30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
LUKE 19 45-48 JESUS THE TEACHER 05 To reconcile man and creation back to God
📖 Luke 19:45-48
01Feb2021 - *To reconcile man and creation back to God* - _Luke 19:45-48_ - JESUS THE TEACHER 5 – Bible reading: _Colossians 1:19-20_
Jesus was teaching daily at the temple and the people were attentive and they were also astonished at His teaching. Jesus taught the people on the basis of what He did at the temple.
_Luke 19:47-48 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, (48) and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him._
_Mark 11:18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching._
The teaching of Jesus came with authority. _Matthew 7:29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. We have begun to look at three specific reasons why the teaching of Jesus came with authority.
The first reason for the authority of Jesus in His teaching was because it was teaching that came from the perspective of God and not from the perspective of man.
The second reason why the teaching of Jesus came with authority was that it came from the heart of God, who was reconciling a lost world back to Himself. The heart of God is burdened and longing to have His creation, which He created so lovingly, to be restored back to Him.
_Colossians 1:19-20 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross._
Man is the crown of God’s creation. The whole of God’s creation is estranged from God and is in a state of agony and groaning. This has happened because man, who was created to be the vice-regent of God, to have dominion over God’s creation, has rebelled against God and is alienated from God.
This alienation of man from God has had a cascading effect on all of creation. The whole of creation is therefore groaning, longing for man to be reunited and reconciled with God, and to take back His created purpose of being a vice-regent of God over all of God’s creation. _(Romans 8:19-22)_
Jesus, therefore, came into our world to restore lost man back to Him. He came into our world to seek and to save the lost.
_Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."_
If God has to restore all of creation back to Him, then it has to begin with man, who has to be first restored back to God. Man would then take back his place, to which he was created and appointed, as the vice-regent over God’s creation, and bring all of creation back to God, carrying on himself the restored image of God.
This is the overarching purpose of God and so all of His teachings came out of this overarching purpose.
When Jesus saw the people, He saw them far removed from the purpose to which God had created man. God’s heart breaks for man and longs to see man restored to back to His high position in the grand design of God.
Jesus’ teaching, therefore, came with much passion, persuasion and urgency. His teaching was not an excellent seminar or symposium, which was a soul or mind stirring exercise, that can be appreciated and then set aside.
Jesus’ teaching demanded a response from His audience. His teaching came with authority and there was a call for a verdict from the audience. If a person walked away from the teaching of Jesus, without a commitment to surrender to the lordship of Christ, then that person knew that he was responsible for his choice.
What is going to be our response to the teaching of Jesus? Many of us say that we are forgiven, redeemed, restored back to God, which is wonderful, but do we realise that the purpose for our restoration back to God is in order for us to take upon ourselves, once again, the creation mandate of being vice-regents of God, having dominion over all of God’s creation?
Not only are we to take back upon ourselves the creation mandate of being vice-regents of God, having dominion over all of God’s creation, we are also entrusted with the responsibility to reconcile others back to God and back to their creation mandate.
_II Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God._
*Thought to ponder*
```The church is the body, which is entrusted with the task of bringing the rule of God here on earth.```