Milo

LASTING LESSONS
Luke 20–21

“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive” (Luke 20:38).

Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem occasioned some of His most important teaching, conveying lasting lessons.

Overview
Jesus rebuked His critics (20:1–8), and told a parable that exposed their motives (vv. 9–19). He turned aside their attempts to trap Him, and used them to teach responsibility (vv. 20–26) and resurrection (vv. 27–40). Christ silenced His opponents with a riddle that had an obvious but rejected answer (vv. 41–44) and then openly condemned them (vv. 45–47), praising a widow, one of the oppressed they exploited (21:1–4). A last lengthy dialogue focused on Christ’s return (vv. 5–38).

Understanding the Text
“By what authority You are doing these things” Luke 20:2. The chief priests and teachers of the Law were members of the Sanhedrin, Judaism’s supreme religious and civil authority. How frustrated they must have been by Jesus, who bypassed them completely to teach, and performed miracles that proved He had been anointed by God.
Authority was extremely significant in the religion of the first century. As today in rabbinic Judaism, the opinions of earlier rabbis were eagerly searched and quoted as authority for contemporary decisions. But “authority” in the language of the New Testament is freedom of action. The person with authority can speak or act without fear his or her will will be thwarted by another.
Thus the irony in Jesus’ question. He asked these leaders, who claimed authority, to give their opinion of John the Baptist. And they refused! They had no freedom, no true authority, at all! Their freedom to speak was taken from them by fear of what Jesus might say in rebuttal, or how the people they claimed to lead would react.
Today you and I have freedom in Christ. We are truly free to speak and act in accord with our convictions. We are free, because we trust God to guard us from those who might do us harm. Let’s claim the authority that Jesus’ critics surrendered, and always be ready to speak the truth in Jesus’ name.

“May this never be!” Luke 20:9–19 It was clear to all who heard that the Parable of the Tenants, in which the dearly loved son of the owner was killed, was a veiled reference to the religious leaders and to Jesus Himself. At first glance the horrified reaction of the crowds seems to express the wish that the owner’s son should escape (v. 16). But a closer look at the sayings just before and after correct the impression.
Jesus had warned that the furious father would appear and kill the wicked tenants, and give the vineyard to others. It was this that provoked the reaction, “May this never be!”
How like each of us. No one wants to be held accountable for his or her actions. Our nine-year-old wants to mess up her room—but not be forced to clean it up. The pregnant teen wanted experimentation or sought popularity—but doesn’t want the baby. One of the most important things we can do for our children is to make sure they learn early that every choice has its consequences. “May this never be!” is a useless plea.

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” Luke 20:25. Throughout the last 2,000 years believer and unbeliever have paused in wonder over the profound simplicity of Jesus’ saying.
We live in the world, but are not of it. Caesar can require worldly things from us, and we are to give them gladly. But nothing Caesar does can touch that which we owe to God: our love, our worship, and our concern for others for whom Jesus also died.

“Even Moses showed that the dead rise” Luke 20:27–40. This is a fascinating passage for any who are uncertain about the integrity and full authority of Scripture.
It’s popular with some scholars to assume that the books attributed to Moses are a much later fiction: the name of a mythical Jewish hero, Moses, was attached in the 600B.Cs to give the editors’ invention credibility. With scissors and paste many modern scholars romp through the Old Testament, cut up the Pentateuch and Prophets, and assign this verse to one supposed set of authors, and that to another.
How different from the way Jesus viewed the Scriptures. According to Christ, it was Moses who spoke what is recorded in Exodus, and even a seemingly minor thing like the tense of a verb is authoritative. Do the dead really live again? They live now! The God of the Old Testament is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, long after their biological deaths.
On this issue of Scripture, I suspect it’s wiser to trust Jesus’ pronouncement than to trust the theories of the self-proclaimed wise men of our day. When we do so, we rejoice in the confidence that we too will live forever with Abraham’s and our God.

“How then can He be his Son?” Luke 20:41–44 The Jewish people loved riddles and word games. But the religious leaders who had set themselves against Jesus positively hated one riddle Christ put to them. It wasn’t because they didn’t know the answer. The riddle was objectionable because they did know the answer!
Simply put, the only way that David’s Descendant could be his Lord was if the expected Messiah were somehow God Himself. And this is one thing the leaders of Christ’s day could not and would not consider.
Sometimes we’re like them when seeking God’s will. “Lord,” we say, “show me what You want”—when all along we know what God wants, and hope desperately He’ll change His mind.
Let’s learn from the Pharisees how not to approach our own relationship with God.

“Such men will be punished most severely” Luke 20:45–47. Each Gospel records something of Christ’s final evaluation of the ultra religious men who were His most severe critics. Matthew 23 focuses on their hypocrisy. Luke drew attention to their affront in putting on religious airs while secretly “devouring widows’ houses”—an expression which means taking financial advantage of those unable to defend themselves.
Again we see the terrible corrupting power of a love for wealth and a preoccupation with appearances. Judgment for such persons is sure and severe.

“She out of her poverty put in all” Luke 21:1–4. It’s not how much we give, but our willingness to surrender all. Undoubtedly Luke purposely placed the ragged, humble widow beside the posturing, well-dressed politicians whose pretentions Jesus had just exposed. Luke wanted us to see others as God sees them. He wants us to realize that the mighty are seldom high on God’s scale of values.

