Book of Faith - Luke 18 - Unexpected People

The 18th chapter of Luke begins with Jesus telling the parable of a judge who neither feared God nor thought highly of people.  However, a widow, who wants justice, will not leave him alone.  And so, the judge becomes annoyed and grants the woman justice.  This "unrighteous" judge is lifted up by Jesus as an example of how God will be even more willing to vindicate us.  The story is shocking, but this is a pattern throughout scripture.  Jesus uses the most unlikely characters to make his points.  Even in our favorite parables, the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, we see this pattern.  Samaritans were hated.  How could there be a "good" Samaritan?  They were viewed as traitors to their faith and people.  And the prodigal son, how dare a younger son demand his share of the inheritance.  By rights, everything should have gone to the elder son. The younger son was out of line from the very beginning.   

If we look closely, we see that this theme in the parables is repeated in the whole story of scripture.  God uses the most unlikely people.  Jacob was a scoundrel.  Moses was a murderer.  David was the youngest son.  In the New Testament, who does Jesus call to be his disciples?  The practice was that only the best of the best would even be considered to be a disciples of a Rabbi.  You would have dedicated your life to the study of the Torah and to living a righteous life.  But Jesus calls fishermen, zealots, and a tax collector.  He hangs our with all the wrong people.  He speaks of the good news extending beyond his own people.  No one expected the Messiah to act that way.  Paul, by his own admission, was better in letters than in person. Hollywood always seems to depict the great witnesses of scripture as a Charlton Heston character, when the truth is closer to a Danny Devito.  The Bible is filled with unexpected characters.

What wonderful is that God's calling and using the most unexpected people is really good news.  In mans that God can use people like you and me.  The parables and scripture have a way of reminding us of that truth.  We may not like what we see in the mirror, but God sees someone special, someone who God loves, and someone who God has called to serve His purpose.  That is good news indeed.

Peace,

Pastor Summer