There are two comparisons Luke wants us to make. Firstly that, in God’s kind of history, it is not the movers and shakers of the earth who are the main characters. The Spirit moves where He wills and builds His kingdom with those who are most receptive to His Word, notably not the emperor called ‘a god’, nor the high priest sitting on the chair of Moses.

Jesus saw the rich and fancy leaders of the day giving very generously out of their wealth to the Temple. A single donation from one of them was big money with lots of potential for good – perhaps it fed many poor families for a whole year. Yet, Jesus doesn’t praise them- he actually condemns them and their ‘smart business tactics’ that actually suck the money right out of the same poor people they’re now claiming to help.

If, like me, you have ever done this, then together we’re guilty of the same kind of thinking which frustrated Jesus in the Gospel today. Jesus saw, and loved, the heart of a genuinely good guy – a young man who had done the right thing all his life – and saw how much he wanted more. However, the man walked away sad – heaven came with too high a price tag. This is when Jesus cracks it.