Luke 16:19-31 - The rich man and Lazarus

Several of Jesus' parables give the message that it is not those we expect who will "go to heaven" (with all the caveats on the suitability of that phrase!). 

The story starts off with a rich man, he dressed well and lived well. Now this was not the problem, being rich is not a problem. It is what we do with riches that can be a problem, the attitudes it engenders in our hearts. Each day a beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate. So everyday the rich man had an opportunity to help a poor man, but did not do so. It is perhaps also significant that the poor man has a name. In fact I think he is the only person in a parable who gets a name. In doing this Jesus is showing that the poor man was actually the more "important" person in God's eyes.

In time both men died. No wealth, status nor power can prevent us from dying. Lazarus was taken up to Abraham's side, while the rich man was taken to Hades and was suffering torment. The rich man still had the proud attitudes he had acquired on earth and called out to Abraham to send Lazarus to ease his pain. What we do on the earth and the characters we develop are crucial, they will have eternal significance.

Abraham tells the rich man why he is suffering, and also that no one can pass from Hades to Heaven or vice versa.

Then the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his family to change their ways. People always complain that God does not make His message clear enough. This is garbage. The Jews had all the Law and the Prophets to tell them the truth but ignored them. Jesus walked among them and did many signs and miracles, yet few believed in Him. It is a lie to think that if only someone sees miracles they will believe. We are responsible for our unbelief. Even Jesus rising from the dead did not convince many of them. The human heart can be very hard.

Luke 16:16-18 - Miscellaneous

Verses 16-18 seem to have a rather random selection of extra teachings. John the Baptist marked a clear dividing line in the history of God's working with Israel and the world. Everything in the law and the prophets was pointing forward to Jesus and the kingdom of God. John also was pointing the people to Jesus, the difference was that John actually saw Jesus. Jesus was something that was going to happen at some point in the future, but was something that was imminent. 

Now the good news is being preached. We are no longer looking forward to the coming of the Messiah, rather we are announcing that He is here and the good news is now clear. So there is now a spiritual war going on. During Jesus' earthly ministry the Pharisees and other religious leaders tried to put a stop to it. Ever since then different groups at different periods and in different ways have sought to infiltrate the kingdom. 

Verse 17 is a warning about misunderstanding the relationship between the old and new covenants. The new covenant fulfills the old, it does not nullify it. The law reflected the heart of God. 

Verse contains Jesus' words on divorce. This is part of much longer sections in Matthew and Mark on the topic, and it is important to see it in its context. See my comments on Mark 10:1-12 and Matthew 19:1-12. 

Luke 16:1-15 - Wise Living

This is a fascinating parable and has to do with our attitude towards and use of money. It calls on us to have a realistic view of what life is really about. Money is very deceitful. As Paul says, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 

On the face of it the manager seems to be acting dishonestly!, yet he is commended by the master. He acted knowing that the money was not his and prepared for the future. Likewise, the money and other possessions we have are not really ours, we are just stewards of them. So instead of using money to get things for ourselves we should seek to get riches in heaven. We should give to God and give to others.

Jesus is quite open that the manager was dishonest, then He moves on to talking about us being trustworthy. Jesus is not calling on us to be dishonest, nor to act irresponsibly, but to use wealth for what it is. We are entrusted with various things, we need to use them for the glory of God and for the good of others. One day God will give us even greater responsibilities, and how well or otherwise we carry out our responsibilities here will have a bearing on the future. 

Jesus closes this section with the warning that we cannot love God and money. Some of the "prosperity" preachers really need to be bear this in mind and take heed. The Pharisees did love money. Jesus condemns them for seeking to justify themselves and living by man's standards. We are to live for God.

Luke 15:11-31 - The Lost Son

The theme of seeking the lost continues with the parable of the lost son, or the prodigal as it is often better known. As an aside, the groupings of parables and incidents tells us something about the construction of the New Testament. The gospel writers tended to group parables, incidents and teachings together thematically, not always following a chronological order. That is why some of the differences between gospels occurs.

The parable is well known, but there are many lessons to be learnt and questions that can be asked.

One is that it is quite amazing that the Father gave the younger son his share and allowed him to go on his way. God gives man an amazing amount of freedom. In someways the younger brother could be viewed as the Gentile nations. They wanted little to do with God, unlike Israel whose whole being was defined by the Law. Then the Gentiles repented and gladly turned to Jesus, but the Jews rejected Him.

