Unreasonable Unbelief

Luke 7:30-35

It is reasonable to refuse to believe that there might be life on other planets. We have found no evidence of life outside of our own planet, and we have not had a visitor from a distant planet or star make contact with us. It is a reasonable refusal because there is no evidence to the contrary.

It is an unreasonable unbelief to hold onto the notion that man never landed on the moon; that it was all some elaborate hoax, concocted on a Hollywood back-lot with lights and special effects. It is unreasonable because we have the photos, the samples of dust and rock, the interviews with the astronauts involved and the return trips by different crews from different countries. To continue to live in denial is completely unreasonable.

For the inhabitants of Israel in the time of Jesus, it was unreasonable for them to refuse to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He was born of a virgin, just as Isaiah had said He must be (Isaiah 7:14), from the tribe of Israel that was required (Genesis 49:10), and born in the town that it was prophesied that He would be born in (Micah 5:2). Aside from the prophecies, He brought healing to the sick, food to the hungry and even raised the dead. His power was obvious to anyone who would open their eyes and His lifestyle was impeccable, following every demand of the Mosaic Law (Matthew 5:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

When the general public heard Jesus, they were intrigued, and drawn to His message just as they had been to His predecessor, John the Baptist. They accepted His message, thus justifying God (Luke 7:29). The Pharisees and the lawyers were the resident powers of the church and the Mosaic Law in that time, and they refused to accept the ministry of Jesus. By this refusal, they were actually rejecting the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7:30). Jesus gives us an amusing and powerful illustration as to what people are like who refuse to accept Jesus when given ample evidence.

Jesus likened these to children who play in the streets and who complain to one another when the other children don’t play right. One child whines that he has played the flute but none of the other kids danced. Another complains that he has told something sad and no one cried with him. Does this sound a bit immature? Of course, for that is what the silly games of kids are like! Jesus is not condemning the children for being this way, but rather He is condemning the religious leaders for acting like these spoiled, silly children.

He states that John the Baptist came refusing to eat and drink and they thought he sustained himself through the powers of darkness (verse 33). Jesus came both eating and drinking and they accused Him of being a glutton and a wino and too friendly with the wrong crowd (verse 34). Nothing, nor anyone was going to make them happy. They were like spoiled children.
It is an unreasonable unbelief for any of us to think less of Jesus than He is capable of. In light of what Jesus suffered at the cross on our behalf, it is an unreasonable unbelief to think that we must suffer for sins that He paid for. Let us be fully grown in our faith in Christ rather than like the children who complain.

Unreasonable Unbelief

Luke 7:30-35

It is reasonable to refuse to believe that there might be life on other planets. We have found no evidence of life outside of our own planet, and we have not had a visitor from a distant planet or star make contact with us. It is a reasonable refusal because there is no evidence to the contrary.

It is an unreasonable unbelief to hold onto the notion that man never landed on the moon; that it was all some elaborate hoax, concocted on a Hollywood back-lot with lights and special effects. It is unreasonable because we have the photos, the samples of dust and rock, the interviews with the astronauts involved and the return trips by different crews from different countries. To continue to live in denial is completely unreasonable.

For the inhabitants of Israel in the time of Jesus, it was unreasonable for them to refuse to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He was born of a virgin, just as Isaiah had said He must be (Isaiah 7:14), from the tribe of Israel that was required (Genesis 49:10), and born in the town that it was prophesied that He would be born in (Micah 5:2). Aside from the prophecies, He brought healing to the sick, food to the hungry and even raised the dead. His power was obvious to anyone who would open their eyes and His lifestyle was impeccable, following every demand of the Mosaic Law (Matthew 5:17; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

When the general public heard Jesus, they were intrigued, and drawn to His message just as they had been to His predecessor, John the Baptist. They accepted His message, thus justifying God (Luke 7:29). The Pharisees and the lawyers were the resident powers of the church and the Mosaic Law in that time, and they refused to accept the ministry of Jesus. By this refusal, they were actually rejecting the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7:30). Jesus gives us an amusing and powerful illustration as to what people are like who refuse to accept Jesus when given ample evidence.

Jesus likened these to children who play in the streets and who complain to one another when the other children don’t play right. One child whines that he has played the flute but none of the other kids danced. Another complains that he has told something sad and no one cried with him. Does this sound a bit immature? Of course, for that is what the silly games of kids are like! Jesus is not condemning the children for being this way, but rather He is condemning the religious leaders for acting like these spoiled, silly children.

He states that John the Baptist came refusing to eat and drink and they thought he sustained himself through the powers of darkness (verse 33). Jesus came both eating and drinking and they accused Him of being a glutton and a wino and too friendly with the wrong crowd (verse 34). Nothing, nor anyone was going to make them happy. They were like spoiled children.
It is an unreasonable unbelief for any of us to think less of Jesus than He is capable of. In light of what Jesus suffered at the cross on our behalf, it is an unreasonable unbelief to think that we must suffer for sins that He paid for. Let us be fully grown in our faith in Christ rather than like the children who complain.

The Marvel of Jesus

Luke 7:1-10

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’ statement to His disciples concerning their lack of faith during the storm. We also contrasted that faith with the faith of the centurion who requested that Jesus simply, “speak the word” so that his servant may be healed. Jesus called this “great faith”, for the man, though a Gentile believed that he could take as much as he needed from Jesus.

This also marks one of only two incidents that are recorded in the Gospels in which Jesus marveled. When the centurion proclaimed that he believed that Jesus had authority over sickness and could simply speak the word, “he marveled at him” (Luke 7:9). Seeing that there were not many things that caused the Creator to marvel, it is worth noting what those two things were.

The other incident occurs in Mark 6 when Jesus is in His home town of Nazareth, and the crowd becomes offended because of Him, knowing both His family and His occupation. They do not see how the son of Mary and Joseph, who has made His living as a carpenter, can consider Himself a prophet. Jesus, “could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them” (Mark 6:5). Their unbelief caused Jesus to marvel (verse 6).

These incidents show us that Jesus marveled at rank unbelief and at great faith. In both cases, Jesus was fascinated by man’s capacity to believe Him. In one instance, men would not believe even if confronted with miracles of healing. In another case, man would not help but believe, even trusting the spoken word of Jesus to bring about a miracle.

The marvel of Jesus towards unbelief was aimed at Jews, who claimed to be of Abraham, the “father of the faith”. This marvel shows up again when He speaks of the great faith of the centurion, telling the Jewish crowd that was assembled that He had not found that kind of faith in all of Israel. He is not speaking geographically, but rather spiritually. In all of His dealings with Jews, Jesus had yet to see one who believed Him so completely.

Perhaps the reason for this is found in how we qualify or disqualify ourselves for God’s blessings. The Jew would have been a slave to the Mosaic Law, and would have considered themselves guilty and condemned on a day to day basis. The fact that they knew that they could not keep the law would have disqualified them in their own mind from receiving any good thing, such as healings or miracles. When you think that you are guilty, you do not feel worthy of any of God’s goodness.

The centurion on the other hand is a Gentile, with no Jewish background, thus he is not living under perpetual guilt by the weight of the law. When he requests a miracle from Jesus, Christ marvels at the amount of faith that he displays, trusting that Christ can do whatever He wishes. Without the condemnation of law-breaking, this centurion can see past his own works or lack thereof and look directly at Christ’s ability, thus his faith is “great faith”.

Does Christ marvel at your unbelief or your belief? If you feel that you are unworthy or unqualified for His goodness and blessings, then He marvels at your holding onto your condemnation. But if you believe Him for great things, He will marvel that you are walking so free from the cares of this life. He is marveled with us today, so may we marvel Him with our faith!