Be Ready Series

29. Who is Jesus?

March 20th, 2010

Be Ready

We have seen a lot of really amazing things about Jesus, but the best is yet to come. We are in the final months of Jesus life. Jesus has been healing people, performing miracles, casting out demons, battling the religious, and answering questions all to get us ready for the coming of the kingdom of God. After Jesus laid the smack down on the religious leaders He became very popular. Crowds of thousands had gathered to hear Jesus speak. While Jesus was speaking one guy in the front interrupted Him with a question about money that has lead into some heavy teaching.

Money has a tendency to control our thoughts and lives. Many people treasure money and treat it like God. Jesus says there are more important things than money in this life. We need to focus on what really matters. The kingdom of God is coming so don’t worry about money.

Jesus focus is on preparing us for the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus has told us what not to do. Don’t focus on money, don’t worry about your life, don’t be afraid. Now Jesus tells us what we should do. Don’t worry about your needs getting met and learn to rely and to become dependent on God. The kingdom of God is coming and you need to be ready. When Jesus rose from the dead the kingdom of God was established on earth but that kingdom will not be fully realized until He returns.

Here we are in Luke 12:35 where Jesus is preparing us for His return by teaching us to be ready. What do you do before a significant event in your life? You prepare. We plan for parties, we practice before performances, we study before a test, we spend lots of time preparing for a wedding. Significant events come with preparation.

Lk 12:35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, Lk 12:36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Lk 12:37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. Lk 12:38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.

First step: be dressed and ready. If you are not dressed you are not ready. Here is our practical application: don’t be naked when Jesus comes back. What Jesus says here is literally ‘gird your loins.’ That doesn’t even sound appropriate for church. Jewish men dressed differently than we do. They wore these long flowing robes, we would call them dresses, they wouldn’t but a rose by any other name. Robes were not made for running because they restrict movement. So when they tried to work their dress would get tangled between their legs and cause all sorts of problems.

So what they would do is reach down between their ankles, grab the bottom part of their robe and tuck it in to their belt. So when they were working they would look like baby Huey. This would be quite the site: a bunch of men working in giant diapers. While this would look ridiculous it would allow them to work, run, or fight. Just another fashion that we are glad went out of style. Depends are not a good fashion statement.

Then Jesus says to keep the lamps lit. The lamps Jesus refers to are small dishes that you could in your hands like a bowl which you will fill with oil. You would light a wick and it became a portable light source. Be dressed and have a mag-lite. The idea was the servants need to be ready for their master’s return. Both of these things were easy to do, but they you had to be paying attention so the light didn’t go out.

So here is the picture Jesus is painting: the master has departed to His wedding banquet. His servants don’t know when He will return. Wedding feasts could last from a few hours to a week. When the master returns He will be coming back with His new bride. This is a joyous occasion. When He gets home He doesn’t want to wait for His servants to wake up to answer the door. The servant’s job is to be ready for their master’s return. Religious people will make this an obligation. Be ready or you will go to hell. That doesn’t seem to fit with who Jesus is.