in or overcome with the Holy Spirit. In this passage, we get three references in quick succession – the Holy Spirit was on him, truths were revealed by the Holy Spirit and he was moved by the Holy Spirit. These are all ways the Holy Spirit interacts with us today.

We all have the capacity to access the Holy Spirit, we all have the potential to be drawn into the work and story that the Holy Spirit is doing. Jesus was and is destined to bring change, as Simeon said. He will pierce through our souls and bring us new experiences, new opportunities, new parts to play in the work that He is doing. It may start as a pinprick or a mustard seed but that can grow into something mighty.

As we look at the year ahead, there are disciplines we can practice to foster this. First, we can listen – listen for what God is teaching, listen for the opportunity He sends your way. Second, gratitude – be actively thankful for what you have been given.

One way to do both of these The Prayer of Examen a spiritual practice of reviewing the day to retune ourselves to the sacred in ordinary life. This can also be done as a look at the past year. Others ask God for a theme word or verse for the year ahead, using that to center their relationship and growth.

Often we strive to change ourselves and the world. Often, we fail. But when we work empowered by and led by the Holy Spirit, we can live more fully and abundantly than we can on our own.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, December 31, 2023

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To God be the Glory – Luke 5:17-26

Wonder is a key to transformation, faith and worship. Understanding ourselves in proper context to God will lead us to a childlike faith and out of the day-to-day grind of earthly life.

False humility is the flip side of arrogance. Both mean that we are failing to give God the glory for what He has done and the gifts that He has given. God may need to work in us to properly orient our outlook and behavior in one direction or the other.

But what do those two truths have in common, and how do they connect to this story of the man lowered through the roof?

The story starts with the earthly enemies of Christ watching him for anything they can use against Him. But Jesus was doing what he so often did, healing the sick.

We would prefer to see ourselves in Jesus in this passage, but so often we are the Pharisees, knowingly or unknowingly putting barriers between Jesus and the people seeking Him.

In reality, we should be seeking to be the friends in this story, loving others with a creative intensity that drives us to seek their good by any means. But the best good did not come from them, but from the infinite power of God through Jesus Christ. God doesn’t need us – and yet we matter to Him and he invites us into what He is doing.

There is a tension and even a paradox here. God’s work is not about us – and yet at the same time, God’s work is about us, transforming us into the person He has already proclaimed us.

Within the church community, we play both the role of the friends and the man on the cot at different times. We cannot be too proud or protective of ourselves to be the one who needs others to lower us down to Jesus. We cannot be too afraid to step into the unknown and the difficult – the possibilities of failure open up broader opportunities as well. God wants us in this vulnerable position so He can do “unimaginable things” that will give Him the glory.

God has put people in all of our lives who will lower us in a cot. Anything we accomplish is bolstered by the people and opportunities God has placed around us to glorify himself through the work He and they do through us.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, November 6, 2022

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Make it Count – Luke 6:12-19

Luke here identifies a period of time when the conflict and tension between Jesus and the religious elite of his day was growing. In verse 11 he notes that the religious leaders were grisly more angry, and “in those days,” describes that Jesus is doing these next things in that context. As the early signs of the end of Jesus’ earthly life are seen, Jesus begins laying the foundation to entrust his ultimate mission to twelve men.

His first response, seeing time is short, is not what most of us would instinctively do. He turns to the Father and prays. Many of us give too little priority to prayer, perhaps because we don’t really believe it impacts us or our world. But throughout Luke, we see Jesus in prayer, especially during times of hardship – here, ahead of his temptation in the wilderness, and before the crucifixion.

So, like Jesus, before we take on the pressures of the world, let’s talk to the Father. We should not be tackling the difficulties of our day before solidifying our relationship with God. Prayer keeps us anchored and tethered to the creator of the world. Prayer should be what we resort to when the pressure is on.

After he prays through the night, Jesus has clarity, and establishes the Twelve Apostles, mirroring the Twelve Tribes. He is establishing a New Israel, what would become the Church. (Paul would eventually be added to this number.)

