³¹ Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³² He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; ³³ they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.” ³⁴ The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” Luke 18:31-34

The text tells us that Jesus tells the disciples what will happen to him in Jerusalem, but the text also tells us that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was saying and in fact, the meaning was hidden from them.  Then, at the ascension of Jesus in Luke 24:44 – 53, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples to understand the scriptures.  We have a famous saying in our society today that goes something like this: hind sight is 20/20.   The meaning, of course is that we can better understand events that are taking place after the fact….once we have had some time to reflect on what has happened.  While we do not always understand the events that we are currently involved in, at some point in time, later in the day or the week or even later in our lives, the purpose or the meaning of events can be better understood – as if a veil has been lifted from our eyes or our thoughts.  Often times I pray asking G-d to help me understand what is happening – hoping that G-d will unlock the meaning of events while they are still happening or still fresh in my mind.  There are some events to which we will never have the meaning unlocked for us, but, in general, G-d will give us the wisdom to understand all events at some point in our lives.  The same is true for scripture – that is why we continue to study throughout our lives – for new and different meanings will come to us at different points in our lives.

Pastor Dave

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee’s contempt for the tax collector is quite noticeable – actually his contempt for all “sinners”, of which he does not consider himself, is quite noticeable. He thanks G-d that he is not like the others, those sinners, rather than praying for the “others”. His prayer is self-righteous, his attitude the same. And Jesus makes it clear that the sincerely humble, and contrite-hearted sinner is justified before G-d. It seems that grace is paradoxical: it can be received by those who have learned empathy for others. Only the merciful can receive mercy, only those who forgive can be forgiven. The Pharisee had enough religion, but he focused it on ritual – fasting and giving a tenth – and he believed his “right-practice” justified him. Somewhere along the line he missed out on humility and loving his neighbor. People who are aware of their own need for forgiveness and grace will not be able to have contempt for others – that is the lesson we take today.

Pastor Dave