Gary Gleans

Luke 13:22-25 22  And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.  23  And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there  just  a few who are being saved?” And He said to them,  24  “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  25  “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Results always seem to be much more important to us than they are to the Lord.   As Jesus was preaching in towns and villages on His way to Jerusalem, someone asks Him if there are just a few that are being saved.   This person seems to be concerned with the small results that His preaching was having.   Jesus does not seem concerned with the lack of results, instead...

John 10:40-42 40  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.  41  Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”  42  Many believed in Him there. The methodology of Jesus must have been confusing and, at times, frustrating to those who followed Jesus.   People who believed He was the Messiah were constantly wondering when He would begin His process of liberation and overthrowing the Roman government.   Clearly, the most strategic place for this to occur was Jerusalem.   Yet, Jesus is constantly wandering out to the outlying areas and even going out to the middle of nowhere.   His plans and methods were far different than those He was expected to follow because His purpose was not what the people imagined it to be. THE WITHDRAWAL TO THE WILDERNESS: Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath, defen...

John 10:22-39 22  At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;  23  it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.  24  The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  25  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.  26  “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.  27  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  28  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  29  “My Father, who has given  them  to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch  them  out of the Father’s hand.  30  “I and the Father are one.” 31  The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him....

Luke 13:18-21 18  So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it?  19  “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES.” 20  And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?  21  “It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” Expectations can be very dangerous.   One of the main reasons the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah was because he did not conform to their expectations.   They were expecting a political figure who would set them free from the oppression of the Roman Empire.   Instead, Jesus was a humble servant who was far more concerned with setting them free from their sins than He was about the Romans.   This attitude frustrated their expectations, so they rejected Him.   The problem was that they...

Luke 13:10-17 10  And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.  11  And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.  12  When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”  13  And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and  began  glorifying God.  14  But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,  began  saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”  15  But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water  him?   16  “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom ...