Parables and Similar Parabolic Teachings of Christ – in three parts

The Master Teacher taught in a variety of methods including expressing effective stories that make a point. Some of these stories, He called parables. Others are similitudes, where the word “like” is used, such as in His phrase “the kingdom of heaven is like” (Matthew 13). Other teachings are parabolic sayings, which are short or even one-liners, such as “Wisdom is justified by her children” (Luke 7:35). This study will look at all three types of stories-that-make-a-point.

Parables are illustrations.

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Explaining Truth with TruthParables and parable-like teachings give examples of life actions that people see or experience: a farmer went out to sow his seed on the ground (Mark 4:3ff), a traveler was attacked by robbers (Luke 10:25ff) and a fisherman put a net into the sea (Matthew 13:47ff). Note that the parable does not indicate a lie: a sower does not fly in the air, for example. Jesus is explaining Truth with truth. But He uses no formal, historic events: so, for example, He does not state something like, “Three years ago in March, on a cold, rainy day, a sower in the Jezreel Plain, sowed 50 pounds of barley seed on a quarter acre field.” Parables do not retell historic events, but they do encompass spiritual Truth.

Why Use Parables? Simply put, He teaches in parables so that persons who love the Lord can learn more and that persons who are not as interested can learn nothing. Only those who really care will come to know the Truth as presented in parables (Matthew 13:10-13). There is a powerful chiasm as presented in Matthew 13:13-17. [A chiasm (from Greek chiasmus) is a poetic device. It is used in Hebrew poetry, for example, in Hezekiah’s poem (Isaiah 38:10-20).] In this device, the items are repeated often in reverse order for emphasis. Here is Christ’s chiasm, which serves as an excellent memory device:

1. This is why I speak to them in parables: though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

2. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

3. You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

4. you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.5. For this people’s heart has become calloused;

6. they hardly hear with their ears,and they have closed their eyes.Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

6a. hear with their ears,5a. understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

4a. But blessed are your eyes because they see, 3a. and your ears because they hear.

2a. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people1a. longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

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Notice that 1 above is repeated in 1a above, that 2 repeats in 2a, that 3 repeats in 3a, etc. Look at the above bold-text “center” of the chiasmus for the reason that Christ is giving them parables. It is because in parables, they will indeed be able to see and perceive with open eyes, and in the same parables, the others will do neither with closed eyes. Or as Jesus the Lord says in the prior verses before this, “the knowledge . . . of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”

Three Categories of the Parables – God’s Kingdom, God’s Personality and God’s Absolute Rule

You may want to place the parables and parabolic teachings into 3 buckets of teaching, so to speak:

1. Nature/Reality/Being of the Kingdom2. God’s Grace/Mercy/Love and 3. The Absolute Rule of God.

We will use this division for this study.

Part 1 – Parables of the Nature, Reality and Being of the KingdomWith this set of parables, Jesus is shown to be the Master Rabbi to the twelve and His disciples. These parables are provided to train the disciples, looking forward to the time in a few years when He will no longer be personally with them. These parables contain general truths about the Kingdom of God. Examples include:

a. How the Kingdom is capable of fulfilling one’s spiritual desires as shown in:1. The Selfish Neighbor (Luke 11:5ff)2. Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1)3. Extra Service (Luke 17:7)

b. How work and wages are provided in the Kingdom:1. Hours Laboring (Matthew 20:1)2. Talents (Matthew 25:14)3. Minas (Luke 19:12)

c. What the growth of the Kingdom looks like:1. Mustard Seed (Matthew 13)

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2. Blade Ear Full Corn (Mark 4:26)3. Leaven (Matthew 13)

d. What to expect to see when working in the Kingdom:1. Sower (Different Hearts) – (Matthew 13)2. Tares (Matthew 13)3. Dragnet (Matthew 13)

e. What the Kingdom is Worth:1. Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13)2. Great Pearl (Matthew 13)

Part 2 – Parables of God’s Grace, Mercy and Love In these parables, Jesus is shown to be the Good Healer and Good Shepherd to the general population, to the disheartened and those who are wandering, both of whom He sometimes refers to as the sheep. These parables are provided to relieve the miserable, help the poor and preach the Gospel. These parables contain information about God’s Goodness and Kindness to bring both salvation and Law. They show the Spirit of Mercy, the Divine Philanthropy and pardon of sinners who exhibit their faith by repentance. The message is God loves sinners. Examples include:

a. Two Debtors (Luke 7:40)b. Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son (Luke 17)c. Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30)d. Low Seats at Supper (Luke 14:7)e. Great Feast (Luke 14:16)f. Pharisee and Publican Pray (Luke 18:9)g. Crafty Steward (Luke 16:1)h. Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19)i. Children of the Bride Chamber (Matthew 9)

Part 3 – Parables of God’s Absolute Rule and Government In these parables, Jesus is shown to be the Great Prophet. He is The Witness to Truth and Righteousness to political and religious leaders who want neither God’s Rule nor Government. Christ foretells of God’s Moral Government over the entire world in His Kingdom and Judgment, where God is the Supreme Ruler giving to each person of earth according to his works. For this reason, these parables are given during bitter conflicts between Christ and political leaders and in clearly defined battles between Christ and

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religious leaders of the status quo. These parables show God as The Righteous One, and the One Who is Just and Showing Justice. God is exhibited as the Sole Judge, the Ruler Who holds all Rights and Prerogatives and The Potentate Who will not be trifled with. Examples include:

a. Children in the Marketplace (Matthew 11:16)b. Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6)c. Two Sons and the Wicked Husbandman (Matthew 21:28)d. Marriage of the King’s Son (Matthew 22:1)e. Unfaithful Servant (Matthew 24:45)f. Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1)

Note that there are more metaphors that Jesus uses that are not part of this study. Examples include the inconsiderate tower builder, the king waging war (both are in Luke 14:28ff) and the rich fool (Luke 12:16ff).

However, in the parable and parabolic teachings of Christ, what rich and deep teaching our Lord provides. As He wants, let’s open our eyes to see Him and His Kingdom clearer.

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Part One – Parables about the KingdomStudy 1 – The SowerLuke 8, Mark 4 and Matthew 13:3-9

The SettingJesus sits in a boat within the Sea of Galilee near the shore. Before Him is assembled a great multitude. It is easy to understand this first parable, that is, what is literally intended: there are 4 types of ground. Then Jesus says, “Whoever has ears should hear . . .”

This seems to pick up the ears of the disciples who when alone – Luke 8:9 – ask what this parable is. Note that Matthew lists the question as, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” meaning why in a parable about a Sower. They ask something like, “Why Jesus would you speak such a parable over their heads and not unto them?”

A Waste?One does wonder why instead of teaching to the multitude, why He gave the parable they did not understand? Why didn’t He just hold this obtuse parable about people’s hearts for just the twelve or for His few disciples? Wasn’t Jesus wasting a precious opportunity by speaking to the big crowd over their heads? This action was not the means to gain more followers. He does not give them what they want, so to speak.

The Moral and Spiritual ConditionConsider the moral situation surrounding this parable and other parables (like the Tares, the Net, etc.) that were also spoken to multitudes. As The Spiritual Teacher, He saw the spiritual condition and composition of the multitude.

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Specifically, in Matthew 13:15, what was the condition of the people that He found? Hearts were waxed gross and ears were grown dull. He perceives that the crowd’s spiritual state was exactly as Isaiah had described it. He says this event was an exact fulfillment of that prophecy, realized in Matthew 13:14.

This Galilean crowd will come to a sad end in John 6:66, “Many went back and walked no more with Him.” But here, at the beginning, the crowds of Galilee are at their height, so that in Matthew 13:2, Jesus must get into the boat to be seen and heard.

Mark calls the crowds “very great” in Mark 4:1. Mark indicates that He had “begun again to teach by the seaside” indicating that people were eager to hear Him, and had heard Him before. Luke says the crowds were coming out “from every city,” so each town and village along the Lakeshore had persons who came to hear.

Yet Jesus is aware that the John 6 crisis is approaching and speaks the parable of the sower. The end is coming He knows. Many of you will go back, He knows.

Beginning of the CrisisThis is a melancholy time for Jesus, then. He speaks the parable because He speaks what He knows (the hearts of the people in front of Him). It causes Him no pleasure. It will cause Him trouble. This parable can be seen as the beginning of the crisis that ends in John 6:66-71 near Capernaum when many leave the Lord.

Consider how cleanly this departing the Lord foreshadows His crucifixion, when He was deserted. Consider how clearly this departing the Lord foreshadows what happens in His Church, when many leave.

Value of the Parable of the SowerFor hearers, it places them into a position to examine themselves. What type soil are they? Each in the crowd appears so interested, since each has come from his town and village to hear the Great Rabbi. There is value in knowing self.

Another value is that this parable warns and instructs the future apostles to guard against and beware the appearance of goodness and attentiveness, where inside there is no justice, or justice is pushed back by other matters.

A third value is that this parable warns the future apostles that their Rabbi knows the human race for what it truly is AND STILL LOVES INDIVIDUALS IN IT. The future apostles will be sorely tested in their love for people. They must reach out, knowing that most often people will not

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reciprocate in love. They need to know that any romantic ideas and high-flown expectations about people will disappoint.

Last, the parable tells that deep moral review and insight will be required of each person. What soil will each future apostle be? What will each future disciple be? This will be their challenge.

Challenges for the Future ApostlesAgain, what soil will each future apostle have? In Mark 4:13, Christ asks of this first parable, “Know you not this parable? And how then will you know all the parables?”

This instruction from the Rabbi taken with the words of Isaiah in Matthew 13 (at same time) shows that this parable and others of Matthew 13 are to be regarded in the mood in which Isaiah expresses:

1. That many parables are expressed as a defense of Truth2. Christ speaks these parables (defenses) as a misunderstood Person Who is saddened by

their lack of understanding3. He is aware of His isolation4. Seeing inside their hearts, He is saddened by their lack of intelligence, sympathy, faith5. Using parables, He has reflected upon Truth and presents It is ways that half conceal

and half reveala. They reveal more perfectly to those who understand.b. They conceal from those who do not

Teach Plainly First, Then Offer ParablesWas Christ quick to provide parables first in His teaching? No. He preached plainly first. Consider the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6. These provide plain speeches with illustrations that are common things like building on sand versus building on rock. These provide beautiful welcomed beatitudes. But when afterward His hearers still “did not hear” and “did not understand” then afterward He wraps His thoughts in forms that provide the enlightened more illumination and give the others (as in Matthew 13:12 and Mark 4:25) more blindness, mystification and perplexity.

For example, His parables about how God shows tremendous love for sinners (so we should show such love, too) had two effects:

a. For the sympathetic disciples understanding His motive to be in the company of sinners, they saw His Good Heart in the brilliance of the parables of Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and

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Lost Son. They understood His True Spirit – they saw Him as their Wonderful Teacher. However,

b. For the hostile Pharisees, they hear the same three parables and hate Him more bitterly. They are determined not to be pleased by Him.

Intending to Turn Men from Him? Or to Him?Did Christ speak parables with the intention to turn people from Him? Did he speak parables to blind men more and make them more deaf? Consider Matthew 13:13, where He says, “therefore I speak to them in parables because in seeing they don’t see . . .” so perhaps the blind could gain a bit more illumination from this method. But consider what the parallel passages say in Mark 4:12 and Luke 8:10, “In parables to others (I speak), in order that seeing they may not see . . .” These two points are not mutually exclusive. Even Mark states later (Mark 4:33) that “with parables He spoke” the Word to them “as they were able to hear it.”

Christ’s aim is to illuminate minds and soften hearts. To this end, God has sent all His prophets, not to darken, harden and destroy, but to illumine, soften and save.

But even so, when Isaiah says in Isaiah 6:9, 10, “I am sent that hearing they wont hear . . .,” it is God Who is expressing bitter irony, frustrated love, despairing care and baffled love. And, He uses those words and that language to seek to turn them around toward Him. Just as in Isaiah 28:9-12, He says something like, “With this prophet Isaiah it’s only wearisome iteration of lessons fit only for children,” and yet these exact words are fitted and appropriate to teach just those drunkards to whom Isaiah was sent – and to teach us.

Christ’s Mindset and Spirit

In what Spirit and Mindset does Jesus utter Isaiah’s words and teach the parables? Three things come to mind.

First He teaches with irony. There is before Him such a vast multitude and yet there are so few listeners. It is ironic that He even had to speak in parables. Ironic that the King of the Universe had “nowhere to lay His Head.”

Second, He teaches with love that yearns to save. The older son COULD be happy his brother was found. More of the audience members at parable of sower COULD open their eyes and see. Love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

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Third, He teaches with a sorrowful heart. His words are spoken with tragedy. He knows the outcome, and He tries anyway. He knows that teaching only a few is of great value. The seed of the Kingdom is planted in their good and honest hearts.

Reading the Parable ItselfRead Matthew 13:18-23 to “Hear ye the parable of the sower . . .” We will make points regarding the 4 types of soil.

Stupid1 HearersThe first type of ground are Wayside Hearers, the Roadway Hearers. The literal Greek for “does not understand it” is “does not take it in.” These dead persons are engrossed in what Ephesians 2:3 calls, “the wishes of the flesh and current thoughts.” As an example, in Luke 12:11-13, Jesus has just preached, “. . . and when they bring you into the synagogues and before magistrates (e.g., judges – jb) and powers . . .” so one man in the audience thinks about his pending or current court case against his relative. These persons hope for the world’s prosperity. They talk about and think about the food that perishes, not the food that endures to everlasting life, John 6:27. Their god is an endless vending machine, so to speak: they ask and he gives. End of story.

Disenchanted Hearers The second type of ground are Stony Ground Hearers, the Shallow Soil Hearers, who receive the seed “readily with joy” or “anon with joy,” without thinking. They trust their impulses, feelings, romantic dreams and vague sympathies. They are quick to take the plunge into baptism with enthusiasm; but, when tribulation, persecution and temptation come, “he hath not root in himself but is only (literally -jb) temporary.” The impulse to follow Christ subsides when enthusiasm wanes, when hardship begins, when struggle starts and does not end. He is disenchanted with the group of Christians he is with because he made a solitary decision to follow Christ, and was not thinking of himself as a member of the larger Body of Christ. As an example, see Luke 9:57 compared to Matthew 8:19, where the man says, “Lord, I will follow You wherever (whithersoever) you go” and Jesus responds with something like, “I have no

1 Stupid is defined as having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense. In Jeremiah 4:22-24, “The LORD says, “My people are stupid; they don't know Me. They are like foolish children; they have no understanding. They are experts at doing what is evil, but failures at doing what is good.”

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home to go to.” The seed germinates and grows, and perhaps the plant blossoms, but it will never set fruit.

Double Minded HearersThe third type of ground are the Seed-Among-Thorns Hearers, the Thorny Soil Hearers, which James will call the double-minded man in James 1:8. Two crops are growing on this soil. Both want mastery. This man serves God today, serves mammon tomorrow. He is not wholly for good and not wholly against evil. The seed germinates and grows, blossoming and creating unripe seed; but, it never reaches maturity, as Ephesians 5:11 says, the works of darkness are “fruitless.” He “becomes unfruitful” Matthew 13:22. Or as Mark 4:19 indicates, he brings no fruit to perfection. He has some personal character but brings nothing to ripeness.

He has no victories over the world because of:

“Cares” – Matthew Vanity for “other things” – Mark “Pride of wealth” – Matthew Selfish or sensual indulgence – Luke

All in all, he is busy, but his good influence is negligible. He is mischievous, because his evil influence can take hold in others (as it will eventually overwhelm him). Honest men know what is wrong with him, but he cannot see it or he downplays his major problems and flaws as minor.

God’s person sees evil as evil, and sets himself resolutely against moral evil, using his best efforts to oppose it. Hence, Christ says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness.” Seek continuously. Seek earnestly. Seek with perseverance. But the thorny, double-minded man says to God, “I will” obey “but first . . .” and Christ responds, “having started to work and looking back” is not fit for God’s kingdom (Luke 9:61-62). Notice in this passage in Luke that the man has an affection for lawful things like saying goodbye first and looking back. How natural and excusable are these thorns, like John Mark’s in Acts 12:25, 13:13 and 25:37-39.

Perfect HearersThe fourth type of ground are the Perfect Hearers, the Good Soil Hearers, who have all the characteristics of the double minded man above, but also hold a pure will and a single mind. The only difference between this man and the double-minded man would be that:

He “hears and understands” – Matthew 13:23 He “hears and receives” – Mark 4:20

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He “hears and keeps it” (retains it) – Luke 8:15

What a joy to solely keep the Word, and to let go of gunk. So Psalm 103:1, “Bless the LORD oh my soul and all that is within me . . .” and Luke 10:27, “love the LORD with all thine heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and will all your mind . . .” and Ecclesiastes 12:13, “the whole of man” is keeping God’s commands and fearing Him.

The single-minded man hold whole-hearted devotion to the Kingdom, The LORD, The Christ. For him, nothing is received or retained, but the seed of Truth, the Word, the Mind of God. This seed of Truth goes into the “noble and good heart” Luke 8:15.

To classical Greeks, such a noble and good heart is essential to live up to be what God wants. Luke, indicating Christ’s Words, is stating—to the Greek world—the ideal of personhood, the perfection of mankind, what I ought to be, that is “a noble and good heart.” The Greeks sought to attain this ideal noble aim and generously devoted themselves to it. The Greek word in the parable is transliterated as kalokayathia, meaning “noble and good heart.”

Kalo means to embrace the end goal/aim to be above moral vulgarity, above money making, to pursue wisdom, holiness and rightness. Kalo is to be just. Ayathos means to be magnanimous and overflowing in devotion. To achieve this goal, the classical Greeks would abandon themselves to pursue these lofty ends.

There are examples of this noble and good heart in the New Testament:

a. Mary – Matthew 26:10 – “ . . . she has done a noble work upon Me.” Noble is Kalov. So in the anointing, vulgar people present thought this was a vulgar act, but Noble Jesus recognizes and indicates that this is a noble act, coming from a noble and good heart.

b. Barnabas – Acts 11:24 – Barnabas was glad and “exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord.” Then to explain Barnabas’s character, Luke says, “for he was a good (ayathos) man.” His goodness was exhibited in his generosity and sympathy. He was the type of man who would go to Brazil, to Portugal and even to Charleston to preach. His good heartedness was used to encourage them to serve God with a purpose-filled heart. As other examples of this ayathos spirit, Barnabas is generous in Acts 4:37 and accepting in Acts 9:26, 27 and Acts 11:25

A good and honest heart like Barnabas’s will forget self to serve the Lord’s brethren, to help a brother in need, to help a struggling preacher or servant. Barnabas was the type of man who would let the dead bury their own dead.

So, it is only the good and honest heart that—of course, without fail, and certainly—bears fruit.

Not All Questions Answered in the Parable

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This parable and all parables will not answer all questions per se. You may have further questions like:

Where does the good and honest heart come from?

Can a thorn-filled heart change to a good noble heart?

Christ will not always answer every question within the parable. But, in this study, we will look for answers when we can.

So, to answer the first question above, (where does the good and honest heart come from), we do not see the answer in this parable. We would answer though that Lydia, respected God (Acts 16:13-17) and listened to Paul’s message and the Lord opened her heart. Just as with Lydia, your faith comes by hearing the Word of God, Romans 10:17, like Lydia heard, and then doing what you know to do. When you listen to God’s Word and take it to heart, it changes you. This ongoing improvement over time is described in Philippians 1: 9-11

And, to answer the second question above, (can a heart change from double-minded heart to a single-minded good and noble heart), the answer is found within the parable context itself. The answer is yes. In the parable of the sower, Jesus Himself says that “if you have ears to hear, then hear.” This indicates that the choice is yours – to open your eyes and perceive or to keep your eyes closed and not understand. Further, James 4:7-8, says clearly that the way to become single-minded is to cut out the wrong from your life and include only the right at the same time. As he says, the time of being adulterous has gone on long enough, and concludes with the commands to “submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

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Study 2 – The Tares and the NetMatthew 13:24-30, 36-43 and Matthew 13:47-53

The Message of the Tares and the NetIn these two parables, Christ will explain that the kingdom of heaven in the world will be disappointing and imperfect. It will not be ideal.

Compare this parable’s aim to the aim of parable of the sower. In the sower parable, the imperfection is with the hearers who receive the seed because of their moral condition: either they don’t take-in the message or are impulsive or double-minded or sincere. By contrast, in the parables of the tares and the net, there is both good and evil present in the assemblies of the believers, with some “believers” being counterfeit and others being genuine.

This similar theme in both tares and net parables is that there is a mix of both good and bad people within the kingdom on earth as long as the earth lasts. While this mix is deplorable; God allows it to remain for wise reasons – and for my part – I should patiently accept this and look forward to the final harvest when, at the last, good is separated from evil.

Differences in the Tares and the NetWhile there are similarities, the contrasts are apparent:

a. With the tares, these weeds are deliberately placed there by an evil person. With the net, it appears accidental or happenstance that good and evil are collected in one location, the net.

b. With the tares, separating the good and evil is not desirable because it will kill the good plants. But with the net, separating a good and evil person is impossible: both are in the net. Both must remain together. Therefore, the tares are seen as recognizable evil (they are seen and recognized as not being wheat). The bad fish in the net by contrast are not seen and remain hidden as it were: so, 1 Timothy 5:24 states, “ some men’s sins . . . follow after.”

c. With the tares, the emphasis is on the temporary mix of good and bad now. With the net, emphasis is on the ultimate separation of the good from the bad.

d. With the tares, when the grain is ripe, the harvest occurs. When the net is full, the net is pulled ashore. Note that in both instances, the event occurs at just the right time – never prematurely.

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The TaresRead verses 24-30 and verses 37-43. Consider what are the tares? They are persons, according to verse 38, and specifically “children of evil.” You may want to think about whether the tares are counterfeit Christians or if they are evil people, irrespective of whether they are Christians or not. I have no answer for you, except that “children of evil” includes anyone who is not a child of good. One cannot serve two masters, as our Lord says.

Tare is a rough transliteration of the Greek word Zizan, and is known by the common name Darnel or the scientific name Lolium temulentum (please Google it). In its early stages of growth, one would have a hard time distinguishing it from wheat, although wheat is an entirely separate genus and species. Only when the stalk has grown and set fruit are the tares apparent (verse 26).

Even so, the two types of men are at first indistinguishable. The tares are not thorns per se, so are similar for a time. Question for you: will fake forms of godliness appear in the world and in His Church?

Who Sows the Tares and WhyNote that the enemy sows the tares according to verses 28 and 29. He is literally a “hostile person,” which is the meaning of the word enemy. It is worthwhile to note that he sows after the wheat is already sown, a spiteful action. Why is this such a bad action? Several reasons come to mind:

a. The owner will now harvest an impure crop of both good and bad. Should he decide to plant from these seeds, he will have impure seed consisting of both wheat and weeds.

b. His crop yield will be less than it otherwise would. The weeds are taking up water and nutrients that the wheat should have.

c. The wheat has to tolerate the weeds living with it, so to speak, which are seeking to muscle it out, drink up its water and slurp up its soil nutrients. Satan hates not being in heaven and must now reluctantly and angrily accept being in the portion of the Kingdom that is on earth. Revelation 12:12b “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

Are Tares Here to Corrupt the Pure Doctrine of Christ?