DEVOTIONAL
Do’s and Don’ts to Live By
(Luke 21:5–36)
Ask a Christian to make up a list of “do’s and don’ts believers should live by” and you probably won’t get the Ten Commandments.
In the little church I joined after I was converted, our list had things like “don’t smoke,” “don’t drink,” “don’t go to movies,” “do be at church Sunday evening as well as morning,” and a few other similar things. Our do’s and don’ts list didn’t keep us from loving the Lord and other people. And it didn’t keep us from some of the most meaningful prayer and worship I’ve ever experienced. In fact, looking back, I doubt that the list had any great impact on my life at all—except to make me a little uncomfortable when some sailor friend lit up a cigarette in my “Christian” car.
A list of do’s and don’ts that can really make a difference is buried in Luke’s report of Jesus’ teaching on the future. Among teachings that apply directly to us are:

• Don’t follow false leaders (v. 8).
• Don’t be frightened when natural and other disasters befall (vv. 9–11).
• Don’t be anxious if persecuted because of your Christian witness (vv. 12–16).
  And on the positive side:
• Do persevere and maintain a firm stand when others turn against you (vv. 17–19).
• Do take heart; full redemption will be yours when Jesus comes (vv. 25–28).
• Do watch and pray, that you might live a life the Son of man will approve (vv. 34–36).

Personal Application
God’s do’s and don’ts belong at the top of our lists.

Quotable
“Have thy tools ready; God will find thee work.”—Charles Kingsley

PARABLES AND PEOPLE
Luke 18–19

“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:9–10).

Luke’s vivid sketches of people and his dramatic retelling of Jesus’ parables leave a lasting impression.

Overview
Jesus contrasted an indifferent judge with God (18:1–8), and a proud Pharisee with a penitent sinner (vv. 9–14). He welcomed children (vv. 15–17) but discouraged a wealthy would-be follower (vv. 18–30). Jesus predicted His death (vv. 31–34), and illustrated its impact by restoring physical and spiritual sight (v. 35–19:10). The Parable of the Ten Minas taught delay of His earthly kingdom (vv. 11–27), but still the crowd saluted Him as Messiah as He approached Jerusalem (vv. 28–44). There, rather than proclaim a kingdom, Jesus purified the temple (vv. 45–48).

Understanding the Text
“Pray and not give up” Luke 18:1–8. There are times when we become discouraged about prayer. We claim the promises of Luke 11; we ask, seek, and knock. But we find no answer, and no doors seem to open to us.
The story of the unjust judge encourages us to keep on praying, and to keep expecting God to answer. Luke used a common literary device: contrast. The unjust judge just didn’t care about the widow, but finally gave in because she kept on bothering him. Delay may be within the will and purpose of God. But answers to our prayers are assured, not because we’re persistent, but because unlike the judge, God does care!
Even in the most extreme situations, which move us to cry out to God day and night, we can be assured of justice, though it be delayed till Jesus comes.

“I am not like all other men” Luke 18:9–14. This story is directed to all people everywhere who are “confident of their own righteousness and [look] down on everybody else” (v. 9). The Pharisee, who represented this group, thought his works were a ticket into God’s kingdom. In contrast the tax collector, a representative “sinner,” simply cried out for mercy.
Self-justification is still a fantasy. Those who pray as the Pharisee did have their eyes fixed only on themselves and not God. Only by taking our place beside the despised first-century tax collector, acknowledging our sinfulness, and relying solely on God’s mercy, can we be justified before God.

“Receive the kingdom of God like a little child” Luke 18:15–17. The incident is purposely sandwiched between stories of two adults who sought entrance into God’s kingdom, one by religious works and the other by good deeds. Here the significant aspect of little childness is dependence. No little child expects his own effort will provide him with even food or shelter. As a little child depends on his parents for everything, so we are to depend on God for entrance into His kingdom.

“What is impossible with man is possible with God” Luke 18:18–30. The rich young ruler represents those who rely on morality and decency to gain eternal life. In the first century the rich, who had the resources to be benevolent, were thought to have the inside track on pleasing God by helping others!
Jesus told the wealthy young man to abandon his wealth, and follow Him. This is not a universal command. It was given to a specific individual for a specific purpose: to help the young man see that he relied on his wealth rather than on God.
It is this that makes it hard for “the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” A person with wealth comes to depend on it rather than on the Lord.
As a young Christian I feared possessions. I wanted a car, but worried that if I had one it might become too important to me. Finally, when at age 23 I bought an old Nash Rambler for $500, I enjoyed it, but I learned with delight that it meant nothing to me at all!
The Lord seldom requires we “leave all we have” to follow Him (v. 28). But each of us does well to psychologically abandon all our possessions, that we might rely on God and respond freely to His will.

“Its meaning was hidden from them” Luke 18:31–34. Luke reported a number of sayings in which Jesus foreshadowed or specifically predicted His death (cf. 5:35; 12:50; 13:32; 17:25).
He also often mentioned the disciples’ failure to grasp the meaning of this and other teachings, as do the other Gospel writers. Here Luke clearly implied that God Himself withheld understanding awaiting the right time.
What a helpful reminder! Often those we teach or minister to, including our own children, seem unwilling to grasp and apply truths we know are vital. Despite all we say, they make unwise or foolish choices. While the reason may lie in their own willfulness, we must remember that it may simply be that it isn’t yet God’s time for them to understand. God often hides the meaning of what we teach until the time is right to reveal it.
Let’s deal graciously and patiently with others, as Jesus did with His disciples. If they seem slow or reluctant, let’s consider the possibility that God has His own reasons for withholding understanding for a time.

