TEXT:
‘And the Lord turned and looked’ (Luke 22:61).
Sometimes words aren’t necessary, as one look can convey what’s needed to be said, or get things done. Mark’s gospel mentions several times, “He looked” and these two words caught my attention and formed the basis for this teaching. In Part 1, we studied Jesus’ look; in anger at the scribes and Pharisees’ hardened hearts; as a reminder to Peter when he denied Him; and His look of love at the rich young ruler. In Part 2, we study three more “Looks”.
1. Jesus looked in the temple – ‘And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve’ (Mark 11:11)
His disciples had wanted Him to look at the magnificence of the temple, but Jesus was more interested in what was going on inside the temple. He didn’t like what he saw. What should have been the house of prayer for all nations, had become a den of thieves.
Revelation chapters 2 and 3 record when Jesus looked at the 7 churches in Asia. He commended, criticised, cautioned and cajoled them to do the right thing which would be rewarded. What does Jesus see when He looks inside your church? A text we need to remember is, ‘For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”’ (1 Peter 4:17-18).
2. Jesus looked at those who were giving – ‘Just then he looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, “The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all!”’ (Luke 21:1-4 MSG).
Jesus saw the rich giving and the fanfare that accompanied their large donations. Then He saw the widow, unnoticed, throw in her two small coins. Jesus compared the giving of both. The rich gave, ‘Out of their abundance’, but the widow gave, ‘All her livelihood’. It’s wonderful when God’s people want to give, but Jesus commends the percentage given, not just the amount.
The list of those donations has long since disappeared, but the widow’s giving is still being spoken of nearly 2000 years later. The amount she gave made no difference to the building of the temple, but it touched the heart of Jesus. The challenge is, “Does our giving do the same?”
3. Jesus looked to see the one who had faith – ‘And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” And He looked around to see her who had done this thing’ (Mark 5:30-32).
Crowds thronged Jesus. The sense of urgency was palpable as Jairus barged his way through, trying to get Jesus to his dying daughter. Yet one touch from a desperate woman did something none of the other “touches” did. It drew power out of Him and Jesus knew it.
The disciples were incredulous when Jesus asked, “Who touched Me?”, but it gave an opportunity for the one who was healed to step forward and say what had happened. Faith pleases God. Jesus looked for it and rarely found it. Unbelief often restricted His ministry and prevented miracles from taking place (See Mark 6:5). Jesus commended the woman, declaring her faith had made her whole.
When you feel faith rising in your heart for the impossible, the temptation is to think, “That’s just me!” No, that’s God and He’s wanting to reward that gift of faith if you will act on it.
A man who had been a cripple from birth heard Paul preach about Jesus. Faith began to rise in his heart that he could be healed. It spread to his face! Paul looked at him intently, saw he had faith to be healed and said in a loud voice, ‘Stand up straight on your feet’ (Acts 14:10). He leapt up and started walking around. Hallelujah!
Some friends wanted to bring a paralysed man to Jesus. The crowds prevented them from getting him close, so they went up on to the roof and let him down through the tiling. When Jesus saw their faith, He healed the paralysed man (See Luke 5:17-26).
A challenging text in the Bible says, ‘But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?’ (Luke 18:8 NLT). God has given to everyone the measure of faith. Don’t bury it out of sight. Use it to please God and see the good it will do, not just to yourself but also to others.
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