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The work of tares is to offend and create a stumblingblock to faith (verse 41). To that end, tares create scandals (offenses) and practice lawlessness. Both actions are against the owner of the field (God) and the wheat (us).

What God Seeks – Purity: What God Directs – Patience At the harvest, what was impure is removed from what is pure. God’s ultimate aim is purity. Until harvest comes, there is some impatience (“the tares are growing with the wheat!”). God directs patience (“don’t remove them”).

Note that the field is both “the world” (verse 38) and “the kingdom” (verse 41). If the field is the world in general, then is Christ teaching us that we should not seek to get rid of the tares (that we should let evil in the world be evil)? If the field is the kingdom, which includes the church, then is the admonition that we should not get rid of the tares (that we should let evil in the church be evil)? Let’s consider what God wants.

First, we conclude that church discipline is painful but necessary (1 Corinthians 5). The evil leaven must be excised from the dough, as Paul indicates. But does removing the tare from the assembly mean that the tare has left the Sovereign Rule of God over the whole universe? In other words, Christ, who created the Universe (John 1:1) is Master of the Universe. He is still Lord, even of the unbelieving, since “every knee shall bow.”

Second, going to the other end of the discipline scale, should the Christian seek to destroy every sinner and/or heretic within the church and within the world? No, because Christ said we could be making a mistake in judgment and culling the good wheat with the tares (verse 30).

Further, the apostle Paul indicates that if we don’t want to live with sinners then “we would have to leave this world”—that action is impossible to do—and that we can company and eat with sinners in this world, 1 Corinthians 5:11. Unrighteous people in the world will vex the souls of the righteous, 2 Peter 2:7.

But God wants our purity “Be ye holy for I AM Holy,” 1 Peter 1:15-17, and God wants us to be patient people regarding the tare living and working shoulder to shoulder with us. “In your patience possess ye your souls,” Luke 21:19.

Living with Invasive TaresThe implication of the double-minded soil, the thorny soil, in the parable of the sower is that we will consider if we are that soil, then weed out these thorns. By contrast, the command of our Lord, regarding these tares is “leave them alone” and “let both grow together,” verses 29

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and 30. This means that impurity within self is weeded out vigorously. But when I see impurity in other non Christians (or in some baby Christians), then I let it alone and I teach.

Tolerating sin in myself is deadly. Tolerating sin in the world or in Christians who have not grown can help me grow by promoting patience and love in me, James 1. This severity toward personal sin is championed by Christ in Matthew 5:29-30. Not so in my fellow man. Matthew 7:1ff and especially verse 13 is clear that I need to be severe about my own shortcomings, rather than seeking to find fault in others.

Christians police themselves. I am responsible for my conduct. So, Paul says regarding the Lord’s Supper “let a man examine himself,” not others in the congregation. In the parable, the Owner’s important aim is to grow the wheat to a mature crop, then harvest both wheat and tares. That said, Jesus will never condone violent attacks against evil.

The tares are so invasive that the servants ask honestly, “Didn’t you sow good seed?” in verse 27. They indicate that this crop does not look right.

Fixing the TaresIt is tempting to think that a better-presented invitation, or one more Inquisition or more preaching will remove the tares, but the parable indicates that this is not the case. Rather, Revelation 1:5 indicates that only “patience in tribulation and the Kingdom,” will succeed.

Consider, is Jesus indicating in the parable that the Church should tolerate the person who will not assemble with God’s people should remain welcomed without censure? A church with this proud attitude has a smallness of spirit and self-righteousness that are not of Christ, like the condemned church in Revelation 2:20.

On the flip side, consider if this parable is indicating that the individual in Church should require perfection of every member there (in other words, if things do not go as he wishes—for example, if people are not friendly enough—then does he have the right to forsake the Lord and stop worshipping in the Lord’s Church)? Again, his action to demand service from others is condemned as self-arrogance that falsely lifts him above others to get what he can out of other people, as is condemned in Galatians 5:14,15. Best approach is to serve others in love, never seeking to get from anyone.

The thing that will fix the situation will be the harvest.

But verse 37 of the parable offers another solution. “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” His meekness, His giving up of His Rights, His self-imposed humiliation, His loving work to save other people are the very reason that (verse 43) a time is coming when the righteous will “shine forth in the Kingdom of their Father.” The sun will shine out from behind the cloud, and for now we will:

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Imitate the meekness of Christ Imitate the humility of Christ Imitate the work and patience of Christ

Christ is taking the long view, God’s viewpoint. We should too.

When God directs it to be so (because the grain is ripe), then the harvest comes. Then comes the cutting, the throwing into the fire, the burning. But none of this is for me. This is Divine work. Best to tend to my own knitting, as the saying goes. Live right. Love God. Serve people. Matthew 3:10-12

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The Net (Lesson 2 continued)Matthew 13:47-53

Cast the Bad AwayThe good and the bad are both in the net: these are two different moral qualities. Bad is literally “the putrid, regarding flesh, or the stale, regarding bread.” And the net is the Kingdom according to verse 47. This parable generally shows that the Kingdom’s work is like a net in the sea. This is the work of the Kingdom, bringing in fishes of both types.

While the net is in the water are the bad fishes cast out? By no means.

The NetThe word Net is transliterated as Seine, as in a seine net. It is not a smaller casting net as occurs in Matthew 4:18. This is an immense net with lead weights on the bottom and corks on the top. The lead sinks the bottom of the net while the corks keep the top of the net upright. The net becomes a giant, moving “wall,” so to speak. Nothing escapes the seine net.

To this point, the Kingdom has a wide reach and effective conclusion. The church is in all parts of the world from Zimbabwe, to Pakistan, to Patagonia. So, the parable indicates that the net is “gathering of every kind,” which would include the good ones and the bad ones as in Matthew 22:10.

Focus of the ParableNotice that the parable does not focus upon what is occurring under the water. Notice how many verses are spent on describing what’s occurring under the sea versus what is happening on the beach. Once the collecting has occurred, the only thing left is the refused, or as we would say, the refuse.

Collecting the Good Fish

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A bright line of distinction is made between those that are within the baskets during collection and those without. See Mark 4:11 and Colossians 4:5. Christ Himself has said that He will not cast out those that are in the enclosure in John 6:37. But by contrast the prince of this world is cast out, John 12:31. And, Christ says that a branch that will not abide in Him is cast out, John 15:6. To further clarify the distinction, Revelation 22:15 indicates “outside are dogs.”

A Parable that Teaches Us 2 Timothy 2:20-21 indicates that in a great house of the Lord’s Kingdom there are vessels of honor and dishonor. The vessels of honor are described as “set apart (holy); useful; and ready for every good work,” whereas the dishonor vessels are described as Hymenaeus and Philetus, verse 17, who were dishonorable indeed.

Of comfort to us, is 2 Timothy 2:19, “The LORD knows them that are His and let everyone who names the name of the LORD depart from iniquity.”

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Study 3 – The Treasure and the PearlMatthew 13:44-46

The Message of the Treasure and the PearlIn these two parables, the Kingdom is described as the Absolute Good and the Greatest Value. Note that these parables are both given to the disciples only, after the multitude was sent away. So this teaching is only for their benefit at first. How blessed we are to have this text within our Bibles!

Everything is either sold or given in exchange for these worthy objects.

Greatest ValueTreasure is hidden at a time where there are no banks, no savings and loan companies, no safe deposit boxes and no storage facilities. For this reason, treasure can be hidden in the earth, in sepulchers or in any other place where one would deem it secure. The treasure was then “safe,” until the owner could come back and claim his property.

The pearl is not a diamond, because at that time, a diamond was entirely too rare to discuss finding. Pearls by contrast were well known and highly prized, particularly if the pearl were very large and of good quality.

The value of the treasure is shown in the joy when he finds it. Must have been a vast trove, because the Bible says when he finds it, he hides it (cunning man). Then, he sells all he has to buy the property on which is the hidden treasure.

The value of the pearl is “of great price,” which says it all.

The Kingdom then is the Greatest Value of all. From us then, all is sacrificed for the Kingdom of Heaven.

A Good Investment

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Did either person lose their money? No. The land was a very good investment and the pearl was entirely worth it. What they pay compared to what they receive are not comparable. Notice that the merchant puts “all that he has” into the sale. We could characterize this as follows:

What the Merchant Gives What the Merchant Receives

-All He Owns -Expensive Pearl

-Sacrifices All: -Aesthetically Lovely and Exquisite

Garments, House -Very Rare Object

Merchant Ships -Something Treasured by Him

Camels, Donkeys -Something Admired by Others

Lands, Other Pearls -Something Fervently Desired

Bought Their Hearts’ DesireIn both parables, the object they discovered or searched for was an object of devotion. They became devoted to it, and if you will, “reckless” of expense by esteeming the treasure/pearl higher than all their other things (as shown when they sold all their other things).

Neither parable explains why the treasure or pearl was of great value, but only that it was.

Consider your life in Christ now. What would you pay—if you could afford it—to have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you? Write down a dollar value, if you can, to have The Father of heaven and earth within you. What purchase price would you give to have Christ and His Words dwelling in you richly?

So consider now whether the treasure and pearl are unattainable. The Kingdom we have received is a Kingdom given by His Grace. But, in the parable, they truly did pay for the it. Their buying was neither accidental, nor insignificantly minor. The wedding feast parable shows that getting the Kingdom is like getting an invitation to a joyous feast; but, this is not the case in these two parables. The act of buying shows that the kingdom is worth the price: I give everything, whether rich or poor, for It. The Kingdom is not just objective (actions need to be accomplished to obey His commands) but subjective (internalized motivation in me, from my own heart’s desire). Theirs was an earnest (dare I say an emotional and romantic) purchase.

The Price of the Kingdom

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Christ’s blood purchased salvation and my access to the Kingdom. In addition, according to these two parables, perseverance, sacrifice and earnestness buy the Kingdom. My interest, my devotion and my full-hearted love buy the Kingdom. This is why the fishermen left their boats and their business to follow Christ. This is why Paul left devotion to the Pharisaical path. All are earnestly sacrificing by outward obedience, and as important by an inward dedication of deep love.

Such cheerful, joyful personal sacrifice is described in Psalm 87:7, “All my springs are in You.” The Fountainhead is God, therefore His City is what they love. Every good, every joy, every true peace, all life spring from God.

The joy is intense and, in the treasure parable, joy is why he makes the sacrifices.

Contrasting the Treasure and the PearlConsider why Jesus would give two parables at the same time on the same beautiful topic. It would help to think about what makes the parables different. There are two ways:

First, think of how the treasure is found: the treasure is discovered by accident and the pearl is found by quest. Irrespective of this both treasure finder and pearl merchant see the value. The biggest difference is in their circumstances and not in their inner hearts.

So with the parable of the treasure, the Kingdom is so good that it is beyond human hope or expectation so comes to a person as a surprise who is not looking for it. With the pearl parable, the Kingdom is the very best of its kind. So, it comes after a quest to discover it: the earnest expectation of the merchant is fulfilled. Both persons welcome the Kingdom, no matter their circumstances or job in life.

Zacchaeus the tax collector wants “to see Who Jesus was” Luke 19:1-10. Whether he stumbled upon Jesus or searched for years for Him, the only thing that matters is how precious to Zacchaeus was the Kingdom. A person may be a Gentile without hope, without God in the world, who stumbles upon the Kingdom. This is good. Other may be a devout Jew or proselyte looking for Messiah (Lydia or the Ethiopian) searching for and finding the Kingdom. That is good too. No matter how the treasure is found, it’s still welcomed.

Second, unlike the regular man who stumbles upon treasure, the pearl merchant is seek beautiful goodly pearls. The term “merchant” does not necessarily imply someone who makes a living buying and selling pearls. He could be a connoisseur who purchases, as he can find them, beautiful pearls for his own collection, to have them but never to part with them.

But, what should the connoisseur eat now that he has sold everything? What shall he use to now clothe himself now that all is gone? Matthew 6:33 comes to mind. In the same way as

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the merchant, the Christian leads a life of folly – giving up everything to seek the Kingdom first. This can be called the folly of the wise: “Buy the Truth and do not sell it,” Proverbs 23:23

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Study 4 – The Mustard Seed Matthew 13:31,32, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19

The Message of the Mustard Seed Happily, the Kingdom grows from small beginnings like the mustard seek that grows over a one-year period to astonishingly large herb tree. Daniel also prophesied that the Kingdom would grow, using the image of a stone made without hands that grew to a great mountain and covered the whole earth, Daniel 2:34,35,44.

Comparing this parable to the Sower and the Tares, as already studied, in the Sower 3 parts of the seed would perish and only 1 part would prosper. In the Tares, of that 1 part that survives, there would be further hardships and hindrances. Now in this parable, He says the Kingdom will start small but is unstoppable.

There is a disproportion between the size of the seed and the size of the tree.

Becoming a Great TreeThis image is one that is familiar to the hearers. Note that the Old Testament holds such imagery. Nebuchadnezzar is the mighty tree, Daniel 4:10-12, and Assyria/Egypt is a great tree, Ezekiel 31:3-9. In addition, the growth of the Kingdom was an image in the Old Testament as well. The Kingdom would be planted of God and flourish, Ezekiel 17:22-24 and Psalm 80:8, where the Kingdom was like a giant vine with stately boughs like cedars covering the whole land.

Greater Trees Than ThisWhy would Jesus use the picture of a mustard seed to a mustard tree when there are greater trees, such as Cedars of Lebanon, Oaks of Bashan, evergreen Myrtle Trees? These three trees surpass the mustard tree in size, strength and representative nobility. They are even longer lived.

Consider Jesus’s point – He compares the humble small start of the little herb seed with its final glory at maturity. There are different kinds of glory. Compared to a star a big tree has little

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glory. Compared to a galaxy a star has little glory. He compares the smallness of the little seeds to the greatness and glory of the mature herb tree.

Jesus does not mention the medicinal properties of mustard, its spiciness or heat, its beautiful yellow blooms, or that it does not give off its spiciness unless bruised or crushed. These properties are not on His Mind.

The Planter of the Seed and the Seed ItselfIn a way, Jesus is both the Planter of the mustard seed and is the Seed itself. “The seed dies to bring forth much fruit,” He states in John 12:24.

In addition, the field in which the mustard seed is planted is the world (or Luke 13:19 in this parable). It is “His garden” because the world was made by Him, and when He arrived “He came unto His own,” John 1.

The Least of All SeedsMany seeds – like pansy, poppy or rue – are even smaller than mustard seeds. However, “small as a grain of mustard seed” was a saying of the Jews. The Koran also refers to the smallness of the mustard seed (Sur 31). So in similar vein, Luke 17:6, which was written some 500 years before the Koran shows the same proverbial message that mustard seeds are not worth much and insignificant when the Spirit says, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed . . .”

Christ’s Kingdom started like this:

It began only 3 years before His murder. Started in a distant, despised provincial area Through a Man born to a poor family Through a Man teaching in neighboring villages and occasionally in Jerusalem Which Kingdom only reached a few converts – mostly among the poor and uneducated Whose Leader fell into the hands of His enemies, and did not seek release Whose Leader died a shameful death, wrongly seen as a criminal.

To be clear, the start of His Kingdom was different than the start of the Kingdom of Babel, where the whole earth came together to choose and to act. Babel started big, then had as all earthly kingdoms an ignoble end.

The mustard plant is an herb. So the word in Matthew 13:32 and Mark 4:32 is herb in the Hebrew. And, mustard is an annual, meaning that its life cycle is within one year. The plant must grow from seed, flower and produce seed in one year only. By winter it is dead. The seeds are planted the next year.

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With this in mind, one could argue against God’s Kingdom – it is so small, just Jesus and 12 ragtag followers. How could this possibly be the great promised Kingdom of God? But consider how often God takes a little, like the little church at Ashley Heights, to do great work. Does God need giant beginnings? As examples, God’s salvation of the world through water did not involve many more people than Noah. As another example, the Jewish nation’s rescue by God from famine was secured by one man, Joseph. So many times in history, God’s will was hanging by a thread, so to speak. God depends on each individual. Can he count on you?

Significance of the Birds Lodging in Its BranchesThis offers proof that the seed, then seedling, is now a tree. As the Bible states, “It becometh a tree SO THAT (emphasis mine – jb) the birds come and lodge . . .” This statement defines the character of the plant. The size of the herb deceives the birds who confuse it for the forest. Note that the Greek word translated Lodge does not mean to build nests in, but means to land upon or settle upon. Since mustard is an annual plant that germinates in spring, it is not high enough in spring for birds to build nests within (something they only do in spring). Also, of significance, the Greek word Tree can mean either large tree or smaller bush or shrub.

VigorousMustard Seed is small but vigorous. So Mark 11:22 calls faith, “the faith of God” as translated in the RV. It is a tiny seed, but powerful, able to triumph over hindrances. We have faith, in that we love, trust, work for and are able because of Him. So Jesus declares later “if you have faith like a grain of mustard” to the disciples.

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Study 5 – The LeavenMatthew 13:33, Luke 13:20-21

The Message of the Leaven The leaven shows the inward moral transformation that the Kingdom in you will create. Leaven changes the taste of dough, not just its bulk. With leaven, the bread tastes better. Christians act upon the world as leaven acts upon unraised dough. Living in the Spirit, not the flesh, your virtue, purity of life, truthfulness, nobility and justness have a positive effect upon the World.

From the Inside OutThis parable clarifies that the Kingdom is spiritual. It works from the inside out, not vice versa. The Kingdom possesses the heart first, then proceeds to influence from this “seat of life” outward, like a contagion. This changes outlooks and viewpoints. It changes conduct, communications and thinking.

By contrast, governments work to change the outside. Governments are most interested on your outward behavior, and governments use force to establish authority. Governments enact laws with penalties. But leaven and by understanding the Kingdom, is most interested in your interior life and thinking. The Christian self-censors his behavior by transforming his mind, first. Romans 12:1-2.

Leaven is Spiritual Influence – For Good or BadLeaven is a moral and spiritual influence for either good or bad. Such bad leaven is the leaven of the Pharisees in Luke 12:1, the leaven of sin in 1 Corinthians 5:7, the leaven of the old covenant being forced onto Gentile Christians of Galatians 5:9. These are insidious influences for evil.

But here, in this parable, the good moral influence of the Kingdom spreads. Your goodness touches another soul’s heart, so that person can see Jesus in you and is influenced.

Hidden

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Notice in the parable that the woman deliberately took the leaven from elsewhere and places it into the dough. In the same way, John 18:36, the kingdom is “not from here” and Daniel 7:17 the Kingdom does not arise “out of the earth” as others do.

Christ has been silently introduced into the world, unobserved by the dough. He brought grace and Truth quietly, noiselessly, as the dew falls quietly upon the earth. His Kingdom came without observation, Luke 17:20. “He shall not strive or cry, neither shall His voice be heard in the streets,” Isaiah 42:2.

His message was hidden in the hearts of a few simple fishermen, tax gatherers, sinful men and women who turned from their sins. Men, these people, kept asking, “When will the Kingdom come?” not knowing that it had already come – silent as leaven – growing more and more by its permeating influence on people’s spirits.

The Quietness of Jesus and LeavenWhen you think of the teaching and preaching of Jesus, several words come to mind: quiet approach, patient, retiring, not hurried, never idle, content with His very limited sphere in an obscure part of the world, indifferent to the world’s strife and current events. To Pilate, His words, “My Kingdom is not of this world,” John 18:36, must have provoked an inward smile and a thought like “What a simpleton.” His brothers had earlier encouraged Him, “Leave here (the Podunk area of Galilee – jb) and go to Judea so Your disciples can see the work You do . . . Show Yourself to the world,” John 7:3,4.

But He worked in quiet, unostentatious ways, with an open, not cryptic, doctrine. He says to the High Priest in John 18:20, “I spoke openly to the world.”

In quietness He gave His Truth to babies that they could be illuminated and sanctified. They through Him are sent to leaven the world. So, John 17:14,17,18, “I gave them Your Word . . . Make them holy through Your Truth . . . As You sent Me, so I sent them into the world.” One could say that the description of His life’s goal was to be leaven.

“. . . Until the Whole Was Leavened”The “whole” amount of dough is 3 measures or about 8 dry gallons. If by “whole” He means the whole world of mankind, then is 100% of the world destined to be saved? Perhaps the concept of not saved, but rather influenced, is the key. In the same way, salt influences and light by contrast permeates.

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Does the leaven pervade society? Christianity has certainly pervaded society, but one could ask whether it pervades 100% of the 3 measures of meal. The fulfillment of Jesus’s words is when all His People are leavened, even me.

Therefore, the purpose of the parable is to inspire hope for the disciples, even in their small, obscure, unimpressive beginnings. This hope is possible because the Holy Spirit dwells in the church (Revelation 22:7) and in the individual Christian (1 Corinthians 3:16). They collectively become God’s Temple.

FervorTo leaven has meant to create fermentation in. Our English word Leaven comes from Latin Levare meaning to raise or lift up.

Leaven does that lifting through fermenting. To ferment is from Latin Fermentare, which itself was from Fervimentare “to boil or seethe.” Leaven, through fermenting, creates upheaval (or in English fervor) into the mass in which it is deposited. So Christ says, in Luke 12:51,53, “I came to give division.”

Such fervor occurs within the Christian. The old man inside fights the new man inside. The wicked desires fight the desire for Christ to rule in his heart. Such boiling is the price that one pays for Christ’s character being molded within you and me.

At the new birth, the chronic liar has sins washed away. Does his new life now not include an inclination to lie? Let leaven do its job and let him work and pray to be a better person before God and man. He will work to remove his sin. His will be unhappy with self, not satisfied with himself. He will be thankful that his brothers and sisters can show him his faults; but they are not more observant of them than he is. Be careful, brethren, you do not know what hardship and strain he is under. When he asks for forgiveness, forgive him.

Praising God that the Leaven Came from the OutsideUltimately, leaven came from the outside: Christ came to us from outside our world and outside our selves. God intervened from above. He brought the King to earth. He brought the good news, that the Kingdom of heaven is here. He brought results that human nature on its own cannot bring, though we work hard. His Spirit changes us. We purify our hands and we give Him our hearts.

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Study 6 – The Blade, The Ear and the Full CornMark 4:26-29

Message of the Blade, Ear and Full Corn God’s Kingdom Work is just that – His Work. Men can exaggerate their importance in His Kingdom. Growth is slow and gradual, but it will occur because of God, not man. Learn to view Kingdom growth from God’s vantagepoint. Have patience.

Fixed Law of SeedsFor the farmer, there are two particularly busy seasons: planting and harvest (or we could use the terms sowing and reaping). In between are the relatively quiet times for weeding, fertilization, watering and praying. Paul says of the spiritual activities, “I planted and Apollos watered,” 1 Corinthians 3:6-8.

Yet, seeds grow in the final analysis not because the farmer pushes them into germination and growth, but because the Sovereign God rules over all, even seeds. So, He has ordered and directed and so it will occur, as in Genesis 8:22, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” These fixed rules comfort man and give him the knowledge of what to expect.

