TOMS: Luke 16

For an introduction to this series, click here.

March 22, 2007

Well, this has been a crazy week, and it's probably going to get crazier, since I'm planning on going home this weekend, but I am so far behind at work I'm not sure if I can or not.

Anyway, to me this is one of the most interesting chapters in the Bible. It starts out with a parable that hardly anyone ever preaches from (at least it seems like) but it has an amazing message. The story begins with a man who works as a manager at a rich man's estate. The rich man accuses him of stealing from him. The manager figures he is done for, so he calls his boss's creditors and makes deals with them, writing off part of their debts in exchange for favors. Then Jesus presents an interesting twist: "The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings." (16:8-9)

Here we have a man who used something that wasn't his to gain something in the future. Actually, the King James is clearer on this point: "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." (16:9) Jesus explains His parable in the verses that follow: "If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?" (16:11-12)

Here is the lesson: God gives us the opportunity to invest our material goods on earth to gain eternal rewards in heaven. What a deal we have as servants of God! He gives us the power, the will and the means to do His will on earth, and then He rewards us for doing what we were supposed to do! The people of this world are wiser because they invest all their resources for advancement in this world, and that is the best they can do. How many times are we guilty of the same thing the lost world does, spending all of our lives and resources working out the best for ourselves in this life, and never concerned about our eternal home?

I could go on, but let's finish this chapter. This chapter concludes with the story of the rich man and Lazarus. I have heard lots of preachers teach that this is a true story, but that can hardly be the case. The point of this story is not the torments of hell, which is what most preachers use this passage to say. Not that hell isn't real, but to put so much stock in the details of this story is unfair to the context, and there are plenty of other scriptures which speak of the horrors of hell.

Others say this is not a parable because Luke doesn't call it a parable. Well, none of the parables in this section, including the Prodigal Son and the parable we just discussed above, are introduced by name as parables. I have yet to hear anyone claim that the Prodigal Son is a true story, even though it seems way more plausible than this one.

The point of this parable is riches: temporal vs. eternal. The previous parable was about riches, and in between Jesus criticizes the Pharisees: "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God." (16:15) The Pharisees equated riches and popularity among men with God's blessing. Jesus tells this parable to show them they are wrong.

Why else would Jesus quote Abraham as saying, "Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish."? (16:25) You don't get to heaven by being poor, nor do you go to hell because you are rich. The message of this parable is not how to avoid hell and go to heaven. Instead, Jesus is telling them there is more to receiving God's blessings, especially eternal blessings, than just being rich. You have to believe.

Some folks try to build up an entire body of belief about the eternal state of Old Testament saints from this parable. That is very dangerous way to handle Scripture. I don't have a specific chapter and verse I can point to, other than "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" in Psalm 23, that says that the OT saints were in heaven, but I believe it until proven otherwise. There is no other passage that indicates that there may have been in a "holding place" in hell.

As far as the phrase "Abraham's bosom" is concerned, the ESV is more explanatory. It says "Abraham's side." This is the same word picture as when John is described at the Last Supper as being in Jesus' bosom. It just means Lazarus was reclining next to Abraham in the place of honor at the heavenly banquet, which reinforces the whole point of the story anyway: that poor Lazarus, afflicted with a terrible disease, which the Jews looked on as a sure sign of God's judgment, was the guest of honor at the banquet in heaven.

TOMS: Luke 15

For an introduction to this series, click here.

March 19, 2007

If you've been in church for any length of time, you know that practically everything that can be said has been said about this chapter. There are few more popular chapters in the Bible. This one ranks right up there with Psalm 23, John 3 and the Sermon on the Mount. There are three parables from Jesus here, and four things that are lost. Read on if you are not sure what I'm talking about.

First of all, let's set the scene. Most people skip the first three verses of this chapter, so let's look at those: "Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.' So he told them this parable:" (15:1-3, ESV) 

Now we see the context. The scribes and Pharisees, who apparently had people following Jesus all the time, trying to catch Him in something He said or did, were griping about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. I wrote last week about how the Jews took seriously the people that they ate with. 