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” Luke 18:35–43. The disciples didn’t understand when Jesus spoke of His coming death. Yet the next incidents illustrate its meaning. Jesus healed a physically blind man who cried out for mercy (vv. 35–43), and then brought salvation to one who had been spiritually blind (19:1–10). Through His death Jesus would lay the foundation for the defeat of every force hostile to humankind.
The healing of the beggar illustrates the way in which human beings lay hold on all that Jesus provides. Jesus told him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you” (18:42). We need only come to Jesus, confident that He is able to save. That faith is the channel through which God’s goodness flows.
Note, however, that faith is the beginning of a new life, not simply the end of the old. The blind man received his sight, ending his years in darkness. And he “followed Jesus, praising God.” This is the essential nature of the new life faith launches. It is a life of following Jesus. And of praising God.

“He was a chief tax collector and was wealthy” Luke 19:1–10. Many tax collectors in first-century Judea were simply employees. But “chief tax collectors” were major contractors, who guaranteed a certain sum to Rome or Herod—and were free to extort more as they could. Thus Zaccheus would have been considered a far greater sinner than, for example, Levi, who simply manned a highway tax station (5:27–30).
Several of Luke’s themes are united in this story. Jesus reached out to and associated with sinners. His contact is redemptive, bringing both salvation and transformation. The renewal of Zaccheus is evidenced by his repentance, and his change of attitude toward wealth.
Perhaps the most important lesson for you and me is reflected in the stunned look that must have covered Zaccheus’ face, as Christ looked up in the tree where he was perched and said, “Zaccheus, come down immediately.” The short tax collector had climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus. But he never imagined that Jesus would want to see him.
How we need to take the initiative in seeking out folks others may hold in contempt. Jesus did come “to seek and to save what was lost.” Jesus is gone now. And He’s committed His treasure hunt into our hands!

“To have himself appointed king and then to return” Luke 19:11–27. This parable is linked with the story of Zaccheus (v. 11). Salvation came “today,” but final judgment would be delayed.
The story has a historical context. Would-be local rulers in Palestine had to go to Rome to be appointed by the emperor (v. 12). While the principle would be understood by Jesus’ listeners, it is not to be applied in interpreting the parable, which makes one major point. Jesus will return, and when He does a day of judgment will occur.
His servants will then be evaluated on the basis of how they used the resources He provided. And His enemies will be destroyed.
The story served as a clear warning to enthusiasts who had witnessed His healings and the transformation of Zaccheus. They were not to expect Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom at that time. The warning was ignored, and before Christ reached Jerusalem crowds gathered to acclaim Him Messiah and King (vv. 28–38).
It’s important we do not forget His warning. Jesus will return, and each of us will give an account. If we have used our resources—of time, talent, and wealth—to promote God’s kingdom, there will be praise from our Lord, and a responsible role to fulfill in eternity.

“Blessed is the king who comes” Luke 19:28–38. Zeal without knowledge. It’s not unusual, but it’s sad. Jesus had just warned that He was not yet coming as King: He had to return to heaven and be confirmed in that role by His Father (v. 12). So of course the crowds shouted all the louder, “Blessed is the King who comes!”
The crowds were right. Jesus is King. But He was not yet coming as King.
We may be zealous and enthusiastic. But unless we listen to God’s Word far more carefully than the crowds listened to Jesus, we will be as unaware of God’s present purposes in our lives.

Herod the Great dedicated 40 years and untold wealth to beautify the Jerusalem temple. That temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and drew thousands of Gentile as well as Jewish visitors to Judea. Yet Christ’s anger that its courts had become a “den of robbers” reminds us that the true significance of any house of worship is not found in how it looks but in what happens there.

DEVOTIONAL
Dreams and Devastation
(Luke 19:28–48)
As I write this, Jim Bakker is awaiting afternoon sentencing for fraud, for lying to the Christian public in order to bilk them of funds. In his defense, Jim told the jury about his vision—his dream of a playground for Christians, of Heritage, U.S.A. Whatever a person may think of Jim Bakker, I’m sure each of us would give him this. He had a dream. And he saw his dream lie, shattered, at his feet.
The people who welcomed Jesus so enthusiastically on Palm Sunday had a dream too. They dreamed of Israel restored to its ancient glory under God’s Messiah, the promised Descendant of David. Their shouts, as Jesus rode slowly toward Jerusalem, revealed the dream that possessed them completely: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”
As they drew near the city the shouting, elated crowd must have envisioned its walls heightened and expanded, sure it was destined to become the center of a theocratic kingdom that would replace Rome as ruler of the world.
But when Jesus saw the city, He wept. What Jesus saw was not towering new walls, but crumbled ruins. What Jesus heard was not the joy of misguided supporters entranced by their dreams, but the wailing and crying of the victims who would suffer there. And Jesus wept.
The next thing Luke tells us is that Jesus entered the temple area. There He found those who were selling; who had turned God’s house from a house of prayer to a den where robbers lurked, eager to defraud the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem to worship. The dream was nothing. The reality was all.
I think that the sequence of these events serves as a parable of our times. So many Christians have dreams. So many are so zealous to build empires to God’s glory; edifices they dream of proudly showing Jesus when He comes, saying (but humbly, of course), “See what we’ve done in Your name!”
Yet one by one such dreams, like the walls of ancient Jerusalem, fall into ruin. We have zeal. But are the dreams that possess us given by God, or are they like the shouts of the Palm Sunday crowd who insisted on welcoming Jesus as King despite what He had told them?
I suspect that what Jesus wants is revealed in His first action in Jerusalem. He cleansed the temple. He chased out the hucksters who had corrupted what was intended to be a house of prayer, and once again put worship first.

Personal Application
It is more important to cleanse our temple than to pursue our dreams.

Quotable
“It sounds terribly spiritual to say ‘God led me,’ but I am always suspicious of a person who implies that he has a personal pipeline to God. When no one else senses what the person suggests is the will of God, then we had better be careful. God has been blamed for the most outlandish things by people who have confused their own inverted pride with God’s will.”—Paul E. Little

WORLDLY WEALTH
Luke 16–17

“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money” (Luke 16:13).

Once again Jesus took up the topic of money and its relationship to the kingdom of God, and showed its relationship to faith.

Overview
A “shrewd” but dishonest manager used money to prepare for his future (16:1–12). Sneering Pharisees, who loved money, were told to repent and live the truth they claimed to honor (vv. 14–31). Jesus urged His disciples to guard against causing sin (17:1–4), and taught that His command required obedience rather than more “faith” (vv. 5–10). Those who have known Christ’s healing touch are to praise God (vv. 11–19) and look for His coming kingdom (vv. 20–23), though others are entranced by this world’s pleasures (vv. 24–37).

Understanding the Text
“The master commended the dishonest manager” Luke 16:1–13. Don’t suppose that Jesus implied a tribute to dishonesty. The compliment is focused on one thing only. The dishonest manager (“unjust steward” in older versions) had realized that money is to be used to prepare for his future.
Jesus applied the story to us. We too are to view worldly wealth as nothing more than an instrument for gaining the true riches in heaven.

“You cannot serve both God and Money” Luke 16:13. The saying focuses on our choices. A person who serves another does what his master chooses. In this life God and Money compete for our allegiance. If our choices are motivated by a desire for money, we will not serve God. If we serve God, our choices will not be motivated by a desire for money.
The excuse that’s sometimes offered, “I want to make money so I can serve God,” is just that: an excuse, intended to mask the fact that love for money dominates our lives.
Yes, a rich person can love God. But if he does, the way he or she uses the money possessed will reveal it.

“The Pharisees . . . were sneering at Jesus” Luke 16:14–18. It’s best to take these puzzling verses, along with the story of the rich man and Lazarus, as Jesus’ response to the Pharisees. What do they mean?
Jesus identified the Pharisees as money lovers (vv. 14–15). They were well-to-do as well as pious men. Christ accused them of seeking to “justify yourselves in the eyes of men” rather than God. Anyone who cares more about what others think of him or her than what God thinks shares in this condemnation. Jesus affirmed the primacy of Scripture, and of His kingdom. The kingdom, not money, and not the accolades of others, both of which the Pharisees loved, has permanence. The difficult phrase rendered “everyone is forcing his way into it” is better taken “and enthusiastic men lay hold of it.” Unlike the Pharisees, others were unwilling to settle for the tinsel of this tawdry world.
The reason for the insertion of the verse on divorce here is uncertain (v. 18), though it may suggest some of the sneering Pharisees had divorced their wives to marry more attractive, younger women.

“I am in agony in this fire” Luke 16:19–31. This pointed story underlines the failure of the Pharisees to truly believe the Scriptures in which they boasted. If they had believed, they would not have loved money, but the poor. They would not have built personal estates, but rather would have fed the hungry. Instead, like the rich man in the story, Jesus’ money-loving critics “dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day” while beggars lay outside their gates.
Many believe that this is not a parable but identifies actual people. In parables, people are identified as “servants,” or as a “sower” or “master” or “guest.” In no parable is any actor given a personal name, as Lazarus is here. Yet whether or not Lazarus and the rich man are real individuals, or merely representative, the story contains one of Scripture’s clearest pictures of the after-death experience. There is blessing for God’s own, and torment for those who refuse His grace. And between these two states lies an uncrossable gap.
The choices we make during this life do fix our destiny. Those who wish can scoff at Jesus’ warnings of the corrupting influence of wealth. But many have pushed heaven away while grabbing greedily for this world’s worthless gold.

“They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” Luke 16:31. The teachers of the Law and Pharisees frequently demanded Jesus provide a “sign from heaven” to prove His messiahship (11:16; cf. Matt. 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:11). Why didn’t He provide it? Part of the answer lies in Scripture’s emphasis on faith. We are to trust God and His Word to us. Yet part of the answer lies in unbelief. Whatever sign Jesus provided would not convince those determined not to believe.
Even when Jesus did rise from the dead, His opponents refused to believe. If a person will not hear and respond to the Word of God, “to Moses and the Prophets,” they simply “will not be convinced.”
It’s good for us to remember this when we share the Gospel with others. The Word of God is living and vital. It reaches human hearts, and those who are open to God respond. Those who do not believe will not believe, and would not even if we could perform miracles before them in our own day.
So we witness without hesitation, confident that where the seed of the Word finds fertile soil, new life will sprout.