The Farmer, if you will, could be you and me. He has less control than he may think. For example, Arugula needs cool evenings to germinate. It will sit dormant in hot evenings, awaiting the appropriate temperature. This plant then takes 35 days to grow from sprouts to harvest. If we should want to harvest in 20 days, it will not be ready. If we wait for 90 days, it may be dead. What happens if the farmer were to push his seeds into submission: could he stretch the leaves and pull to lengthen the roots? That will not work.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait, I say, on the LORD,” is a reminder for us, not for Christ Who created the Universe or as John 1:3 expresses it, “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”

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ControlSome will ask whether the farmer in the parable is Christ Himself. After all, Christ is the sower in the parable of the sower, they say, and Christ does command the reaping of the world at the end, so isn’t He the farmer here, they reason.

Recall that the emphasis of the parable is a different truth, namely that the farmer does not know how it works and there are things that the farmer cannot control.

By contrast to this lack of knowledge, ability and power to govern, consider how our remarkable God can make a person’s staff of authority bud, blossom AND fruit, all in one night (Numbers 17) to make His point clear. God, by way of another example, holds such wisdom and power that He creates what exists from nothing, Hebrews 11:3. God has, Genesis 1:14, governed the placement, function and movement of the sun, moon and stars for signs, seasons and measurement of time. Now that is true control.

While it is true to say that Christ was the true Originator of the Kingdom on earth, at the present time, we are the farmers.

By spiritual laws, the seed grows in an orderly, gradual way – “first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn.”

He Does Not Know How – Therefore . . . The farmer plants corn when the soil temperature is 60 degrees, because he knows it will not germinate before then. He sows the corn so that it will be “knee high by the fourth of July,” to assure that he gets a crop well before frost. Still the Bible says in this parable that “he does not know” how it grows.

This does not mean that the grow occurs secretly; but rather, that this growth occurs gradually, according to God’s established timing and His natural laws.

So then, the farmer can busy himself with sowing, then not panic, but rather go about his regular life as the Bible says, “sleeping and rising up” for days or even months. With planting, or watering, for example, he knows his work is done. He now resigns himself contentedly to a certain passivity, knowing that the earth will bring forth, verse 28, “its fruit of itself.”

Therefore, established and steadfast patience is both necessary and welcomed. The Bible speaks of farmers as a patient group. Consider James 5:7ff,

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged;

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behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

The harvest of tomatoes takes about 80 days from germination to harvest. How can the farmer be patient? Because he knows the earth is doing its work and that he has little to do with production.

In his character then, he is active to help when called upon to weed or water or remove pests. But he also has the wisdom to wait on Christ, without fretting or forcing an outcome. So Christ did sow the Kingdom message, knowing how long it would take to grow. He waited patiently and His disciples grew slowly over time.

The Farmer’s Contentment“The seed should spring and grow up: he knows not how.” At first it appears superfluous that Jesus would state this sentence, indicating that man does not know the laws of God. Some translations state “he knows not how” as “when he doesn’t know” meaning that he does not stand around long enough to note each leaf, taking little or no notice. Other translations indicate this statement as “how he knows not” meaning that he is ignorant of science and even if he knows the plant sciences and chemistry, they do not tell him enough.

But the farmer is a practical man, who knows that the time it will take is the time it will take. He is therefore indifferent to the cause of growth, although he welcomes and enjoys the growth (and if he were able he would accelerate growth from 90 days to 10 days, as an example, but this is not to be). His indifference then is due to his faith and assurance that things will not go quicker than they are supposed to or slower.

Note that he has faith. He believes that plants grow from seeds and produce crops. But regarding the time from germination to crop, he knows this is in God’s Hands. He takes quiet enjoyment in seeing at first new leaves, then new blossoms. He takes quiet joy in the resurrection from the dead when a seed germinates. What a resurrection this is! So much promise is there. What a wonder is your spiritual life to the farmer. What awe it inspires in the farmer to see your growth in Christ. In you, he sees the Spirit of God working and moving. In you, he sees the Spirit’s Fruit. He is thankful for you and your love of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit. So much vital life is in you because of God!

Think of Christ’s attitude about His Service and the crop that is yielded. At first there were only 12 seeds sprouted. 12 is a small garden indeed, and these seedlings were tiny. Christ looked to the future that would come gradually. The disciples interest was something like “bring the Kingdom right now in us and in the world,” as in Acts 1:6, where they had waited for years, and

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He was leaving so it stood to reason, they thought, that the right instant had arrived for the mature fully formed Kingdom to present itself. “First the blade . . .” Jesus says in this parable. Start small.

First the BladeThe New Testament is filled with more than stories of conversion and the regeneration (initial resurrection) of believers. It is just as often a history and teaching of growth to maturity. This is slowly happening now to you and me.

The inevitability of this growth to maturity makes the farmer thankful. The spontaneity of the growth makes the farmer humble.

Will new Christians be forced into fruit bearing? No, because as He says, “first the blade.”

Will old Christians stop bearing fruit? No, because He says, in Psalm 92:13,14, “. . . Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and very green to declare that the LORD is upright, that He is my Rock and there is no unrighteouness in Him.”

The Harvest is at Hand“When the fruit permits (when the fruit is ripe – jb), immediately he cuts it because harvest is at hand,” says Mark 4:29. Notice how quickly he is active once more. Are all the harvests at the end of the world? Well, my death will be a harvest, for example. Wherever the Kingdom is in the world, there is growth and there is the ripened fruit.

When we were young in Him, it was the time of the “blade” only, a time of first holy feelings, first love for Christ, and first yearning to do His Will. We grew into the green ear, a time of inner growth, of experience, discipline, and some hardship. But, praise God that we can grow to be useful to the Master, as ripened fruit, taught by God to love, encouraged by hope to rejoice, given hardships to patiently endure. This is a time of abiding joy for us, if we will persevere. The “joy no man takes away from you,” John 16:22.

So the Christian’s life is not a seesaw of falls and conversion, but is presented more as a (Philippians 1) spiral of upward growth with struggle, failures and learning, but growth nonetheless. And, the Christians life emulates the Master Himself – he is tender in heart, grieves for sin, ponders God’s goodness and love, praises God, is more considerate in his duty toward God and less considerate in God’s duty to him.

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Study 7 – The Selfish Neighbor + the Unjust JudgeLuke 11:5-8 and Luke 18:1-8

Common ThemesThe two stories2 provide shared concepts. First, the requests made are denied. Second, in both the neighbor and judge, the supplicant waits in hope that their desires would be fulfilled. Third, there is a delay: this is implied regarding the neighbor because he will not help, so he asks again and this is stated regarding the judge in Luke 18:5 as “though he delay in their cause.” Fourth, there is temptation – for the person requesting, the temptation is to give up and doubt, or to perhaps even ask, “What are this neighbor and judge intending?”

The godly person will learn to wait, continue to ask and not give up. The requests we make are spiritual: so, Luke 11:13 states, “how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask,” and Matthew 7 indicates, “ . . . give good things to those who ask Him.” The Good comes from God’s Hand. Luke 17 will make clear that the disciples believed they had a spiritual defect when they stated, “teach us to pray.”

God’s Fatherly Love and ProvidenceStrikingly, the mean neighbor and the unfair judge both give and provide. Christ’s words about the God Who Provides are words of poetry and pathos, given in a world that is even now full of hardships and cares. These two stories serve to bolster me in my doubting – they are for doubters.

Consider whether God, in your time of distress, appears to be like the selfish neighbor in bed. Likewise, we wonder after years of temptation, and asking for relief, if God were like an unjust judge. In this way, Job’s friends wrongly state, “the innocent never perish,” in Job 4:7, and Jeremiah asks for reasons why God does what He chooses in Jeremiah 12:1, and the Psalmist almost slipped, in Psalm 73.

2 Note in the text that the word “parable” is not used, except regarding one story.

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In these two stories, Jesus is sympathetic to the dark hours of individuals and His Church, teaching them that God does care and provide.

The Selfish Neighbor (story 1)Luke 11:5-8

Discouraging SituationThe visitor arrived at night, without phoning first, without mailing a letter or sending an email. And the host is empty handed. He goes to his neighbor for food.

The selfish neighbor’s problem then is a moral one. He is caught on the horns of a moral dilemma. He is literally awakened to the need; but, is vigorously unwilling to oblige. He will not take the trouble to help, and to make matters worse, he is in comfort tucked in his home with his family safe and sound nearby, which seems to make the needy neighbor’s needs even more apparent. The selfish neighbor then appears, if you will, heartless.

The needy person comes to the selfish neighbor when he is really in want. He calls him “friend,” as he makes the request, Luke 11: 5; but, this term is not used by the selfish neighbor toward his needy neighbor. The irony is hard to miss – namely, that the rich have need of nothing and many friends, Proverbs 14:20, but the poor man here is hated even by his neighbor.

The selfish neighbor’s first words are “don’t bother me,” in Luke 11:7. He is abrupt, surly, rude.

Opening the Door – Overcoming the Neighbor’s SelfishnessThe mean, abrupt neighbor has “reasons” for not helping, which are comically serious: first, he has to unlock the door and second the kids are asleep. He ends by stating “I can’t” in verse 7, which means “I won’t.”

The situation in the needy man’s hands is a desperate need. He has nothing so is unwilling to stop asking. Because of his need, some translations indicate in verse 8, “will rise and give him whatever he needs.” Think about the reason given in verse 8 for his need to overcome the other’s selfishness. It is his “impudence” (ESV), his “shameless audacity” (NIV), his “persistence” (NASV). The man is shameless in his request. He knows that selfish neighbor will not do anything the needy man wishes; however, in this instance, he says in essence, “either give me bread or no one sleeps in your house tonight.” By making the comfortable mean neighbor uncomfortable, the needy man motivates the selfish man and gets his request.

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The Prayer that PrevailsFrom the context in Luke 1:1-4 and Jesus own explanation in His doubled phrase “I say to you,” we understand that prevailing prayer asks, regardless of decency or propriety. Prevailing prayer asks at all hours. If you will, prevailing prayer knocks until the door is opened.

Notice in the text that there are two times when Jesus says, “I say to you.” The first is in verse 8, where Jesus is instructing as the Master Rabbi. But in verse 9, when He states the same phrase, He is even more emphatic and authoritative as The Son. Only Christ can know this Truth, having been with The Father literally forever, and therefore states with conviction: “And I say to you ask and you will receive . . .”

Putting into Words What Disciples Can Think, But Can’t SayBecause of Christ’s words, the disciples and I can be in better spirits. I have a hope of the future. Doubts come but I can overcome them. I perceive God is not the selfish, indifferent, heartless one I feebly can think, but rather the Good and Kind Heavenly Father, verse 13, who loves, cares and provides spiritual things.

The dark thoughts about God that men sometimes think during hard times are put into words by Christ in this story. When men want righteousness, they ask for it. When men want more faith, patience and humility they ask for it. In the Luke text, when men want the Holy Spirit, then ask for Him. God gives those things to those who keep asking.

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The Unjust Judge (parable 2)Luke 18:1-8

How OftenThe church should pray often, Ephesians 6:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17. What a remarkable way for Jesus to describe this by speaking of the unjust judge.

This judge does not fear God, which is expressly stated as a corrupt action in Exodus 23:6-9, Leviticus 19:15, Deuteronomy 1:16,17 and 2 Chronicles 19:6,7. Further, not following the command to love your neighbor as yourself, he does not esteem men as being worthy of his esteem.

This sets up a situation where one has no chance of winning with this judge except through his selflove. He must be influenced to think that it is more advantageous and easy for him to help the poor widow than not.

Not DiscouragedConsider what means the widow has at hand and think about what helps and assistance she has. She has no husband to champion and support her, she does not have lots of income, and she has no superior strength to force the judge. The term widow is synonymous with helplessness, as in Isaiah 1:23 where judges don’t have time to help widows and Matthew 23:14, where pious men don’t have time to help widows. Her plight is that she is unnoticed, defenseless, easily taken advantage of in the world.

Her plight is in some ways like that of the church in the world. For how long the corrupt judge has done nothing, one could dare to say. One would begin to wonder if she can ever be avenged.

