Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Are You Missing Out? | New Testament | Luke 13

Episode Date: April 5, 2023

You might be in danger of missing out on God's kingdom. How? By overlooking it. Don't miss out on healing, freedom and rest. In today's episode, Jensen shares from Luke 13 to discuss how to be a part of God's kingdom. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Luke 13

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. The other day, my husband told a friend that he had had a bad case of FOMO, or fear of missing out, the previous weekend, when he missed out on going to their birthday party. We had had a busy week and we weren't able to find a sitter, so we had to stay home while our son slept and see pictures from all of his friends flood his messages, as they had had a night of celebrating. together. And while he and I had a good night at home, it was hard to not have FOMO, missing out on all of the fun that his friends were having. We are not strangers to FOMO. We've all been afraid of missing out on something before in our life. And that feeling that you're not a part of something or that you aren't experiencing something can be gut-wrenching at times.

Not going to the party, not going on the adventure, not visiting that destination, or getting the work opportunity, not excelling in your career? Whatever it is, we don't want to miss out. Well, as I read Luke chapter 13 today, I couldn't help but think that Jesus is trying to instill a healthy dose of FOMO in his listeners. You see, chapter 13 takes us on a journey of Jesus's teaching as he's traveling closer and closer to Jerusalem, where he will finally be executed for his teachings and claims to be the Messiah. And as he gets closer, he continues to teach his message more and more boldly. Now throughout his ministry, Jesus taught of his coming kingdom. He spoke in parables to show his listeners what his kingdom would be like. He healed and performed miracles

to display the power of his kingdom to overcome the darkness of our broken world. And in chapter 13, we see an arc of teaching that urges his listeners, to hear, repent, and believe, to not miss out on the kingdom that is before them. Now, before we dive in and take a look at chapter 13, we need to know that in this chapter, Jesus is going to be speaking mostly to Israelites. These are the people who have long awaited their Messiah, the one who would rescue them from oppression. You'd think they would be the first to rejoice over Jesus' presence and teaching. But unfortunately, they end up being the ones in the most jeopardy of missing out on Jesus' kingdom. Because it wasn't what they

expected. They don't think they want or need what Jesus is offering, so they continue to reject and oppose him. But Jesus is urging the Israelites, the Pharisees, the everyday citizens before him, to not miss out on what he is offering just because it isn't what they expected. He begins in verses 1 through 9 by urging those who are listening to repent before the time is too late. He uses the parable of a fig tree that is bearing no fruit. Its owner tells his caretaker to cut it down because it's been useless for three years. But the caretaker asked the owner to give it one more year to see if with fresh soil and fertilizer it might bear fruit. If it doesn't, he will then cut it down. See, Jesus is offering the people

hope. There is still time to repent, to bear fruit. in believing that he is the Messiah. But that time does not go on forever. Eventually they will perish and be cut down, and he doesn't want them to miss out on the truth of his teachings. Next, we see Jesus heal a crippled woman on the Sabbath. The synagogue leader immediately rebukes him, telling the people to come and be healed on the other six days of the week,

because the Sabbath was for rest. But Jesus rebukes him, saying, You hypocrites, doesn't, each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water, then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for 18 long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her? You see, Jesus knew that real rest in his kingdom brought healing and freedom. The religious leaders had become caught up in the ritual and rule of the law,

rather than seeing the grace and mercy it offered. They were missing out on what their God was offering them through his coming kingdom, and it was causing them to reject his messenger, and in turn, the very kingdom God was building for his people. Next, Jesus continuing towards Jerusalem, teaches more about his kingdom through a parable. He says this in verses 18 through 21. Then Jesus asked,

What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree and the birds perched in its branches. Again, he asked, what shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about 60 pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough. God's kingdom, and all that Jesus has taught about it,

probably didn't seem all that grand to the people he was teaching. It often seemed backwards to go against the grain of society. Jesus had followers, sure, but his fame was nothing, nothing compared to the power and might of the Roman Empire or the religious institutions of his day. In this parable, Jesus is warning the people not to overlook his kingdom. It may be small like a mustard seed or the amount of yeast put into dough, but when tended to, both grow into incredible things, one a strong tree, the other giving life

and rise to a loaf of bread. They seem unlikely, unexpected, but what they produce, what they bring to those who invest in them, is far greater than they could have ever imagined. His warning is clear. Do not miss out on my kingdom just because it's not what you expect. And the The warnings continue in verses 22 to 30. Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, Lord, are only a few people going to be saved? He said to them, make every effort to enter through the narrow door because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, sir, open the door for us. but he will answer, I don't know you or where you come from. Then you will say, We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets. But he will reply, I don't know you or where you come from, away from me, all you evil doers. There will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth. When you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.

