Deputising Jesus
This week's study is on Luke 12:13-15:
These verses are kind of funny. Jesus is teaching about choosing God above all things, and letting the details of your life work themselves out instead of trying to hypercontrol them, when this guy interrupts to ask Jesus to sort out the details of his life by making his brother do what he asks. In other words, the situation with his brother and the inheritance is the most important thing in his life, more important than listening to Jesus, more important than everyone else's time. You have to ask yourself if he was even paying attention, or whether he just spotted a pause in the dialogue and decided to use it to deputise an influential person for his cause.
Jesus puts things back in perspective, basically saying "How is this my problem?" Despite what well meaning Christians have been saying for years, Jesus didn't come to eliminate injustice and take sides. He came to save us for eternity. If you're someone who hoped to use Jesus to fix what you see as broken in the world, you'll probably find that offensive. But if Jesus and the salvation he won for us is the most important thing to you, the other problems may not seem that serious in comparison.
Jesus then turns the topic from what the man's brother may or may not have been doing, to the problem that caused the interruption in the first place: the greed that was in the man's heart. Why else would the details of the inheritance be so important that he needed to call out his brother in front of everyone and try to conscript Jesus in his fight? His material needs, or desires, had become more important to him than everything else. It was a massive blind spot in his love for God and his fellow man. The most important thing to him was that he get what he felt he deserved in a material sense. The message Jesus just preached, his brother's dignity, and the respect due to God himself all took second place to that burning outsized desire.
We can see this come up in our own prayers. "God please make so and so do such and such." "God please let my candidate win the election and not those idiotic other people's stupid candidate." "God please change so and so's mind on such and such a topic." Rather than our sovereign lord, God becomes our hired thug, or a high powered lawyer to twist and manipulate others to our advantage. The question we have to ask, which Jesus was kind enough to answer for the man in these verses, is "Why is it an issue for us in the first place?" What sin do we have in our hearts to cause us to gang up on our brother or sister?
We also see this in cases where we quote scripture, often out of context, to browbeat or guilt other people in to doing what we want. "The church needs a new projector, so you guys need to give because of these old testament verses on tithing. Otherwise God will curse you." "I don't like that you can see my sin, so here are some verses on judging from Jesus himself. As you can see, you'll go to hell if you don't endorse my lifestyle." Every social cause has Christians quoting Bible verses to justify their side of things as a sort of riot club to beat down the other side with guilt and fear. But Jesus himself says that none of this is his problem to solve. He came and was crucified for us, not to get drafted onto someone's team, but to save us from the sin that causes that sort of squabbling in the first place.
Take some time and consider how you see God. Do you really believe he will provide for all of your needs no matter what others do? Do you really consider him to be more valuable to you than whatever is going on in your life in the moment? If your brother cheats you, or disagrees with you on something important to you, what is the real issue? What is more important to you, seeing justice, being rich and comfortable, or being saved? If you know an all-powerful God who loves everyone and who can give you anything, wouldn't it make more sense to ask him to provide whatever it is you think you're missing because of your brother's behaviour, rather than asking him to take sides between two people he loves? And can you say you really love your brother if you're asking for God's help in forcing him into bondage to you over whatever issue it is?
Rather than pressing God into our service when we have a disagreement with our brother or sister, we should wilfully put ourselves in service to God in loving and forgiving that brother or sister. It's a demonstration of God's kingdom in love and a radical act of faith that God can provide for all of our needs, no matter what.
Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
These verses are kind of funny. Jesus is teaching about choosing God above all things, and letting the details of your life work themselves out instead of trying to hypercontrol them, when this guy interrupts to ask Jesus to sort out the details of his life by making his brother do what he asks. In other words, the situation with his brother and the inheritance is the most important thing in his life, more important than listening to Jesus, more important than everyone else's time. You have to ask yourself if he was even paying attention, or whether he just spotted a pause in the dialogue and decided to use it to deputise an influential person for his cause.
Jesus puts things back in perspective, basically saying "How is this my problem?" Despite what well meaning Christians have been saying for years, Jesus didn't come to eliminate injustice and take sides. He came to save us for eternity. If you're someone who hoped to use Jesus to fix what you see as broken in the world, you'll probably find that offensive. But if Jesus and the salvation he won for us is the most important thing to you, the other problems may not seem that serious in comparison.
Jesus then turns the topic from what the man's brother may or may not have been doing, to the problem that caused the interruption in the first place: the greed that was in the man's heart. Why else would the details of the inheritance be so important that he needed to call out his brother in front of everyone and try to conscript Jesus in his fight? His material needs, or desires, had become more important to him than everything else. It was a massive blind spot in his love for God and his fellow man. The most important thing to him was that he get what he felt he deserved in a material sense. The message Jesus just preached, his brother's dignity, and the respect due to God himself all took second place to that burning outsized desire.
We can see this come up in our own prayers. "God please make so and so do such and such." "God please let my candidate win the election and not those idiotic other people's stupid candidate." "God please change so and so's mind on such and such a topic." Rather than our sovereign lord, God becomes our hired thug, or a high powered lawyer to twist and manipulate others to our advantage. The question we have to ask, which Jesus was kind enough to answer for the man in these verses, is "Why is it an issue for us in the first place?" What sin do we have in our hearts to cause us to gang up on our brother or sister?
We also see this in cases where we quote scripture, often out of context, to browbeat or guilt other people in to doing what we want. "The church needs a new projector, so you guys need to give because of these old testament verses on tithing. Otherwise God will curse you." "I don't like that you can see my sin, so here are some verses on judging from Jesus himself. As you can see, you'll go to hell if you don't endorse my lifestyle." Every social cause has Christians quoting Bible verses to justify their side of things as a sort of riot club to beat down the other side with guilt and fear. But Jesus himself says that none of this is his problem to solve. He came and was crucified for us, not to get drafted onto someone's team, but to save us from the sin that causes that sort of squabbling in the first place.
Take some time and consider how you see God. Do you really believe he will provide for all of your needs no matter what others do? Do you really consider him to be more valuable to you than whatever is going on in your life in the moment? If your brother cheats you, or disagrees with you on something important to you, what is the real issue? What is more important to you, seeing justice, being rich and comfortable, or being saved? If you know an all-powerful God who loves everyone and who can give you anything, wouldn't it make more sense to ask him to provide whatever it is you think you're missing because of your brother's behaviour, rather than asking him to take sides between two people he loves? And can you say you really love your brother if you're asking for God's help in forcing him into bondage to you over whatever issue it is?
Rather than pressing God into our service when we have a disagreement with our brother or sister, we should wilfully put ourselves in service to God in loving and forgiving that brother or sister. It's a demonstration of God's kingdom in love and a radical act of faith that God can provide for all of our needs, no matter what.
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