Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What does Jesus Want from You? | Who Is Jesus? | Luke 7:1-10

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we are asking, who is Jesus? What do you think Jesus wants from you? In Mark's Gospel, the first command that Jesus gives is the kingdom of God has come near. So that's just a fact. And now comes the command, repent and believe the good news.

Starting point is 00:00:29 So what's it mean to repent and believe? Let me tell you a little story from the time of Jesus. About 30 years after Jesus' death, a Jewish general named Flavius Josephus. I should name your kid that. It's kind of fun. He's rallying his troops against the Romans. So he's got this rag-tag band of Galilean soldiers. They're revolting against the world's most powerful military force. And as the Roman legions near, Josephus's troops, they're not doing so well. They're losing their nerve. And he's watching in horror. as his so-called soldiers begin to abandon their post and run for their lives. So he gets up to a high place where he can see everybody running away and where they could hear him, and he projects his voice and he cries out to the deserters, repent and believe. Doesn't that seem kind of weird to you? Why is a general yelling for his people to repent and believe? Well, it didn't seem weird to his soldiers because they all came back.

Starting point is 00:01:29 And you might understand why if you know that the Greek word for repent also means turn around. And the Greek word for believe or faith means give allegiance. And so Josephus, when he's watching his men run away, he's actually yelling, turn around and give allegiance. Now, if you're thinking that Joseph was just copying and pasting Jesus, that's probably wrong. It's not likely that Josephus ever read or heard any of Jesus's teachings. Josephus was just using that little phrase in the normal way that people used it back then. So what if Jesus meant something a little bit closer to what Josephus said? Let's just reread Mark 115 and see if it makes sense.

Starting point is 00:02:11 The kingdom of God has come near. Let's pause. Remember, what's the setting for Josephus? It's a military, political setting. He's trying to help establish a new kingdom. And in that context, these words take on new meaning. So let's try it. The kingdom of God has come near.

Starting point is 00:02:26 Turn around and give allegiance. Whoa. It kind of makes sense, doesn't it? It's like Jesus is saying, hey, a new kingdom is arriving and we're the guerrilla warriors. And the question that stands before you is this. Are you going to run back to the Romans or will you give this new kingdom and this new king your allegiance? Throughout the gospels, Jesus calls people to believe. He calls them to faith.

Starting point is 00:02:51 And yet, I don't think that he means mere intellectual sense. I mean, of course, Jesus wants people to believe what he's saying intellectually. But I think it goes far beyond that. They're not just supposed to agree, oh yeah, the kingdoms come and Jesus is the king. He wants them to go beyond that. Every king wants more than intellectual consent. He wants allegiance. And that's exactly what Jesus keeps calling people to do, is to give him allegiance. A great example of this is in Luke 7, where we read the story of a Roman centurion who has a sick servant. And so he comes to Jesus, and he asks Jesus to heal his servant. So Jesus starts walking towards his house, but the centurion stops him. And he says, look, I'm not worthy to have you in my house. I don't deserve such an honor.

Starting point is 00:03:34 The Centurion tells Jesus that if Jesus merely commands it, his servant will be well. Why? Because Jesus has ultimate authority. He has ultimate authority over reality itself. Jesus marvels at the Centurion's faith, or is it his allegiance? And he says that he hasn't seen faith like this anywhere else in Israel. And I used to always think that basically what Jesus is saying here is, whoa, this dude really believes that I can do some really cool stuff. And of course it means that. I mean, obviously the centurion believes that Jesus could heal his servant. That much is patently obvious.

Starting point is 00:04:10 But I think something deeper is happening here. That Roman centurion is attributing to Jesus more authority. He's attributing Jesus more authority than he would give to the Roman emperor. This is a really risky thing to do if you're in the Roman military. And Jesus is marveling, not just that this guy believes something intellectually. he's marveling at the guy's allegiance that this centurion has given his allegiance, his loyalty, his commitment, his obedience to Jesus ultimately, and not Caesar. You see, allegiance is a strong word. Giving allegiance is about giving loyalty. It's giving priority. It's giving your

Starting point is 00:04:47 heart, your obedience, your behavior. And in some sense, isn't that what everyone and everything wants? Your girlfriend wants your allegiance? Your husband wants your allegiance. Your work wants it, your family wants it, your country demands it, Amazon wants it, your phone wants it, Netflix wants it, your sports team wants it, your hobbies want it, your idols demand it. Everyone wants your allegiance, including King Jesus. So what do you give your allegiance to in your life? Here's some questions that might help you answer that question. What do you defend? What do you defend with your anger, your words, your schedule, your life? Or what do you prioritize with your money, with your time, with your emotional energy? Who do you trust?

Starting point is 00:05:33 Who do you trust to shape your idea of right and wrong? Who do you trust to fix what's wrong with the world, to define the good life? Or who do you serve with your mind, your words, your action, your money? Who do you pledge allegiance to? Who do you give your ultimate allegiance to? Can you answer that question? Do you know what's competing with Jesus? Is it your is it your political party, your family, is it a hobby, money? Is it a cause? Is it your work? What's competing for your allegiance to King Jesus? No one can serve two masters. And so Jesus tells people when he meets them, his announcement is this, turn around, turn away from whatever it is you are tempted to give your allegiance to, and instead give your allegiance to me.

Starting point is 00:06:20 Above absolutely everything else, he will accept nothing less. I didn't know this until recently, but if someone wants to become a citizen of the United States, they have to take, believe it or not, an oath of allegiance. Let me read some of it to you. I think it's kind of intense, but maybe that's a good thing. Let's see what it says. I hereby declare on oath that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen, that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws at the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith in allegiance to the same,

Starting point is 00:07:04 that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law. So help me, God. Wouldn't it be crazy if we had to make that kind of oath to Jesus if we wanted to follow him? I actually think that might be what Jesus is calling us to. He's calling us to become citizens of a different country, citizens of his kingdom, citizens of the kingdom of heaven. And that means that we have to pledge our allegiance to him. I mean, how would our wives change if we woke up every day and said, you know what, I'm going to pledge myself to King Jesus? If we got down on our knees and pledged him our fidelity. I'm kind of a nerd. So I thought it would be interesting to take that oath of citizenship from the United States and rewrite it and instead make it an oath of citizenship to the kingdom of heaven, to King Jesus. And so I put this together. And I want you to pray along with me. Make what I'm about to say your prayer. Take a oath of commitment to your king, King Jesus. Here it goes, I hereby declare on oath that I

Starting point is 00:08:03 absolutely and entirely renounce all allegiance and fidelity to all other kings, states, powers, sins, idols, relationships, and even my own self. I pledge my true faith and allegiance to King Jesus. I pledge my life, my time, my wealth, my relationship. my desires, my work, possessions, strength, power, interest, politics, thoughts to the service of King Jesus above everything else. I am, from this point forward, a slave to none except King Jesus. I am an ambassador of his good news, sent out for his purposes in the world, called to share in his sacrificial kingship, empowered by his spirit in order to build his kingdom on earth as in heaven. Jesus is calling you to repent and believe.

Starting point is 00:08:51 to turn away from whatever's demanding and claiming your deepest allegiance, to turn away from it and to give that allegiance to him instead. So let's bow our knees before him. Let's serve him. Let's give him our allegiance. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily.

Starting point is 00:09:16 Also, ask yourself, who could you share this podcast with? texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What does Jesus Want from You? | Who Is Jesus? | Luke 7:1-10

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