“Things that cause people to sin” Luke 17:1–10. Again one of Jesus’ frequent teachings is found in a context different from that in which it appears in other Gospels. Here Christ shows us how we can help each other accept and live by values the Pharisees had rejected. We are to rebuke one another when one of us sins, but be quick to forgive when he or she repents.
How is this relevant to our theme? Simply that each of us is to accept responsibility to care about one another’s walk with God. Other’s may stumble often, but in the community of faith each is to find forgiveness and support to live a godly life.
The Apostles were right to see this as challenging and difficult. But Jesus leaves us no choice (see DEVOTIONAL).

“Have pity on us” Luke 17:11–19. The healing of the lepers is a case study in attitude. Ten were healed of a dread disease that isolated them from all the pleasures of life in this world. They were cut off from loved ones. They were cut off from work. They were cut off from their homes, and even from the worship of God.
But 10 lepers who appealed to Jesus were healed! And 9 of them couldn’t wait to return to the world from which they had been cut off. Only 1, a Samaritan, after showing himself to a priest and being confirmed as clean, returned to thank the Lord.
We are in danger from the meshes of that love for money that ensnared the Pharisees. We are in danger, after being spiritually healed, of dashing back into the world, without acknowledging our debt to Jesus, and without putting praise first.
Only by valuing God supremely can we be protected from the love of money and ease.

“The kingdom of God is within you” Luke 17:20–21. It seems better to take Jesus’ reference to the invisible form of His kingdom as “among” rather than “within” the Pharisees who questioned Him. The kingdom was already present, in the person of the King. It was not present in pomp or glory. It was not present in power. All the emblems of worldly rule had been discarded. And the Pharisees, deceived by the phantoms they pursued, simply could not recognize the kingdom when it came.
What a lesson for us. God’s kingdom is among us too. Christ is here, hidden but present in His church and in His people. Christ is here, in the needy and the oppressed. Christ is here, in the hopeless and the weak. Let’s never be deceived, as were the Pharisees, by worldly wealth, by buildings, or by pomp. God’s kingdom is among us, as Christ expresses His love in the ministry of His people to all.

“As it was in the days of Noah” Luke 17:22–37. Christ’s kingdom is among us—and coming. What is hidden now will be revealed. But when Christ returns He will find the world as it was in the days of the Pharisees. As it was in Noah’s day. As it was when fire rained down on Sodom. As it was when San Francisco quaked.
People are so caught up in eating and drinking, in marrying and being given in marriage—in the pleasures and pursuits of this world—that they cannot imagine that another world looms on the horizon, ready to break in on our reality and strip every illusion away.
The Pharisees, despite their religion, did not really believe, and so came to use their religious zeal as a cloak for money love. Yet one day, when Jesus comes or when death overtakes, wealth will at last be put in true perspective. It can be used by the wise believer to prepare for a better eternity. And it can destroy the fool, who ignores the Word of God, and reaches for the cash.

DEVOTIONAL
When Faith Doesn’t Matter
(Luke 17:1–10)
We Christians rightly put great emphasis on faith. So it’s just next door to heresy to insist that in some things, faith doesn’t matter. Not one little bit.
Still, that is what Jesus is saying here in Luke 17. It’s like this. Jesus told His disciples to guard one another. When one sinned, another is to rebuke him. Then, if the sinning disciple repents, he’s to be forgiven (vv. 1–4).
It seems simple enough, even though we don’t like confrontation. But Jesus went on to make it even more difficult. He said if a brother sins against you he’s to be forgiven. Even if he keeps on sinning against you, time and time again! That’s right. Even if it happens over and over again, daily.
Each time the brother says, “I’m sorry,” he’s to be welcomed back. Even though by a sixth or seventh time even the most gullible of us would suspect he’s putting us on.
At this point the dismayed disciples cried out, “Lord, increase our faith.” Lord, they’re saying, if You expect us to live this way, we’re going to need a whale of a lot more faith than we have now!
Then Jesus used another illustration. He spoke of a slave (servant) and a master. Would a slave be praised for doing whatever duty the master assigned? Hardly. He’d only be doing what is expected of a slave.
But why this story? Simply because Jesus, the disciples’ Lord and Master, commanded them to confront, to accept “I repent,” and to forgive. Responding to a command isn’t a matter of faith. It’s a matter of obedience.
And so we have to examine our own lives carefully. How many times have we held back, wishing we had more faith so we could do something we knew God wanted us to do? How many times have we pleaded for more faith in our inadequacy? And how many times has the longing for more faith simply masked the fact that we have been unwilling to obey?

Personal Application
Don’t deceive yourself. Much in the Christian life is not a matter of faith. It’s a matter of obedience!

Quotable
“The accomplishment of the divine will is the sole end for which we are in the world.”—John Eudes

CONCERN FOR OUTCASTS
Luke 15

“Now the tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear Him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law muttered, ’This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them’ ” (Luke 15:1–2).

It’s not necessary to be like the people we associate with. That’s good, because we must spend time with people if we are to say, “I care.”

Overview
Criticism of Jesus’ association with the outcasts of Jewish society (15:1–2) was answered by three parables: the Story of the Lost Sheep (vv. 3–7), the Lost Coin (vv. 8–10), and the Lost Son (vv. 11–32).