Causing TroubleHow does one influence an unfair judge? Intimidation may work for others but not for a widow. Bribery may work for persons with money but not for a widow. Bothering is the option that is left to her.

The judge says he will become worn out, if this continues, verse 5, because of her causing him trouble. “Lest she strike me,” is the translation in the New American Bible. This is the literal translation. The word “cause trouble” is better translated as “strike” or “beat.” The same word

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is used in 1 Corinthians 9:27 and is translated as “beat my body,” “buffet my body” and “drive my body.” This word is what a boxer does to an opponent. It gives you the sense that she will plague him, worry him, demand of him, which is why the King James Version uses the phrase “lest she weary me.” “Weary” is from an old word form of “worry.” So, the judge thinks, she will worry me so much that she will wear me down.

Believing God = to Keep PrayingDavid and Christ also wondered, stating, “O my God, I cry in the daytime but You don’t hear; and cry at night and am not silent,” Psalm 22:2. To their credit, David and certainly Christ kept turning to God in prayer, and in that solace found rest.

“He will avenge them speedily,” Luke 18:8. They cry out to God day and night – so over a period of time – and in response He provides speedy justice. Their job is not to provide justice but to keep crying out, asking for relief.

Will He Find Faith on the EarthSo long will evil flourish that the saints’ faith – a faith that asks for His Help, that trusts that He is ever present and loving, and that has evidence that He knows their suffering and will provide for them—will all but have died out before He returns.

Your persistent endurance is required.

God delivers His people at the last moment, when people have all but given up hope, as in Egypt in Exodus 2:23ff, or under Midianite oppression in Judges 6:2, or in Babylonian slavery in Ezekiel 33:10. Christ Himself saved the apostles at the fourth watch in Matthew 14:24,25.

Divine Action works at the last possible moment. So the child does not inherit at once, but rather after the long wait. In the same way, Luke 18:1, “He spake . . . that men ought always to pray and not give up.”

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Study 8 – Extra ServiceLuke 17:7-10

ContextThe disciples want more faith in verse 5. Christ says that a small amount of true faith will help them do all that is required of them, no matter how large the task. And, when they do these great things, they know that this does not occur because of their high status and as a reward to them, says verses 7-10.

A Harsh MasterThe inhumane relationship between the master and the servants (between God and man) reminds us that the nature of religion is that Deity is far greater so Deity is served by the devotee, the servant.

Reading this story can give an inhumane, unpleasant impression of Kingdom service and the Master of the Kingdom. God appears an exacting taskmaster and a slave driver. Notice that after the servants have already worked a full day in the fields that now at the house, they render extra household service before they can eat and rest themselves.

The master does not say thank you. He is neither merciful nor gracious. He receives from them their service as an expectation.

For their part, the servants do not complain. Rather they even acknowledge their un-profitableness. They further state that they have only completed their statutory duty.

A Life of Service Is this story a description of religion where one simply “goes through the motions” to be satisfactory? No, formality in religious service without the heart being involved is not enough. The information to the church at Sardis in Revelation 3:1-5 and to the church is Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22 shows that drudgery in religion cannot be not accepted. For this reason, we know that Christ is not saying that God expects us to just worship by rote, outwardly doing the things required, without engaging our minds.

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In addition, this story is for all servants in the kingdom, whether they are devoted or not. We are, as Paul and Timothy, “bond servants of Jesus Christ.” We are His slaves.

Is this story, then, a description of how God pushes and forces people into submission, by expecting His servants to obey and do more or else? Does God force humility on people? The teaching is not a lie, so we know that God does not teach how God has the right to act, but rather how He in fact acts toward us His slaves.

God is showing the actual experience that the disciples will have in their upcoming life of service. The Kingdom will exact great demands upon them. This knowledge of Who God is in the Kingdom will lead them to true humility, so they can work better for the King. This greater understanding of who they are in the Kingdom will stop them from being idle or complacent. The slaves don’t stop serving the Master when they arrive at the house at day’s end.

We draw two conclusions so far:

a) Service is service to the Master Himself. It is exacting and arduous work.b) My duty to Him is far more than my duty to my career, spouse, education, hobbies

and my government.

A Full Day of Service, Then a Full Evening Christian service is a full day of work in the fields then extra service at night when a weary laborer would otherwise rest. There are no 8-hour work days in the Kingdom, no 5-day work weeks. The Christian is on duty 24/7 and active in the heat of summer and the cold of winter.

Consider that since you are on active service at all times, so to speak, there are things that this can guard against: complacency (2 Kings 5 – Naaman must be unsatisfied with his present condition), idleness and reflection on the “good old days” (2 Kings 5 – Naaman must not look back to other rivers – he must work in this one now), no exertion (2 Kings 5 – Naaman must be active to receive help).

The focus of the Extra Service story is not how God treats His disciples, but rather how His disciples serve Him.

Jesus’s Hard SayingsJesus has difficult teachings that do not spare. He has compared God to a selfish neighbor and an unjust judge to toughen up his disciples to pray fervently. Now He presents God as the exacting Master. He does so the disciples will listen, not close their ears and toughen up to complete the high-level of service that was before them. We will do what our Lord wants, and He is exacting in those requirements:

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Luke 18:1 – Pray always and do not give up

Matthew 6:33 – Seek the Kingdom first

Luke 9:60 – Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom

Matthew 10:37-39 – Whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; take up your cross and follow Me.

It would be tempting for the disciples and us to soften these sayings, to polish off their pointy angles, so to speak. The Rabbi’s message is give up yourself, renunciate your property, abstain from family ties, THEN once you have done all that (in the fields during the day, so to speak) then keep serving Me (in the house at night).

Christ is teaching the need for endurance in the work: do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). He is also teaching that sacrifices are required because of our sense of duty is so high. We serve the King. We give up all else – That is the true humility of service.

True Humility – Serving His Majesty, The Most High GodIn verse 10, they say, “We are unprofitable servants.” One would say this if he indeed were not working, but these persons had worked that day in the fields. One would say that if he indeed were not a servant, but these persons are the Master’s servants.

A deep sense of the Majesty of God and the Supreme Highness of His Station creates in us a sense of our far-lower station and smallness of character. Deep down we know that He has the prerogative to rule and direct, as well as knowing our duty to defer to His preferences (much more His commands) and submit.

He ennobles the disciples’ lives. A truly noble person will focus upon his duty and do it, not because he is forced to but because it is his duty to. The English word “Duty” comes from the root word “due.” It is literally what is due to God. Think about what you owe God and you will understand your duty.

You owe God the decency to obey His command to focus on true, noble, just and pure thinking and ideas, Philippians 4:6-9

You owe God the decency to give Him thanks because He bought your freedom (redemption), 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.”

You owe God the decency to devote your life from a grateful heart that cannot thank Him enough, 1 Corinthians 10:16, thanking Him each Sunday for example, as Paul says, “Is not this the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks, a participation of the blood of Jesus Christ.”

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When one works for the Imperial House, even the menial tasks are truly noble, and while we are not worthy to serve, we rejoice to be able to complete these duties.

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Study 9 – The Hours, the Talents3 + The Minas4

Matthew 20:1-16, Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27

General ThoughtsThe common theme in all 3 parables is the issue of work and wages in the Kingdom. Notice that the Master knows how to repay every faithful, devoted laborer. He is Just and Generous. Rewards are given on the basis of being righteous and doing righteousness.

These three parables complement one another. They show the importance of the proper motives, that unequal opportunities and other endowments accomplished with strong determination to complete the task assigned are vital and that zeal matters.

In the parable of the hours, the focus is on the importance of the worker’s motives, not in hours worked. In the parable of the talents, the focus is on the diligence to use the unequal endowments (e.g. opportunities and instruments, etc.) as critical to success, and in the parable of the minas each worker is given the same amount of money, but only the zealous do more than others and are recognized.

These parables teach, warn, admonish, comfort and stimulate to love and good works.

3 A Talent is about 20-years of daily laborer’s wages4 A Mina is about 3-months of daily laborer’s wages

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The Hours (parable 1)Matthew 20:1-16

The Exchange of PlacesIn the first verse of chapter 20, the word “For” shows a connection between how the disciples had given and forsaken all and the Kingdom’s motto “The first shall be last . . .,” in 19:30. Note that 19:30 indicates that many of the first will be last, but not all.

“Many” are the rich of verses 22 and 23, who have first place now but become poor then. So says the parable of the Pharisee and Publican in Luke 18:14, “Everyone who exults self will be abased. He that humbles self shall be exalted.”

The focus of this parable is on this exchange of places that occurs in the Kingdom. God is teaching that the quality of service, not quantity of service, matter.

The Remarkable HouseholderHe is different from other landowners, farmers, and corporate executives we know.

First, He now and then takes it into his head to—even late in the day—search for laborers. This is not standard, worldly corporate behavior. [Workers had waited all day for someone to hire them and now at days end, he did.] His motives are benevolent. Pity for the idle moved this eccentric land owner to action.

Second, He delights in devoted service, irrespective of time spent working. He begins by paying the last ones first. He abhors the envious, selfish first ones. The householder shows special interest in those who come into the vineyard at close of the day, those who perhaps would have had humble expectations about wages. Paying these last ones first shows the Master’s Mind.

Psalm 18:25-27 says that the Divine God saves “afflicted people but will bring down high looks.” He is forward to the forward. He is sharp with the sharp, stating in text verses 13-15, “Friend, I wrong you not. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Pick up your things and go.”

Third, He is Just and Right. So, in the old KJV in verse 11 he is called “the good man of the house” (but the Greek here is the oikosdespotes, literally “the master of the house”). Still He is being magnanimous and generous. His benevolence should lead to their grateful devotion not their complaints. Their motives matter. Otherwise, as the Master says, “Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with My own?” or to put it another way in similar vein, “Do you dispute what I had determined was indisputable?”

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Murmuring WorkersThe Master says, “I will” in verse 14, asserting His freedom and sovereignty to grant them as He wills to do. One wonders if today’s complainers will be tomorrow’s workers. The words, “Go your way” are ominous.

When He says, “Take what is yours,” He means, “pick it up,” indicating that either He has placed the denarius down for them to pick up or that they have thrown the denarius back at Him. They are evil murmuring workers.

What does the denarius denote? Reward in the life to come and reward for Kingdom work experiences. All get the same denarius.

Many Called, Few ChosenThe field has many workers. Of these, only a few have ardent faithful devotion to the Master and work from such devotion in deep humility.

The "called" are clearly distinguished from the "chosen." This remark Jesus makes several times, in different contexts in Matthew 19:30 and Matthew 22:14.

The called are the “invited.” Many receive the invitations of the Gospel and some appreciate that invitation, 1 Thessalonians 2:1-4 indicates “ . . . God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the Truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

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The Talents (parable 2)Matthew 25:14-30

General ThoughtsChrist’s return will take long enough that the disciples will have ample time to work, so verse 19 indicates, “after a long time.” Some early Christians sat idle in 2 Thessalonians 3:11,12: the remedy was “with quietness work and eat your own bread.” Paul invokes the need to work and watch.

The Kingdom demands that all its citizens work. In the parable, the capital received is doubled. Note that the servant starts to work “straightaway,” in verses 15, 16 in some translations. Other translations indicate that it was the Master who went away “straightaway.” In either case the servants worked.

The principle seems to be that equal diligence to use unequal endowments (opportunities or instruments for example) receives an equal reward.

This stresses that urgency and promptness are needed in the work. The demands of the Kingdom are pressing so work at them without delay: and, the evil servant is called not just wicked but slothful. Indolence and negligence are never acceptable. This over cautious, fearful, gloomy outlook person is cast into outer darkness. [Note how Christ will break through the parable about investment banking with real-life wording like “enter the joys of your lord” and “be cast into outer darkness.”)