God. Indeed, there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last. The people, concerned with the exact number of who will be saved, are clearly still missing out on the messages of warning Jesus is giving. So he answers them in another parable. Jesus is warning the Israelites like he did with the fig tree parable, that their time is not unlimited to see the glory and goodness of his kingdom. A time will come when the narrow door will be shut, when the people who did not seek after God's kingdom on this earth will not be welcomed in to eat with their descendants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But there will be others who are there, Gentiles, who did see God's kingdom, who received Jesus' teachings, who followed him,

and partnered with him in building his kingdom. The warning is clear again for the Israelites. Do not miss out on my kingdom just because it isn't what you expect. It is their knowledge of the coming Messiah, their generational expectations, their confidence in their identity as Israelites that puts them in danger of foolishly missing out on the goodness of God's kingdom. Chapter 13 ends with five verses of Jesus mourning over Jerusalem. He is told tauntingly by the religious leaders that his life is in danger, and he replies by telling them that he is going to Jerusalem to die as a prophet of the Lord. When he gets to Jerusalem, he knows

that he will be rejected. It is a final warning to the people of Israel, to repent, to see God's kingdom for what it is, and to follow Jesus. We know the end of the story just like Jesus did, that despite his best efforts to warn the people of God, to help them see the goodness of his kingdom, that he will die at the very hands of those he came to save. But we also know that that was not the true end. Jesus rose from the dead and through his sacrificial death and resurrection, a fire was lit under the church. And though the kingdom of God was not what God's people had expected,

it would spread to the ends of the earth for generations to. come. And one day, one day when Jesus returns, he will resurrect those who heeded his warning, welcoming them into the very kingdom they gave their lives to build. In many ways, this chapter is sobering. It is full of warning and ends in the ultimate realization that many of the people Jesus wants so desperately to repent and to follow ended up missing out on the kingdom of God. As I read chapter 13, as I saw the narrative Luke was presenting to his readers, I couldn't help, but see the parallels between modern-day Christianity and the very Israelites Jesus was warning so long ago. So many of us, myself included, rely on our identity as Christians, our Sunday school attendance,

and our occasional tithing to get us through to the kingdom of God. But when we're confronted by the truth of the kingdom of God, confronted by the upside down way of living Jesus calls us to, the humility, the generosity, the self-sacrificing action, the me-last mentality of the kingdom of God? Well, I don't really know if I want any part of it. See, the truth is, so many of us are more afraid of missing out on the world around us that we are in danger of missing out on the kingdom of God. We don't want to deny ourselves. We don't want to repent. We don't want to live lives that challenge the current order of things. We rely on our cultural identity as Christians and fail to live like the kingdom of God even exists. His kingdom is still maybe not what we would expect. It doesn't come with a promise of comfortable, healthy, and happy lives. And so, if we're honest, we aren't sure if it's really what we want, what we think. We think. We're

we need. But Jesus' message is clear. Do not miss out on my kingdom just because it isn't what you expect. His kingdom is far greater than anything else in this world. His kingdom brings healing and freedom. His kingdom brings life and hope. His kingdom is the only thing that can eternally satisfy. Do not miss out on his kingdom because you fail to see its worth. Because you aren't sure it's what you want because you think it's scarier to miss out on the things of this world. The truth is when we begin to have a healthy dose of fomo over the kingdom of God, a fear of missing out on all that God is doing in this world, then we will be moved to action, moved to bear fruit, moved deeper into the arms of Jesus

that are stretched out wide in welcome. He is made a way for you and I to enter his kingdom. Do not miss out. See, repent, and believe. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.