Friday Devo
Scripture:
Luke 13:31-35
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Commentary:
13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem (see 10:41). Jesus bemoaned the fate of Jerusalem, with its inhabitants at the time being around 25,000 to 30,000 (cf. the lament in Psalm 137). His lament, however, also applied to all of Israel, since Jerusalem was the religious and political center of the nation. as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. A common metaphor for loving care (cf. Deut. 32:11; Ruth 2:12; Ps. 17:8; 36:7).
13:35 you will not see me until you say, “Blessed …” The quoted blessing is from Ps. 118:26; it was chanted to incoming pilgrims on feast days. This is not an allusion to Palm Sunday (Luke 19:38) because in Matthew’s account (Matt. 23:39) the saying occurs after Palm Sunday, and therefore it must refer to a later event. Some interpreters understand this to refer in a negative way to a coerced, forced confession of Jesus as Lord at the time of the second coming, but the quotation from Ps. 118:26 is in a positive context of welcome and worship, and the phrase “Blessed is he” implies worship. Therefore other interpreters understand this to be a prediction that a large number of Jews will trust in Jesus before his second coming (cf. Rom. 11:12, 14, 24–27, 31–32).
13:35 you will not see me until you say, “Blessed …” The quoted blessing is from Ps. 118:26; it was chanted to incoming pilgrims on feast days. This is not an allusion to Palm Sunday (Luke 19:38) because in Matthew’s account (Matt. 23:39) the saying occurs after Palm Sunday, and therefore it must refer to a later event. Some interpreters understand this to refer in a negative way to a coerced, forced confession of Jesus as Lord at the time of the second coming, but the quotation from Ps. 118:26 is in a positive context of welcome and worship, and the phrase “Blessed is he” implies worship. Therefore other interpreters understand this to be a prediction that a large number of Jews will trust in Jesus before his second coming (cf. Rom. 11:12, 14, 24–27, 31–32).
Study Questions:
- Throughout church history, the Church has never done well in power. In fact, it has always gone pretty poorly. Conversely, the Church has always PROSPERED under PERSECUTION, not POWER. The Church doesn't need POWER to CONTROL hearts. Instead, we PREACH to CHANGE hearts. While we haven't experienced any real persecution in America, we very well could... and soon. Do you have a faith that is ready withstand persecution? How do you develop that kind of faith?
- America is the exception in church history when it comes to our ease of life and lack of consequences for following Jesus. So it should be every believer's strategy to preach the Gospel, make disciples, and live as ambassadors of Jesus to a broken world despite who is in political power. As the heat gets turned up on you and your kids and families, and as culture continues to revile and reject God's Kingdom, how important do you think it will become to have a solid, unshakeable faith and to know WHY you believe WHAT you believe?
Pray:
- That you would develop an unshakable faith.
- That you would strive to know why you believe what you believe.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
6. Is the Bible God’s Word? Jesus proved He is God by rising from the dead and said the Old Testament was God’s Word and gave authority to the Apostles to write the words of the New Testament, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that all the words of the Bible are God’s Word.
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
(Matthew 5:18; Luke 24:27, 44; John 14:25-26, 15:27, 16:12-13, 17:20; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
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