Jesus responds with the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost sons. The point of the lost sheep is missed on most people (at least my view of it, maybe I'm the one who is missing the point). The point is no shepherd in his right mind would risk 99 sheep to get one back. And certainly if he found the one lost sheep, he would not call his neighbors to celebrate. That's like celebrating successfully adding one and one and coming up with two. But that is how God feels about when a lost person comes home to Him. He is thrilled to welcome them home, certainly more thrilled than the Pharisees who could only look at their neighbors' state in life and not see their hearts.

The lost coin, of course is another example. I may be reading this wrong, but once again you don't call your friends together because you found a piece of money you lost, even if it is worth quite a bit. Most people would be embarrassed by the fact they lost it in the first place and would not want to draw attention to it. But not this woman, and not God.

And then at last we have the parable of the lost sons. I know, this parable has been known for centuries as the prodigal son, but which son is really lost by the time the parable is over? The prodigal who repents and comes home, or the one who is spiteful toward his father for the way he shamelessly celebrates his wayward son's return? It's a shame that most people focus on the prodigal, because Jesus, and you can bet the Pharisees, were focused on the older brother. This was a direct shot at the Pharisees for their attitude they were displaying in the first three verses. I guess we can identify more with the prodigal, but that's only because we don't want to look at the older son, because I think if we look too close, we might find ourselves looking right in the mirror at ourselves if we aren't careful. 

TOMS: Luke 13

For an introduction to this series, click here.

March 15, 2007

Here we go with Luke 13. It seems like Jesus doesn't spend much time coddling His audience, telling them what they want to hear. He is always challenging something. In this case, He challenges the idea that bad things happen to bad people: "There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'" (13:1-5)

The boys in my Sunday School class think like the Jews did here. Our lesson was about how Peter raised Dorcas from the dead. I asked them why God chooses to heal some people and allows others to die or get worse. They didn't really have any answers, other than they deserved it. Of course they are just 7-9 year olds, but still lots adults think that way today. Jesus disabuses the Jews of that notion here. He brings up two instances which are not recorded elsewhere in the Bible but were apparently big news at the time. Pilate, who was governor of Judea and not Galilee, apparently executed some Galileans as they were making sacrifices in Jerusalem. Also, the tower at the pool of Siloam, one of the water sources for Jerusalem, fell and killed 18 people. Everybody thought these people died because of God's punishment. But Jesus tells them punishment had nothing to do with it. The circumstances of a person's death do not indicate whether or not they were a good or bad person. These people did not die because they were especially wicked, and God did not have an extra special punishment waiting for them. The real question is whether they repented, and that is the real question for everyone.

Next we have a couple of parables that are often misinterpreted: "He said therefore, 'What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.' And again he said, 'To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.'" (13:18-21)

This parables teach basically the same thing. A mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, or at least one of the smallest, and yet if it is allowed to grow, it will become a large plant. The kingdom of God, whether Jesus is talking about the kingdom in general or the church in particular I don't know and it doesn't really matter because it's all the same thing, starts out small but will one day become a large, glorious thing. A little yeast is nothing compared to a lump of dough, but it is the key factor in making the small lump into a large loaf of bread. A lot of people think the yeast here refers to sin, but Jesus would never say the kingdom of God is like sin. Yeast is compared to sin in other places, but context is important to determine if a comparison is to be applied uniformly. There's no hard and fast rule that requires that metaphors always be used the same way in Scripture.

In the next section, Luke records a similar teaching to what is found in the Sermon on the Mount, but Luke adds more: "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!' In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God." (13:24-29, ESV)

The Jews were confident that they were going to heaven because they were Abraham's children. But Jesus tells them it takes more than bloodlines to be part of the kingdom of God. It takes repentance, a renewal of your heart.

TOMS: Luke 8

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Feb. 27, 2007

The beginning of this chapter gives us unique insight into the life of Jesus. We are told of at least three women who supported Jesus financially: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Herod's household manager, and Susanna. Jesus lived just like every other rabbi did: on the generosity of others.