Talents are Not AbilitiesThis is evident because he gives the talents “according to their abilities.” Still, the talents can be considered instruments to use, opportunities and endowments given. So, when one is told to take money to the money changers, these are persons who hold dollars and sit and trade these funds for goods. These moneymaking opportunities and instruments are one more means to do the right thing, he says, and he wants the disciples to diligently seek those out.

CommendationsNotice that the commendation of the Master is exactly the same—word for word—between the one who had more talents given and the one who had less talents given. In the Master’s view, both these servants are peers and equals. Both are considered good and faithful. They

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are the good ground as described in the parable of the sower, devoted, enthusiastic and single hearted.

The Minas (parable 3)Luke 19:12-27 How difficult it is that the noble born Son would leave to receive a kingdom and return, to find He is hated by His subjects and loved by only a few.

Because Christ was close to the gates of Jerusalem, and because the disciples thought that the kingdom of God should immediately, visibly be set-up as soon as He reached the capital, He speaks to His disciples about the Kingdom with this parable.

He speaks to those disciples who love Him, the “servants” in the parable. Likewise, He speaks to those who hate Him, the “citizens,” of verse 14, who are slain in verse 27. It is as if He were speaking a parable with two tales. Regarding the servants:

a) The Son (the nobleman) leaves to gain a kingdom far awayb) The 10 servants are left to trade and make moneyc) They are given rather modest amounts of money. They are given amounts of equal

value. The amount given to each is approximately 3 months’ salary for a day laborer.

No Princely SumThey cannot make billions of dollars with these smaller amounts. Money making does not seem to be the sole work. Rather character-building seems to be stressed, because each is not promoted to positions of high authority but rather is given the discipline of hardship. Note

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that the amount given in the parable is “very little,” according to verse 17. The Prince has highest prospects with the future Kingdom, but now is of humble means.

Investment and ReturnThe future king directs them to negotiate, trade, invest in verse 13 (Greek word transliterated is pragmateúomai, from which we get the English word pragmatic, meaning how one deals with things sensibly, reasonably and practically).

For investing a mina and turning it into 10 minas, the servant is given 10 cities. Note that the servant is called both good and faithful (or is called in some translations “good”) in verse 17.

For investing a mina and turning it into 5 minas, the other servant is given 5 cities. Note that this servant is not called good and faithful in verse 19.

The unfaithful servant placed the funds in a napkin. Notice he does not even bury them in the earth, because this amount is not enough money to bury it (unlike what occurs at the parable of the talents).

The lesson is to be faithful even in the least.

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Part Two – Parables about God’s Love and Grace Study 10 – The Two DebtorsLuke 7:36-50

Parables of God’s Grace In this section of the studies (Part Two of the Studies), there are 12 parables regarding the grace of God for us to dig into. These parables all describe God’s Heart for the lost, and that He is the Life for people seeking Him. In addition, these parables will at times stress the virtues of seekers.

The Context of the Two DebtorsIn this parable, notice where Jesus is. He has been invited to the house of a Pharisee (Simon) and while there, a woman anoints his feet. There are three points to consider regarding this:

First, Jesus verbally defends the woman. By her actions she shows that she loves Jesus much. By creating the story of the two debtors, Jesus will clarify her motivation. This emphasis is relevant to the story Jesus tells: she, the accused is a sinner forgiven, therefore her motives are seen by God as pure and right and in verse 47, her large quantity of sins “are forgiven because she loved much.” She is a moral debtor, now forgiven. Surprisingly, she is the moral superior when compared to the religious Pharisee.

Second, Jesus verbally attacks the Pharisee host in his home. With this story, Jesus candidly and justly lets him know. For his part the Pharisee is a) not particularly harsh in his thinking, only internally thinking, “This man can’t be a prophet,” and b) is not particularly cordial or hospitable to those of the lower social class like Jesus and c) has a little love toward Jesus but that love is real, not hypocritical.

Consider what the Pharisee did not provide Jesus, as his guest. Here, then, is moral mediocrity. As passionate as the woman is, he is not. As emotional as the woman is, he is not. As free to express her heart as the woman is, he is not. As loving as the woman is, he is not. Jesus will

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teach—and save—the persons who know they are lost, the broken, and, in a sense, those who see themselves as unlovable; but cannot reach the mediocre, satisfied person in the same room.

Third, Jesus defends Himself. This action is implied in His last question, “Which of them will love him most,” in verse 42. He specifically connects the amount of debt forgiven to the amount of grateful love shown. His contrast is that the Pharisee did not do, exactly what the woman has in a greater measure. No surprise, in a sense, that he loved the company of penitent publicans and harlots, not the Pharisees. The difference? The publicans and harlots repented and loved Him deeply.

Thy Sins are ForgivenUp until this point, with all the work she has done, she is not certain that Jesus will forgive her, that God will accept her. She could wonder whether all these humiliations of being in the Pharisees house were worth it. If she did wonder, those are not expressed in the text. Rather, it is only her actions of love and faith that are shown.

Then Christ says, “Your sins are forgiven,” in verse 48, which the Bible says causes tongues to wag at the table (“. . . those who were at table with Him began to say among themselves, “Who is this? Who even forgives sins?”), which gives the impression that they are quietly sneering at the One they perceive to be the local yokel.

Go in PeaceThen in verse 50, Jesus says to her, “Go in peace.” What the guests at the table had to say about this prostitute as she was leaving and after she had left, we are not told. But we know that Jesus has directed her to leave this mediocre place, to not stick around. Go. Psalm 116:16 indicates, “O LORD, truly I am Your servant . . . Thou hast loosed my bonds.” She leaves in abiding peace and one wonders if she becomes one of the women who follow and serve Jesus starting in the next chapter, verses 1 through 3.

She has now a remarkable story to tell others about the grace of God and what she experienced with the Presence of Christ.

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Study 11 – The Lost Sheep, Lost Coin + the Lost Son Luke Chapter 15

General Thoughts about Luke 15We continue in the parable story teaching about God’s Grace toward sinners. In these 3 parables, we learn the value that God places upon the individual, on the low and insignificant person and on the sinner.

There are 3 parables given back to back on the same general topic, because God wanted us to have these. Each story has a cumulative effect. The protagonist of the first story is a shepherd of average wealth who has 100 sheep, and Christ is our Great Shepherd (I Peter 5). The second protagonist is the poor housewife who holds ten 6-pence coins, and Christ cares even about little things, rejoicing in those too. The third protagonist is a wealthy father who has two sons, which provides just enough family members to make the story work.

Context for the Three ParablesIn verses 1 and 2, the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. This action caused the Pharisees and the scribes to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

These parables are a defense, showing it is right to seek what is lost. These parables are offensive, as well, showing that it is wrong to be inhumane and show no sympathy: so, other people, like the Pharisees, as an example, should sympathize with the joy of finding what is lost.

Joy of finding what is lost is the theme of all three parable stories. In the first two, the owner calls others to rejoice, too. In the third story, Christ shows the Pharisees how they ought to have acted. Their purpose to attack and rebuke Him is present in His Mind, but His teaching in Luke 15 is not spoken in bitterness or exasperation but is wholly from love.

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Lost SheepLuke 15:3-7

LostThe lost sheep is in the “wilderness,” the text indicates. This is the pastoral country where sheep can feed but where there is neither pasture nor barn located.

This parable focuses on the shepherd’s interests and behavior. Since the behaviors are so typical of shepherds, Jesus asks, “Which man of you . . . will not go after it?” This group would understand the shepherd’s joy.

In Matthew 9:35,36 he is preaching to the northerners, the lowly in status, the ones who do not matter, so to speak (not the important high status persons in Jerusalem). He states that he see sheep with no shepherd scattered and torn. He has great sympathy for them. Consider who should have been shepherding them already – God’s priests and rabbis should already be helping the weary, worn and abject.

The shepherd searches “until he finds it,” This sounds like Matthew 23:38, “ . . . how often would I have gathered you . . .” spoken in bitter tears from a broken heart. This Great Shepherd searches until he finds it.

FoundHe “lays it upon shoulders,” since the exhausted sheep cannot walk, he will walk for it.

He comes back “rejoicing.” Love makes the burden light. The Isaiah 53 text, “surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” is said in Matthew to refer to His healing power.

He says, “Rejoice with me.” In essence he says, “Come hear my story. Come congratulate me on success.” But persons here at this time do not appreciate the Shepherd Christ. No joy from others was given to Christ. One could ask where can Christ go to find persons who feel as He does and rejoice over lost sheep found: the answer would be only in heaven. Heaven understands him and not the “righteous of Israel.”

Even God Himself rejoices, but not these “righteous” men: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the LORD and He will have Mercy upon him and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:7,8.

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There is joy in searching and finding what was lost.

Lost CoinLuke 15:8-10

Lost CoinThe lost coin is a drachma. Aristophanes says that a half-drachma given to a juror can be used to pay daily subsistence to the juror’s family of three. Xenophon says a half drachma per day can provide subsistence for the head of household for poor family for that day. The exact purchasing power of a drachma are hard to calculate: for example, a skilled worker makes a wage of a drachma a day but a juror only makes a half-drachma each day. For this reason the drachma is valued at between $25 and $100.

Is FoundShe “lights a lamp,” because only the rich can afford homes with windows. Not just content to look, she also “sweeps,” inspecting every nook. All souls are precious and esteemed by God. One earth, souls are cheap: people are run over with cars and blown up. But in heaven, souls are valued. Because God knows the value of each soul, then God loves each one. To Him, each Seth, Job, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Ezra and Habbakuk are valued.

What joy there is in finding what is lost!

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Lost SonLuke 15:11-32

Lost The son lives in “prodigal living,” which can be characterized as riotous, extravagant-spending living. When he wishes to “fill his belly with pods,” this is translated as “carob pods” in some translations – food for the pigs and the poor, at least it used to be. There are three pictures presented in this parable: the son, the father and the older son.

Portrait of the Prodigal SonHis unfilial, thoughtless, self-willed, sensual acts have enslaved him, leading him to folly, then misery and at last repentance.

In verse 12, he asks for his portion of inheritance before his father is dead. This is rude and disrespects his father. When his father dies, as the younger son, he would inherit one-third. His brother being older would inherit two-thirds. The father acquiesces and in Romans 1:24, the Father allows such enslavement to passions, emotion and lawlessness. He allows such lack of self-control and lets the young man’s madness rule his reason.

By verse 14 of the text, along with his folly there is now desperation because a famine is present.

At last in verse 17, “he came to himself,” an apt description of the sinner who understands what he has done.

Portrait of The FatherHe never forgot his son. He sees him far off, which tugs at our heartstrings. But notice that while the son was away, the father did not search for him. The son is a young man capable of coming home.

He runs to his son. The reason could well be Jeremiah 31:20. The Father completely forgives and has great joy. The instructions Father gives to the servants show how the son has been fully reinstated to privilege as before. Note that God receives all penitents as sons, not as tax collectors and prostitutes. Isaiah 63:16 shows that event the adopted sons are welcomed.

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The father’s forgiveness is without a grudge: it is whole and without contempt. So the feast brings together the entire household once again for the benefit of the son. The one who was dead is alive and the lost is found.

Portrait of the Older SonHe has been “in the field” working all day, dutifully taking care of the paternal estate. It is a slave, not the father, who lets him know that his “brother is come.” While the slave seems happy to mention this physical outcome, the older brother seems angry with moral outrage. How different is he from the loving person who 1 Corinthians 13, “hopes all things,” and different from the Christ, Who “can have compassion on them . . . that are out of the way.”

The older brother has a good case against his profligate brother. Now he thinks he may have a good case against his father, too. He is offended, calling his brother, “your son,” even while his loving father calls the brother, “your brother.”

The older son is the perfect picture of the Pharisees. They are dutiful in their work: they are proud to be severe toward sinners.