Notably, none of these men were rabbis, scribes, Pharisees or priests. Instead, they were common men – the most wealthy or “white collar” of them all seems to be Matthew, who was a tax collector and outcast. Possibly they had even been rejected by traditional rabbis as disciples and so had fallen back to the family trades, like fishing. But these are the men Jesus chooses, after prayer, to lead his church.

After making this selection and appointing, Jesus demonstrates for them what His mission is all about. He goes down to a level place, amidst a great crowd, and preaches and heals. But Jesus strategy was to focus on a few people around him, investing in them so that they could invest in others. Within those twelve, the trio of Peter, James & John were even the inner circle, closer to Jesus and brought in deeper.

Jesus would supply these men with everything they needed for this mission – teaching, power, wisdom and much more.

The presence of Judas Iscariot on this list is an interesting conundrum. Did Jesus make a mistake here? No – he trusted the Father’s plan, of which Judas and even his betrayal was a part.

The last thing we can learn from both Jesus and that apostles is that we should turn ourselves toward the father even at death – as Jesus said, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” And of these 12, ten of them would go to a martyr’s death like Jesus would. Andrew was crucified, Peter was a well, upside down. Matthew was assassinated in Ethiopia. James was betrayed by a fellow Christian. Bartholomew was beheaded in India, where Thomas was killed by a spear.

The only disciple to die naturally was John, who lived to as much as 100, but also scarred by persecution and trial.

They all, barring Judas, made their lives count, and in the end turned to the Father. We ourselves won’t likely face martyrdom, but we will all face death, and on that day let’s do as Jesus and His apostles did.

Before you face the world, go to the Father. As you face the world, trust the Father. When you leave the world, turn to the Father.

– Sermon Notes, Andrew Arthur, Hallows Church, Edmonds, WA, March 27, 2022

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Friend of Sinners – Luke 5:27-32

It’s hard to overstate the stigma attached to Levi here as a tax collector of the occupying government. Not only were they seen as traitors for working for the Romans, but they also functioned like loan sharks or moon enforcers. Rabbis writing at the time categorized them along with thieves and murderers. Being with them could leave you ceremonially unclean – an outcast like a leper, but made an outcast by their own sin rather than disease.

But Jesus saw past that social status and even past the sin that drove that status, into the imago Dei that made Levi worthy of love.

It is possible that Levi had heard of Jesus before this, but when presented with the direct call of Christ, he responded by leaving behind his wealth and stability. Following Jesus does cost. Anything that hinders us from following Jesus, that must be left behind.

We see this new way of life play out in verse 29, as Matthew holds a feast for Jesus, but one that pulled in his fellow tax collectors and friends from the outskirts of society. He literally changed his table from the self-focused tax collector’s booth to the table of grace and hospitality.

Importantly, Levi did not cut ties with his previous community – instead, he imitates the work of Christ and brings these other sinners into the presence of Christ. Consider also that fishermen would have been among those abused by these tax collectors, and so the table here also serves as a table of community and reconciliation, as well as a table of mission and grace.

This kind of act is not without consequence – we see here the grumbling and complaining of the Pharisees here. But ultimately, we must be willing for the world, even the religious world, to misunderstand us and judge us. Self-righteousness keeps people out of God’s kingdom in a way that “gross sins” do not. True Christianity is explicitly for the weak, just like Nietzsche accused it of – what he missed was just how weak all of us are.

These themes of feasting and fellowship are found all throughout the Bible, beginning in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve feasted and fellowshipped with God before choosing the wrong table. We see it in the story of the Exodus as the Passover meal becomes a central illustration of God’s mercy. We see this throughout Christ’s ministry in earth, and then beyond as the early church begins built around feasts and fellowship. And we see this coming to pass in the future as well, at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, a picture of the eternal joy and fellowship we are promised in the world to come.

Let us today consider how our tables can be used in the service of this feast and fellowship that Christ calls us to.

– Sermon Notes, Andrew Arthur, Hallows Church, Edmonds, WA, March 13, 2022