Next we have the parable of the sower, which is the name Jesus gives it in Matthew's Gospel. The point of the parable is not so much the sower, but the different soils, which represent different responses to the Word of God.

In Jesus' explanation in private to the disciples, He made no bones about the fact that His parables were not intended to make spiritual things easier to understand. In fact, they did the exact opposite: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" (8:10) Ephesians 2:8 (and other passages) tells us that faith is a gift of God. I don't pretend to understand how that works. I do know this: God promises to be found by those who search for Him with all their heart, and He also invites whoever wills so to come to Him. Some people hear about the concept of election and wonder whether they or someone else might not be able to come to Jesus for salvation. Don't worry about it. If you have the desire to come to Jesus, Jesus is waiting with open arms.

Next we have the story of the calming of the sea (or the lake, as Luke calls it). The disciples were scared to death, and meanwhile Jesus is asleep in the boat. I like to think that Jesus was more perturbed at being awakened from His nap than He was about the storm. Luke doesn't tell us the words Jesus used: he only tells us that He "rebuked the wind and the raging waves."

When they got to the other side, they met the maniac of Gadara. Jesus plays an ironic joke on the pig farmers a little way up the shore. They should have known better than to be raising hogs, but here they were doing it anyway. The people's reaction is sad but typical. They should have been overjoyed that Jesus had healed this man who had been a terror for years, but instead they were furious that He had ruined their illicit hog operation.

Last we have a story that involves two people with great faith: Jairus and the woman with an issue of blood. Jairus, apparently a well-to-do man in the community, falls at Jesus feet and asks Him to heal his daughter. The fact that he would do that, as Luke tells us there was a large crowd waiting for Jesus as He returned from across the Sea, tells us that he was desperate. Jesus goes walking toward Jairus' house, and all of a sudden Jesus stops. He asks a ridiculous question: "Who was it that touched me?" (8:45) Peter tells Him it is a stupid question, but then this woman comes out of the crowd. She had been healed, and all because she had touched Jesus' robe. Meanwhile, one of Jairus' servants comes out and tells him, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more." (8:49) What a heartless way to say it. Jesus simply turns to Jairus and says, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” (8:50, ESV)

The group proceeds to Jairus’ house. No doubt most of the people in the crowd were interested in what would happen when Jesus found the girl dead. When Jesus comes to the house, He only brings in Peter, James, John, Jairus and his wife. The crowd certainly did not have faith to believe Jesus could heal her. He was not about to let those faithless ingrates in on the miracle. Jesus tells the family not to tell what happened. Obviously it was going to be hard to hide the fact that this little girl who had been dead was alive, so I don't know how well they succeeded at that.

TOMS: Matthew 13, Part 2

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 20, 2006

The second parable in this chapter is the parable of the weeds. A man plants wheat in his field, and someone comes by and sows weeds in the field. The man is upset, but tells his workers not to try to pull up the weeds right away, but to wait until harvest time, and then it will be easy to separate the wheat from the weeds.

Later in this chapter Jesus explains this parable. The wheat are the children of the kingdom, and the weeds are the children of the evil one. The harvest is the end of the age. This parable generally teaches that it's hard to tell who is truly saved and who is not, and it is not our job to try to cull out those who are not. 

This leaves us in kind of a conundrum. On the one hand, we are told to judge others - "You shall know them by their fruit" - while here Jesus tells us not to judge. It takes a lot of love - love for other people, love for the sanctity of the church - to do both in a right way. It's not our place to judge a person's faith until they make it obvious by their works that they aren't honestly following Jesus.

