Luke 20
"Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like that?" Do we still ask the question, especially if we've not had the experience of being convicted by the Holy Spirit, and certainly if we haven't been convicted of...that?!
Let's kill him, the heir, and we can have it all to ourselves. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. It will make persons stumble and fall. The religion scholars and high priests wanted to lynch him on the spot, but they were intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them. Ever been on the receiving end of a parable you needed to hear? Not too comfortable.
Trying to get around Jesus, to trip him, to make his "stuff" mean something else so that you/we can be right. What's Caesar's? What's God's? Sadducees, who don't believe in resurrection, asking Jesus about resurrection. Talk about a trap!
"God isn't the God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive."
"Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they're exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they'll pay for it in the end."
2 Timothy 1-2
The handing down of faith from generation to generation.
We can only keep on going by the power of God, who first saved us then called us to this holy work. We had nothing to do with it. It was God's idea, a gift prepared for us in Jesus long before we knew anything about it. Paul reminds Timothy that the power of God is what keeps him going, not his own power. It is God who saved us, not we ourselves. It is God who called us to this work, not our volunteering for it. We had nothing to do with it. It was God's idea. And it came to us as gift. Timothy could rest in spite of his insecurities, and so may we.
Pass on what you've learned to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others. Carry out your orders. "You are the leader. Take your share of the suffering. Throw yourself into this work. Take it on the chin if necessary. Forget about being younger. Forget about being less capable. Forget about your feelings of insecurity. Just be the leader...and lead.
Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words. If they're not backed by godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul.
"Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness--faith, love, peace--joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands." 2:22-26
The Challenge of Godliness...summed up in that last passage.
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