Luke 23:50-53 50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: 51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid." We have journeyed through Holy Week. The readings have shown the eternal contrast: everlasting punishment for the unrighteous and eternal life for the righteous. This judgment applies to all nations and is based on actions that reveal the authenticity of our faith. Jesus connected this to His teaching on humility and selfless generosity, revealing God’s heart for the marginalized and vulnerable. When He walked among us, Jesus lived and died as one of us, marginalized and vulnerable. Jesus was treated like a vicious criminal—tort...
Luke 14:12-14 "12 Then said He also to him that bade Him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." In our study this week we saw the eternal contrast: everlasting punishment for the unrighteous and eternal life for the righteous. This judgment applies to all nations and is based on actions that reveal the authenticity of our faith. It does not teach salvation by works, but shows that genuine faith naturally produces deeds of love and charity. This truth stirs us to express Jesus’s selfless love through service to others—the visible proof of loving God by loving our neighbor. Today’s passage from Luke gives an earlier teaching of...