BibleProject | Upside-Down Kingdom / Part 1 - LukeSample

In this next section of Luke, Jesus gives physical sight to the blind as he continues to provide spiritual insight into what it means to live in the upside-down Kingdom of God. But before anyone can begin to live in the Kingdom with prayer and generosity to the poor, they must first enter it. And no one can even enter the Kingdom of God unless they first humble themselves to completely depend on God. Some trust in themselves and do not understand this, so he tells this parable. It goes like this.

There are two guys who go up to the temple one day to pray. One is a Pharisee, well-known for his knowledge of the Scriptures and his leadership in the temple, while the other is a tax collector, despised as a sellout who works with the corrupt Roman occupation. The Pharisee prays to himself about all the ways he’s holier than everyone else. He thanks God for this. But the other man, the tax collector, can’t even look up while he prays. He pounds his chest in grief and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus ends his story by saying that the tax collector was the only one to go home that day justified before God. He explains how this shocking reversal of status works in his Kingdom: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke emphasizes this theme of humility by following Jesus’ words with another scene from Jesus’ life. Luke explains how on occasion, moms and dads carry their babies right up to Jesus for his blessing. The disciples deem these interruptions inappropriate. They correct the families and try to send them away. But Jesus stands up for the little ones saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to everyone like them.” He ends with this warning and invitation, “Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Read, Reflect, and Respond:

• Review Jesus’ story in Luke 18:10-14. What do you observe? How can you relate to the Pharisee and to the tax collector? What are the dangers of pride and comparison? Like the Pharisee, we too can try to justify ourselves before God with our works, but what does it mean to let God justify our lives with his own merciful work instead?
  
• Consider the dependent nature of children. How would you describe what it means to become like a child? Compare the idea of child-like dependence with Luke’s description of the proud hearts who listened to Jesus’ story (see Luke 18:9). What do you notice?
  
• Let your reading and reflection prompt a prayer. Thank God for his radical mercy, choose to rely on him alone, and ask for eyes to see others with the same mercy he gives you.