Jesus Wouldn't Have Been on His Phone

Jesus gives Martha a hard time for being distracted and missing the importance of actually being present with the people around her.

If he gave Martha a hard time 2,000 years ago, what would Jesus have to say to you about distraction today?

How can you be intentionally and unhurriedly present today?

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 10:38-42

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The Good Samaritan

Some brief thoughts on the Parable of the Good Samaritan:

• This parable is utterly brilliant--see how Jesus totally flips the perspective?
• Neighbor moves from the object ("Who is my neighbor?) to the subject ("How can I be a neighbor?").
• Samaritans were HATED by the Jews and considered half-breeds. Who would be the Samaritan today if Jesus were telling YOU this parable? Donald Trump? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? An illegal immigrant? A member of the Border Patrol?
• Jesus makes it clear that there is no limit how much we should love and care for other people--the Good Samaritan does far more than just the minimum.
• The Christians faith is not about believing but about doing. Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

To whom do you need to be a Good Samaritan today?

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 10:25-37

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What Does Jesus Mean When He Speaks About Satan?

Jesus sends out 72 of his followers on a mission trip. When they return, they enthusiastically tell him all the cool stuff that happened:

"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'”

Luke 10:17

Jesus replies,

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."

Luke 10:18

What does that mean?

I found this passage from one of my commentaries on Luke to be helpful:

"Jesus' vision of Satan's downfall can be a mental image...for what has happened or is happening in his own mission and that of the seventy-two....

"Jesus, therefore, can put his followers' success in a heavenly perspective that is hidden from them. He projects the limited defeat of demons onto the broader screen of the cosmic conflict between God and the forces of evil. What is happening is not simply the expulsion of random demons that they might come across in their travels but the beginning of the complete overthrow of Satan's rule. The disciples only see the battle picture from the limited perspective of their hand-to-hand combat in the trenches. They have charged into the line of demons and routed them in various skirmishes. Jesus sees the whole war map. Satan has been knocked off his throne in 'heaven,' representing the 'summit of his power,' and is in full retreat. He is still kicking and will unleash woes, but he will assuredly be vanquished. His final defeat with be consummated at the end of time....

"The vision of Satan's fall does not make Jesus' death and resurrection superfluous, and the final victory does not even come in Jesus' death and resurrection because Satan continues to work damage in Acts (13:4-12, 26:18). But the cross and the resurrection do mortal damage to the satanic realm (Heb 2:14)."

David Garland, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Volume 3

Pretty cool!

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 10: 17-24

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How Do We Know the Text of the New Testament Hasn't Been Changed?

Lots of folks worry that the text of the Bible has been changed over time. How do we know we can trust the text that we are reading? How can we be sure the text hasn't been changed over the centuries? Can we trust the text of the New Testament?

The short answer: yes.

Here's why: there are thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament in existence; biblical scholars compare and contrast these manuscripts with each other.

• As of 2016, there were more than 5,850 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament;
• About 1000 of these date from before 390 AD, when St. Jerome made his Latin translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate.
• Most of these manuscripts are partial or fragmentary, but even so we have multiple manuscripts for every single book in the New Testament. (Revelation is the least well-attested, but there are still about 300 ancient Greek manuscripts that preserve it.)

So, comparing these thousands of manuscripts, scholars can be confident that the New Testament in our Bibles is essentially the exact same New Testament that the early Christians wrote--we can see that things have not changed over time.

However, there are small discrepancies and textual problems in the New Testament, one of which is found in today's reading:

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two^[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go."

Luke 10:1

Notice the small [a] in the NIV? That leads to a textual note that says "Some manuscripts seventy." What that means is that the Bible translators are letting you know that there are many manuscripts that say "seventy" instead of "seventy-two." The translators of the NIV think that "seventy-two" is what Luke actually wrote, but they want you to know that there is some textual confusion on that point and that it is possible that he wrote "seventy." (Obviously, we do not have the literal autograph that Luke wrote.)

To me, these sorts of textual problems make me more confident in the text of the Bible, not less:

1. If the church was trying to perpetuate a hoax, it would be beyond stupid to print footnotes in the Bible that explain when there are textual problems!
2. If the Bible was formed the was the church claims it was formed, i.e., organically and over time, then it would make sense that there would be small textual problems like this.
3. The vast majority of the textual problems are exactly like Luke 10:1--totally beside the point. Whether Jesus sent out seventy-two or seventy really doesn't matter.

You can be confident that the text of the New Testament in our Bible's today is the same text that the New Testament writers wrote, and any small discrepancies or textual problems that exist are both irrelevant and out in the open.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 10:1-16

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