Understanding the Text
“Tax collectors and ‘sinners’ ” Luke 15:1–2. The tax collectors, who worked on commission and were notorious for overcharging, were automatically considered dishonest or immoral in first-century Jewish society. “Sinners” is placed in quote marks in the NIV to show that the evaluation was made by Pharisees, not by Jesus or Luke.
The fact is that we are all “sinners.” But in the eyes of the Pharisees, the title belonged exclusively to those who were less rigorous than they in keeping the rituals of law. The very idea of having table fellowship (eating) with such persons horrified the Pharisees, for to eat with sinners would contaminate them.
Yet throughout the Gospels “sinners”—including such real sinners as prostitutes—are constantly portrayed as “gathering around” Jesus! Somehow they felt comfortable with the holy Son of God. How do we explain that? Very simply. Jesus constantly showed that He cared.
The outcasts of society were comfortable with Jesus, because instead of dislike and condemnation, they sensed love.
The outcasts of society still need less of our judgmentalism, and more of our love. We need to remember that it was the outcasts who responded to Jesus, not the “respectable” Pharisees, and learn to express that nonjudgmental love that so attracted first-century social outcasts to Jesus.

“The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law muttered” Luke 15:1–2. It’s impossible to leave these two pregnant verses without noting that anyone who feels comfortable with society’s outcasts, and spends time with them, will be muttered about by folk like the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.
Two divergent views of people and of holiness come into conflict here. For Jesus, holiness was rooted in a dynamic, intimate fellowship with God. For the Pharisees, holiness was rooted in do’s and don’ts. Jesus’ kind of holiness was warm and attractive. The Pharisees’ kind of holiness was austere and judgmental. Jesus, freed by the nature of His holiness, reached out to others to share God’s love. The Pharisees, bound by the nature of their holiness, drew back from others in distaste, fearful of contamination.
Today if you and I maintain that warm, intimate relationship with God that is the source of true holiness, we too can reach out lovingly to the outcasts of our society and be welcomed by them. But if our “holiness” is a front, a pretense maintained by desperately following a modern rule of do’s and don’ts, we too will fear and be repelled by the outcasts of society.
What a test of the quality of our relationship with God! Are we more like Jesus in our contacts with outcasts? Or more like the Pharisees and first-century teachers of the Law?

“And loses one of them” Luke 15:3–7. The three parables related in Luke 15 are each designed to reveal God’s attitude toward the outcasts of society. The Pharisees muttered when Jesus ate with tax collectors and “sinners.” But God rejoiced. These outcasts of society were precious to Him. And are still.
One hundred sheep was a typical flock in the first century. When even 1 was lost, Jesus reminded His audience, the shepherd went in search of it. “Open country” was a relatively safe place to leave the 99, so there is no question of abandoning the many to seek the one.
The impact of the story was felt as Jesus related the shepherd’s joy as he carried the lost sheep home. “In the same way” rejoicing echoes in heaven when one sinner repents!
It’s important to note that Jesus’ purpose in associating so freely with sinners was redemptive. He was seeking God’s lost sheep. We can’t defend participating with sinners in their sin on the basis of Luke 15:1–2! But we need never apologize for associating with sinners with the redemptive intent that moved our Lord.

“Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one” Luke 15:8–10. Both the story of the 1 lost sheep and the 1 lost coin were drawn from first-century Jewish daily life. All were familiar with shepherds. All felt the impact of Christ’s story of the 10 coins.
These were 10 dowry coins, given the woman when she married. The chances are that she wore them constantly on her headdress. Ten coins were a small dowry, yet were an important symbol to her. They showed that she had worth and value to her father, who had sacrificed to give them to her. And that she came into the marriage as a partner, bringing resources of her own. If she were ever divorced, or widowed, the 10 coins at least were hers, a symbol of her identity as a person. The 10 coins, then, were vitally important to her, and the loss of even 1 had far greater significance than the coin’s intrinsic worth might suggest.
Again Jesus emphasized the intensity with which the woman searched, and her joy at finding the coin. Ecstatic with delight at finding the precious object, she hurried and told her friends.
Again Jesus was affirming the importance of the outcast. Of little intrinsic worth, the coin was vitally important to the woman who lost it. In the same way, while human beings may discount the worth of the outcast, in God’s sight every individual is of infinite value.
What a reminder to us to look at others with God’s eyes, not society’s. The mother on welfare, the teenage dropout, the convict behind bars, the jobless and homeless, the drunk sleeping in the doorway, are God’s lost coins. They have value to Him.

“Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him” Luke 15:11–27. The only possible rival to this parable for “best known of Jesus’ sayings” is the Story of the Good Samaritan. Probably the Story of the Prodigal Son would top most people’s list.
It has so much to say.
There’s the vivid picture of the younger son, who wanted to go out on his own with his (one third) share of the father’s estate. He left, made unwise and immoral choices, and found himself abandoned and starving. He realized what a mess he’d made of his life and decided to go home. Knowing he had no right to expect treatment as a son, he hoped to be treated as one of his father’s hired servants. In earlier stories Jesus stressed the joy in heaven over a sinner’s return. In this story we are invited to share the lost son’s joy, as his father rushed out to welcome him and shower him with evidence of his love.
So is our welcome when we, like the lost son, come to our senses and appeal to God for mercy. We are treated like sons and showered with love. The “best robe” is none too good for God’s lost who have been found.
Consider too the father. He gave his younger son freedom, and the resources to use that freedom. He knew the son would waste his inheritance, yet the father also knew that only through the free exercise of choice can the decision to return be made. And then the father waited.
We can imagine him, each day glancing frequently toward the road his son must travel to return. We can imagine his anxiety. And yet the father waited. The lost son had to make the choice.
And then one day the choice was made. While the boy was still a long way off, the father saw him, was filled with compassion, and “ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Oh, friend, you and I never need to fear turning to God, even after the most terrible of sins. We must make the choice. But as we make our first, penitent step back toward God He runs to us, and we can sense His loving, forgiving embrace.

