Chapter 14
I’ve heard it many times from many people: “The Bible is hard to understand.” Some say it can be interpreted in so many ways that it’s impossible to know what it’s really saying. I get it—I’ve felt the same way over the years. But for some reason, I was just too stubborn to give up. And I’m glad I didn’t. That persistence led me to one important truth when it comes to understanding the Bible: You have to know the Author.
Once you begin to understand who Jesus is—His heart, His nature, His purpose—the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, begins to make sense in ways you may have never experienced before.
Let’s take prayer as an example. In several passages, Jesus tells us to pray for whatever we need, and it will be given to us by our Father in Heaven. Some people, including pastors and entire churches, build entire teachings around these verses. You may have heard of the “name it and claim it” doctrine. I’ve been part of churches that taught this approach. Honestly, I prayed for a lot over the years—jobs, cars, houses, financial blessings. It felt like a heavenly buffet: if I wanted it, I could just ask for it.
But I won’t sugarcoat it—my “success rate” with those prayers wasn’t impressive.
So, was the Bible wrong? Was Jesus making empty promises? Not at all. When something in the Bible seems confusing or contradictory, the problem isn’t with the Bible—it’s with our understanding.
Back to prayer—Consider this next chapter and take a closer look at the overall subject of Jesus’ teaching. The real message becomes clear: It’s about the posture of our hearts. Look closely at verses 24-34; Jesus is inviting us to trust completely in Him, to seek His Kingdom above all else. When we truly follow Him, our desires begin to change. We start to want what He wants.
If you want worldly things, you don’t have to pray to God for them. Look around—they’re all out there for the taking. But if you want things that will last for eternity, then begin to learn from the Author of eternity. Learn to become eternity-focused, instead of focused on this temporary dwelling—the testing ground in which we all currently live.
If you want to understand the Bible, read it with your “Jesus glasses” on, and it will come alive to you. Then you will begin to understand the life that truly awaits you. Then you will pray with a full heart: “Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done, on earth now, as it is in Heaven always.”
Jesus at a Pharisee’s House
1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way.
5 Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” 6 And they had nothing to say.
7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 ” ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”
The Cost of Being a Disciple
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even their own life–such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
