The Purpose Of God (Luke 7:30)

 


Monday, February 24, 2025


Psalms 130; 131; 133

Genesis 31:1-21

Luke 7:24-35


Observance: Matthias, Apostle and Martyr


The Purpose Of God (Luke 7:30)


There is a line in today’s passage that is one of those “hard sayings” of Jesus. It doesn’t seem to line up with where we think he is going, and so the “hard” bit is trying to figure out his train of thought. “I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John.” So far, so good. “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”


Common understanding seems to revolve around the idea that this refers to the fact that John was great because he was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and therefore filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet John is least in the kingdom of God because he died before Pentecost, and was never indwelt by the Holy Spirit. While this interpretation does not do violence to scripture, it doesn’t seem to quite line up nicely enough to solve this “hard saying” of Jesus.


But we can continue reading, and so we should. St Luke gives us the response of the crowd, and the reason for their response: those who had been baptised by John responded by justifying God. The ones who rejected John’s baptism responded by rejecting Jesus’ words as well. Yet look at the phrasing: “but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves”.


There is a conflict between two opposing viewpoints, and Jesus stands up and draws attention to this difference of view. And the difference has nothing to do with the people, and everything to do with God. Everyone in the crowd is in one of two places: either they affirm that God is right in what he does, or they reject God’s purpose.


God could be speaking to us through people who live out in the bush, wear rags, smell a bit, and eat insects. Or, he could be speaking to us through people who like nothing more than a big sit-down meal with friends. The Pharisees and the lawyers rejected both John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah. But the people, and even the tax collectors, accepted both: as long as God was saying it, they were happy to hear it and obey. Sometimes, God gives us hard words: they might be hard because they are difficult to understand, like Jesus’ statement about John being least in the kingdom of God. Or they might be hard because they are hard to swallow, like the fact that the Messiah likes to eat well. But as long as the message is coming from God, then we should be happy to hear it, because God is just, and good, and loving, and perfectly wise.


What are you confused about with what God is saying to you? What has God said to you that you are certain about? How might you rest in what you know for sure? How might you remain patient, waiting for God to explain more to you about the other things?


Son of Man, you came to call all people to the repentance of our sins and to place our trust in you. Grant that we may rest in what you have revealed to us, and the patience to wait for that which are keeping hidden.

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