“The older brother became angry” Luke 15:28–32. And so we turn to the older brother, who like the Pharisees stood by and muttered angrily at the welcome given sinners. What gave the father and the lost son joy made the older brother resentful and angry.
How long he had lived with his father. Yet how little he understood him, or shared his capacity for love.
Perhaps this is the primary lesson you and I need to draw from this most famous of Jesus’ tales. Those who live with and in God must adopt His values, and be moved by His love—or lose salvation’s joy.

DEVOTIONAL
Which Lost Son?
(Luke 15:11–32)
We all know the Story of the Prodigal Son. We know how foolish the younger brother was. And we wonder at the forgiving love of the father, who welcomed his lost son home even after all the boy had done. But the strange fact is, it is the older brother who had really lost his way!
When the younger son left he was given the equivalent of one third of the estate, for the eldest son in Judaism received a double portion. While the younger tasted both the delights and the devastation of sin, the older son stayed home and worked the land with his father. “You are always with me” was the greatest gift the father could provide. But the older son had even more. While he complained, “All these years I’ve been slaving for you,” the father rightly pointed out, “Everything I have is yours.”
The older son had enjoyed his father’s fellowship, and all the work he had done had only enhanced his own inheritance. And yet when the younger son returned, and the father welcomed him, the older son became bitter and angry.
That bitterness and anger, that lack of love for his brother, tell us that it was really the older son and not the younger who had lost his way. It’s not that his actions were open to criticism, but because his heart was so far out of harmony with the heart of the father. He had never strayed from the path of morality. But he had never found the highway of forgiving love.
He had worked for the father. But he had never valued his brother as the father had always valued him.
The younger brother is an encouragement for nonbelievers, and for Christians who are deeply aware of their sin. But the older brother is a constant challenge to you and me. As hard as we work for the Lord, and as moral a life as we may lead, unless we have God’s heart for the outcast, we have truly lost our way.

Personal Application
God does not call us just to be good, but to be like Him.

Quotable
“Real love is the universal language—understood by all. You may have every accomplishment or give your body to be burned; but, if love is lacking, all this will profit you and the cause of Christ nothing.”—Henry Drummond

AUGUST 16 Reading 228
URGENT MATTERS
Luke 13–14

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (Luke 13:24).

The choices that we make in our todays affect our tomorrows—and our forever.

Overview
Jesus warned, “Repent, or perish” (13:1–5). All deserve punishment (vv. 6–9), but Jesus showed that this is the day of God’s grace (vv. 10–17). Though Jesus’ kingdom may seem insignificant (vv. 18–21), it is vital to enter now (vv. 22–30). Christ’s warning rejected, He wept over Jerusalem (vv. 31–35).
At a Pharisee’s dinner party Jesus healed (14:1–6), commented on guests’ and host’s behavior (vv. 7–14), and spoke of God’s eschatological kingdom (vv. 15–24). Later He spoke to the crowds about the cost of discipleship (vv. 25–35).

Understanding the Text
“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners?” Luke 13:1–5 It was common belief that those who were cut off in the prime of life had been guilty of some great sin. When someone asked about some Galileans who were killed by Pilate’s soldiers while coming to the temple to offer sacrifice, Jesus rejected the common view. In saying they were no more guilty than all others in Jerusalem, Jesus taught that all were worthy of death!
It’s useless to compare ourselves with others and think, “I never do things like that.” All have sinned. Unless we repent, we will all perish.
Here “repent” is used in its most basic meaning of a change of heart and mind. The listening crowd had to change its mind about Jesus, before it was too late.

“Leave it alone for one more year” Luke 13:6–9. The parable emphasizes how close judgment had come, and how little time was left for repentance and change. If repentance did not come soon, the verdict would be, “Cut it down.”

“On the Sabbath Jesus was teaching” Luke 13:10–17. Though all were guilty and deserved punishment, Christ’s healing of the crippled woman was an affirmation of grace.
The indignation of the ruler of the synagogue shows how little understood grace was. And how little desired. The woman who experienced grace praised God. But the president of the synagogue rebuked Jesus for helping her!
Many first-century rabbis held that it was valid to untie a farm animal to permit it to drink on the Sabbath, though the strict sect of the Essenes would not permit help to be given even to an injured animal. Christ’s contemptuous dismissal of the charge as hypocrisy shamed His opponents. But it delighted the crowds.
How fascinating that no matter how the hypocrite postures and pretends, others see through him.
Or us.

“What is the kingdom of God like?” Luke 13:18–21 The details of Jesus’ sayings are irrelevant to His point, which is simply this: Jesus’ kingdom appeared insignificant to many onlookers. But ultimately Christ’s kingdom will dominate all.

“Make every effort” Luke 13:22–30. Because Christ’s kingdom is the ultimate reality, entry becomes an urgent matter. Mere familiarity with Jesus will not do. One must know Him intimately, and be known the same way.
A feast or banquet is a common prophetic image associated with the establishment of God’s future and final kingdom. That meaning, clearly defined in verses 28–30, is carried through the next chapter’s stories, which are set at or told about banquets.
This was why repentance and faith in Jesus are such urgent matters. Individuals who failed to turn to Him will be shut out of the future kingdom, where “there will be weeping . . . and gnashing of teeth.”