Turning against the Father failed to benefit the younger son, resulting only in poverty. At last he came to his senses and decided to return home, and in a contrite fashion. He knew that he deserved nothing from the Father. The Father, however, had long been looking out for the son to return and was filled with joy when he spotted him. So the Father welcomed the son and threw a party of celebration. 

The older brother was put out by all this. Were all his efforts for nothing, and here was his brother getting a party.

The kingdom is about seeking out the lost. When they do so there is great rejoicing in heaven.

Luke 15:1-10 - God seeks the lost

In the previous chapter Jesus had been speaking primarily to the religious leaders. He continues this theme because "tax collectors" and "sinners" had been gathering around Him. These people were considered the lost of Israel, outcasts. Tax collectors were despised for two reasons. They worked for the occupying power, and they took their own cut from the people as well. Sinners were those who paid no regard to the Law, including adulterers and robbers amongst their number. So the Pharisees were shocked that Jesus welcomed these people, and saw this as an excuse to get at Jesus.

So Jesus tells them the parable of the lost sheep. The good shepherd goes out to seek for the lost sheep, He does not just abandon it. Moreover, when He finds it He cares for it and is full of joy. So if anyone turns to Jesus and is willing to be helped and restored by Him then God rejoices, and He delights in the fact that this lost sheep has been found.

The reference to the ninety nine sheep is probably ironic. All of us need to repent, the problem is that many of us think that we don't need to. Someone who feels terrible but knows their need of God is far closer the kingdom of God than someone who is satisfied with life and themselves and thinks that they do not need God.

Jesus then backs up the message with a related parable, this time about a woman who searches for a lost coin.She puts great effort into doing this and is delighted when her mission is successful. The kingdom of God is about calling people to repentance.

Luke 14:25-35 - A Costly Business

So we have just heard how many people refuse the invitation to enter the kingdom of heaven, then that there is lots of room and God makes strenuous efforts to get as many people into heaven as possible. Now we come to another warning. We tend to ask "will everyone get saved", "will lots get saved", "will just a few get saved". The questions we should ask are (i) are we saved; and if the answer is yes, (ii) how are we living our lives.
Some may have taken Jesus' earlier words to mean that anyone can get in, and that it is easy to get in. This is not true. It is all God's work, but it is not easy. We need to "hate" our nearest and dearest and even our own lives. Now "hate" here is being used as hyperbole, but this does not mean we can ignore it! We must love Jesus more than anything, this means there will be times when our lives and loved ones will come a poor second. There will be times when it might seem as if we do hate them. Notice also that Jesus talks about us coming to Him, following Him. If He was not God this would indeed be blasphemous.
Then Jesus uses another analogy. This time a king being opposed by a more powerful army. He cannot win so he makes peace. We cannot win against God. Moreover, the peace terms will be onerous, in the same way God demands everything of us, complete unconditional surrender. 
See the mixture of sentiments and metaphors used in Jesus' talk of the kingdom. If we have only a one-sided view of things then our view is wrong.
The saying on salt is given also in Matthew 9:50, I am not quite sure why it is mentioned here.

Luke 14:15-24 - Whose problem?

This is a continuation of the discussion in the preceding section. Jesus has warned the Pharisees that they should invite the poor and lame to their banquets, for it is God who gives the final reward, and we should be looking to Him for our reward, not an earthly reward.

Jesus then tells the parable of the Great Banquet, and inviting the poor, lame and blind is precisely what God does. It was not that "respectable" people were not invited, but that they all made excuses. Now see how the master reacts, He does not accommodate the people who have made excuses, but sends His servants out into streets to invite the lame and blind and poor. This was done but there was still room, so the master sent them out into the highways and byways.

There are several lessons to be learnt from this. The first is that God does not accommodate His ways to suit us. We need to change our ways to suit Him! Yet look at how men always react, listen to complaints and debates from atheists. They all boil down to "God should do things the way I want Him to do them". We need to beware of the same tendency within ourselves as well. We need to fit in with God's plans. 

Then we see that the problem is not that there is not enough room in "heaven". God will quite willingly take all who accept the invitation. God is not reluctant to save, rather we are reluctant to be saved. That is the problem.