Between the parable and the explanation, Jesus tells two other parables that are related:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make their nests in its branches...The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." (13:31-33)

A lot of people stumble over the use of the word "leaven" in this parable. In other places, leaven is a picture of sin or, more often, wrong doctrine. Thinking that any reference to leaven must be negative, they come up with a weird explanation that fits this mold. But this parable, and its cousin, are plain and straightforward. This passage teaches that even though it seems small or is hidden, God is at work, and one day all will see the results. You can't tell by looking if a wad of dough has yeast in it or not, but you can tell when it begins to rise. A mustard seed is tiny, but it makes a large plant if it is allowed to grow.

Then Jesus gives three short parables:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (13:44-50, ESV)

The first two parables are mangled by some in the name of dispensationalism. They look at the part that says the man bought the field or the pearl and say that this pictures God seeking man. The plain meaning of the parables is that a lost man sees the world's greatest treasure, Jesus, and leaves everything else behind to follow Jesus. I don't know about you, but when I got saved, I wanted it more than anything else in the world. I didn't care what anybody else thought. Maybe that's not how everyone comes to Jesus, I don't know. Maybe the ones who didn't come to Jesus that way are some of those who have a problem with my (and many others') interpretation.

The parable of the net is similar to the parable of the weeds. The fishermen will throw out the bad fish and keep the good ones. We will all appear before God one day, and He will separate the good from the bad, according to His definition. God's standard for all time is faith.

TOMS: Matthew 13, Part 1

For an introduction to this series, click here.

Dec. 19, 2006

There is so much in this chapter that at this point I think I am going to break it up in at least two parts, if not three. This chapter has some of the most hotly debated parables in the Gospels.

The first one is not so controversial, at least compared to the others, but it is a profound one. It is the parable of the sower, which is the title Jesus used, but the parable is actually about the soils in which the sower plants the seeds. You know the basic story: the sower scatters seed, and the seed falls into four types of soils: the footpath, rocky ground, thorny ground, and good soil. Jesus explains the parable later in the chapter, saying that the footpath are those who resist the Word and Satan takes it out of their hearts before it can take root. The rocky ground hear the Word and seem to respond positively, but they soon fall away and prove that they never really believed to begin with. The thorny ground are those who receive the Word and appear to make progress, but they get distracted and abandon the faith. The good ground are those who hear the Word and respond and bear fruit.

Jesus is very clear that all who are truly born again will bear fruit, and those who can leave the faith do so because they were never truly born again in the first place. Not all who bear fruit bear the same amount, but they all produce fruit of some sort. I am not one to judge another person, but in my short life in Christianity I have seen all four of these types of people. I am afraid that too often in our zeal to see people come to know the Lord we talk people into an assurance of salvation they don't really have in the first place. I know I have seen examples of it. We play a dangerous game with people's lives in our churches every day. I am of the opinion that we need to give people space to grow in their faith. Those who are truly converted will remain faithful, at some level, and we will allow those who are not born again to leave so they can see where they truly are and perhaps they will really repent.

Between the parable and the explanation, though, Jesus tells the disciples why He taught in parables. It is the exact opposite of what most people think. Jesus did not teach in parables to make the Gospel easy to understand; He used parables to obscure the Gospel to those who chose not to believe. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said:

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand... But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear."(13:11-14,16, ESV)

There are those who see this passage as primarily teaching election. While I don't deny election, in the larger context of Matthew I think there is something else Jesus is teaching here. In the previous few chapters, especially chapter 12, many of the people living in Israel had rejected Jesus. If they physically followed Him, they only did so for the miracles or to see what was going to happen to Him, since everyone knew the religious and political leaders hated Him. These people had heard Jesus teach. They had seen the miracles, even actually been healed. And they rejected everything they had heard and seen. And so Jesus does not, as He said Himself, cast his pearls before the swine. He chose to open Himself to the Apostles and others who truly believed, but to most of society He remained closed. It has to be significant that we never see Jesus teaching in Galilee in Matthew's Gospel, the Gospel written for a Jewish audience, again without parables.

Many folks today take Christianity for granted - it's what we grew up in, it's part of the fabric of our lives. But just growing up in a Christian nation or community or home doesn't mean we are automatically part of God's family. We personally and individually have to make the choice to follow Him.