“Leave this place and go somewhere else” Luke 13:31–35. The Pharisees’ hypocritical warning symbolized the official rejection of Jesus by the religious leaders. No doubt if Herod had intended to imprison Jesus, these same men would have done all they could to keep Jesus there!
Christ, rather than being angry, expressed anguish and sorrow over the city which must now face desolation and judgment. The house of Israel, having rejected Jesus, became an empty shell. It would remain a mere shell until that future day when God’s people acknowledge Christ, and are restored (vv. 34–35; cf. Rom. 11:25–32).

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Luke 14:1–6 This is the fourth reference in Luke to the Sabbath issue, showing how serious it was in the conflict between Jesus and the religious elite (6:1–5, 9–11; 13:10–17). This time it took place at a meal in the home of a “prominent Pharisee.” The Greek term is archonton, “ruling,” and suggests he was a member of the Sanhedrin.
While Christ seemed to bring the issue up, Luke noted that the man with dropsy had been seated “in front of Him.” And that all Jesus did was being “carefully watched.” Again, no compassion was shown for the sick man, who was simply a pawn to be used against the Lord.
The rabbis had ruled that a person whose life was threatened might be taken to a doctor on the Sabbath, but one not suffering from a life-threatening disease should wait till the next day for treatment. Jesus healed the man anyway and then, arguing from the lesser to the greater, showed their hypocrisy. Any one of them would pull a son or an ox out of a hole on the Sabbath, even if their life was not in immediate danger. How then could they object to healing a man on God’s holy day?
It must have been frustrating, to be an opponent of Jesus. Whenever they attempted to act against Him, they simply injured themselves!
As long as we live in the spirit of Jesus, maintaining His compassion for others, any who criticize us will also expose only their own hardness of heart.

“Do not take the place of honor” Luke 14:7–11. Still at the banquet, Jesus commented on the behavior of the guests, who competed with each other for “places of honor.” In the first century banquet seating arrangements reflected the social status of guests. The closer to the host (the “higher” the seat), the greater the honor done a guest.
The scrambling for position Jesus observed reflected the heart attitude of the Pharisee’s guests. As Jesus pointed out, it was also foolish, as it exposed a person to the danger of embarrassment if asked to go down lower.
You and I can afford to take the humblest of places here on earth. In time God Himself will say to us, “Move up to a better place.”

“When you give a luncheon or dinner” Luke 14:12–14. Jesus also had advice for His host. Don’t use your dinners for social advantage, or to seek a quid pro quo. Invite the homeless and hungry when you want to share a meal. Let God repay you.
The advice should not have been needed. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done.” The social life of the religious, who scorned both the poor and those ignorant of the Law’s minutia, the am ha eretz, showed that they used religion as well as others for personal ends.
How challenging it is to truly let God’s Word shape our lives. The most ordinary actions demand scrutiny. All we do reflects the values of this world—or of the next.

“If anyone comes to Me” Luke 14:25–35. Later, on the road with the same crowds that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law tended to despise, Jesus spoke of discipleship. One of the most urgent issues we must decide is whether we will follow Christ wholly.
What’s involved? A commitment to Jesus that places Him even above family (vv. 26–27). A conscious commitment, that looks ahead and counts the cost, and determines to carry discipleship through to completion (vv. 28–33). A continuing commitment, that once begun maintains its fervor, even as salt to be useful must retain its savor (vv. 34–35).
Difficult? Certainly. But how wise we are to make that conscious, continuing commitment to Jesus Christ!

DEVOTIONAL
The Streets and Alleys
(Luke 14:15–24)
Banquets in the ancient world were eagerly looked forward to. Life was difficult at best, and festive meals were a time to cast off cares, and enjoy.
That’s probably why the Old Testament prophets frequently picture the establishment of God’s final kingdom as a great feast, overflowing with food and wine and shouts of joy. Here Jesus picked up the familiar Old Testament image, using it in a parable that every listener understood refers to the coming eschatological (future, and final!) kingdom of God on earth.
The parable makes several points that His hearers would understand, but that might escape a modern reader. First of all, the refusal of the invited guests was shocking. It was an honor to be invited. And an obligation to come. Besides, who would ever think of passing up a “great banquet”? All who heard would have understood Jesus to accuse the religious leaders of refusing God because they were consumed with earthly affairs.
A second impression would have been made by Jesus’ reference to “streets and alleys.”
First-century Jewish cities were bisected by a few broad streets (where the Pharisees liked to come and preen). But they were also warrens of alleys, twisting and turning back to little courts opening out on the hovels occupied by the poor. In Jesus’ story, the host sent his servants everywhere, even to the obscure homes of the “poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”
And when the banquet hall was still not filled, the servants were sent out, beyond the walls that kept outsiders from the city, to distant roads and country lanes, with a compelling invitation that would move even strangers to Israel’s God to respond.
The parable, uniquely shaped to Jesus’ hearers, still speaks to us. It is still incomprehensible that many who hear God’s invitation are too caught up with the affairs of this life to heed. And it is still the glory of the Gospel that its message is for everyone, everywhere.

Personal Application
As servants of God, we are to probe the streets and alleys of our world for guests to God’s banquet at history’s end.

Quotable
“O merciful God, who hast made all men, and hatest nothing that Thou hast made, nor desirest the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; have mercy upon all who know Thee not as Thou art revealed in the Gospel of Thy Son. Take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of Thy Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to Thy fold, that they may be made one flock under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.” -Book of Common Prayer