Rescue Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and save that which is lost,” Luke 19:10. The lost are those irretrievably lost, those perishing and those in doomed peril. In each parable, we see a different angle. The sheep is lost through its inattention and thoughtlessness, the coin is lost to usefulness and the son is lost through intentional, wayward self-will. All are found. All are rescued.

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Study 12 – The Groomsmen, the New Patch + New Wineskin Matthew 9:14-17, Luke 5:33-39 and Mark 2:18-22

General Aim of these ParablesChrist wants to vindicate the joy that you experience as a son of the Kingdom. We will use the Matthew text in this study and include the other two accounts as they provide additional information.

“The Pharisees fast often,” He says. “Often” is literally “much.” Luke uses a different word in Luke 5:33. He says at some future time, “then they shall fast,” and Luke adds “in those days.

Regarding the skins, He says “else,” by which He means that “if they don’t watch what they are doing, so to speak, and don’t follow this rule,” then disaster will occur.

On DefenseSince the word “parable” and the word “like” are not used in the text, then why do we conclude that this is parabolic type teaching? Reason is because Jesus is asked a question by John’s disciples, Matthew 9:14, and answers it with three pointed stories. The importance of His response is seen in His providing no less than three responses.

Jesus is placed on defense to respond because He departs from standard custom. He is the Original Thinker, Who provides a short, well-conceived ideas for them to ponder. Note that these stories are not to the wicked Pharisees who want to find fault, but rather to the honestly perplexed disciples of John. (This is why in the Luke 15 “lost” parables, He takes His time to make a moral and emotional impression. The “lost”-story parables pull at our heartstrings because that is what He wants to occur.) In these 3 quick stories, he clearly instructs to learners with specific principles. Notice that the teaching is not emotional, but pragmatic.

He shows that the Kingdom is new and not a revision of the old.

The stories are so short that some persons call these parable-germs.

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Context of Old Versus NewThe question asked by Johns disciples tells us the underlying mood of Christ and His disciples. They are joyful. They are a wedding party. As such, if you will, they conduct the Groom and their new ride to their new home then spend a happy week in festivities.

Jesus question, “Can they mourn,” is an assertion and the stories given are compared to Jesus actual life experiences at that time. Joy underlies this time in His Life.

Why is there joy? The kingdom, through the grace of God, has come close and is near. It is a Kingdom with a message of Good News. Its King will be the Greatest Good One. The King even now is showing them God the Father and how He is with His Son (and so other men can be His true sons).

Consider how John preached the Kingdom by contrast. The Kingdom was awesome and terrifying news. God, the Omnipotent One of the Old Testament, was directing men to wake up and repent. God, says John, is coming in majesty to execute judgment. Messiah is coming with a fan in His Hand to remove the wicked chaff. Messiah is the Axe which has been laid at the base of the unfruitful tree, to chop it down. The One Who will come after John is so great that John is not even worthy to unloose His sandals, as it were. Fear and tremble before Him.

In comparison to John’s message is Christ, Who provides the Good News that God the Father is ready to give His children access to His House. Christ is come in the spirit of Isaiah 42 as a man of gentleness, pity and love. The disciples are being taught to have the same joy and pity. They are happy, too, because they are not comprehending the upcoming Sacrificial Death of their Teacher.

What a puzzle then it would be for John’s disciples to see Jesus being a Person of joy.

New Garment, New Vintage – The Joy of the NewIs not this Jesus, supposed to be a “Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief,” according to Isaiah 53? Yes, and when Jesus states here, “There will come days when the bridegroom shall be taken from them,” we note the true portent of those words.

The future tragedy tempers His knowledge, but Jesus emphasizes that He is joyful. Consider how the “oil of gladness” is used regarding Christ, Psalm 45:7. The source of His joy can be characterized in several ways:

1. He has a connection with God that He can even give to us. This will be based on His fresh instructions and not the tiredness of the Old Law.

2. His Absolute Devotion to God makes Him joyful and He will teach us how to access the same joy.

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3. His Spiritual Freedom is so different from the complicated, ritualistic prison that entrapped the Pharisees and even Johns disciples. Both Pharisees and Johns disciples were hoping and looking for Messiah.

Think of what a joy it would be to know that every day, Christ’s disciples were able to spend it with their Master, learning from Him, following His paths, hearing Him speak, watching Him act and react in real life situations and being with Him. Jesus says that His new age is a new garment and a new vintage.

He offers no apologies and gives no concessions; but, only asserts triumphantly that it is true. Paul likewise asserts that there is glory in the newness of this fresh covenant. The novelty of it was one of its virtues, so 2 Corinthians 5:16,17 “the new has come” and Isaiah 42:8,9 “I will declare new things.” The Spirit in Hebrews 8:13 is careful to use the term “new,” stating that the old covenant was then obsolete. Like Him, we preach filled with the joy of the new.

The Joy of LoveChrist’s joy is the joy of love. At these stories, Jesus is in Matthew the tax collector’s house (Matthew 9:10) and He and the disciples are reclining at the table with “many tax collectors and sinners.” The Bible in verse 14 says, “then” the disciples of John ask their question, “Why don’t You fast?”

Jesus’s answer is because these disciples you see are “the wedding guests” at the wedding feast. In the context of the passage in Matthew 9, Jesus has already done good (for example, He has called Matthew) and He will continue to do good (for example, restore a girl to life, heal a woman, heal 2 blind men, heal a dumb man and “proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom.”) His generosity of love produces joy. These two virtues, love and joy, are closely linked in Galatians 5:22, for those who have the fruit of the Spirit: Jesus by contrast is filled with the Holy Spirit without measure, John 3:34, so of course has both virtues without limit as well.

The disciples joy is that of receiving His teaching, grace and love from Him in Person every day. Now they can start to pray, “Our Father,” which is a joyful thing. They can hope in life eternal, Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:15, which are also joyful. Now taught by Christ, they know that “all things” of God work together toward a good end, Romans 8:28. They are learning that they can endure tribulation in Romans 5:3. In these teachings, they hear, so to speak, the Bridegroom’s Voice, as mentioned in John 3:29.

Freed from the Old

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Jesus defends His disciples as being free from the Old Testament and Pharisaic customs, even the customs of John, since these are under the Old Law. The religious fervor and insight inaugurated by Christ is a new thing, a new garment, a new vintage even to John’s disciples.

Perhaps some thought that Christ’s doctrine would amount to (at most) an off-shoot or subset of Judaism. Perhaps some thought that His doctrine would become a subset of John’s doctrine. Rather it was an absolutely new thing, greater than a revolution and diverse in its Spirit, Principal and tendency:

a. Spirit because the Holy Spirit is within you, so we no longer look for a Messiah, He has arrived.

b. Principal because Christ, as well as God, is above all and in you all.c. Tendency because Christ loves all, not just some, and commands, “Love as I have loved

you,” which makes no one my enemies and everyone a person I love.

Luke’s Special NoteLuke mentions an item different from Matthew and Mark, which is that there is a lack of communication between the old and new and lack of keeping between the old and new (verse 36). The new, he indicates, will not agree or harmonize with the old. The new is stonger, more elastic, and looks better.

A patched garment is not beautiful. The new garment must be gorgeous, embodying one style and concept. It will not be an eclectic patching of beliefs borrowed from various sources. Where the Old Testamant is a religion of procedures and physical steps, Christ’s garment of the New Testament because of the Spirit becomes a seamless garment of purity and holiness in Christ.

Peculiar to Luke is the language that the damage can be done-not to the old garment—but to the new patch. As Luke indicates “he rends the new,” or as the AV translates it “the new makes a rent” or tears the old. The tearing is caused by the expanding and contracting in the new cloth or by the expanding of the fermentation gas in the skin. Luke is saying that the attempt to push new patches onto old garments will be disastrous.

Consider who would like to place new vintage in old containers. The answer would be admirers of the old religion. Persons who love incense, who like special priests who are different from the congregation, who enjoy the ringing of bells and who want the priests to have special clothes will continue to want the old. But, Jesus came to be recognized as the Great Physician to take you from old sickness into new health and to be Great Shepherd to lead you from the old into the new. Here in these stories, He is now the Groom, the New Garment, and the New Vintage.

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Think of Christ and His Teaching from their point of view. But to the old who wanted no changes, He was a poison, so to speak. He had the impiety, they thought, to show levity, youthful vanity and a young person’s love of change. His doctrine is so different from custom and established beliefs that it is dangerous. Their faith in the old had become a tame lifeless thing; so, they assume that Christ’s teachings can be likewise tamed made pliant to fit into their old religious system. In their minds, they should insist that the new religion be placed into old skins since it wont change that much. The new patch on the old and the old skin would suit nicely and not ruffle too many feathers, so to speak.

In Luke 5:39, Jesus makes a modest appeal to those who love and seek to defer to the old when He mildly says, “And no one having drunk old wine wishes new . . . the old is mild.” There is wisdom Jesus knows in allowing the vintage to mellow and become mild over time.

Tolerate the new, Jesus says to Johns disciples and to the men of Judah, as well as appreciate the merits of the old. But some would not and therefore crucify Him.

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Study 13 – The Lowest Seats + The Pharisee and Tax Collector Luke 14:7-11 and Luke 18:9-14

The Lowest Seats (parable 1)Come Up HigherAt a Sabbath Day feast in the house of an influential wealthy Pharisee, Jesus gave a parable to His fellow guests, noting how they were choosing the chief places.

The aim of these two parables will be that whoever humbles himself will be exalted and whoever exalts himself will be humbled.

Jesus gives the idea that the host take his place at the head of the table, then calls to his guest, “Come up here.” See Proverbs 25:7.

Not Good Manners, but a Doctrine of the KingdomLuke calls this a parable to show that Jesus is talking not about where to sit at a feast but about one’s spiritual life. This makes the parable unique: it speaks about how people should act upon the earth, not how they actually do act.

These persons who will be reclining at the table are not prudently reclining, but rather are actively pursuing the best place to recline. Christ has no intention of giving a lesson on social deportment and social skills.

What He SeesPharisaic action is in full swing: attendees are jockeying for the best place to recline. So notice that what He gives them is an even slyer, craftier means to gratify their ambition and pride. To

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those who would not perceive the parable, He would seem to be only an oddball offering an eccentric story that makes a few people smile.

His parable will never be heard by the proud. Worldly minded people love to believe what men say, about men’s ambition, and they never show weaknesses. His parable will not change social customs for proud people.

But, by firsthand knowledge, He reminds Himself of another culture quite different than this one, where humility is honored, where pride is put down, where persons love each other. This is heaven, a place He knows very well, from personal experience.

A Wedding In the parable, He stresses that this is a wedding and not another type of feast. Heaven is the marriage feast, as in Matthew 22:1 and 25:1. The word “glory” in the closing sentence is suggestive, as in “you will have glory before all your fellow guests.” This then is a glimpse of heaven.

The Pharisee and Tax Collector (parable 2)Luke 18:9-14

In this illustrative example, the same spirit in the first parable is present, not at a feast but in religion. Jesus cautions that Divine Judgment is there, unseen by men. Luke calls this story a parable, so we are including it in this study.

Confidence The Bible says, “the Pharisee having taken up his position, prayed . . .” This implied his confidence. He knows where he should be placed and he has a position (a pew if you will). He

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prays “thank you . . . I am not like other people.” This indicates that he thinks of himself and his class as better than other people. He says, “I give tithes of all I acquire.” Does one’s giving make one holy? Be careful.

By contrast, how tenuous and timid is the tax collector: he “stands,” as though apologizing for being present. He is “far off” in the location that no one holy would want. He stands by the back door, so to speak. Jesus in the Bible text speaks this to “certain persons who trusted in themselves.” Isn’t trust and faith what the Bible is all about? Be careful.

Hope and MercyThe tax man though he is a Jew, is to the Pharisee as a heathen. The Truth Jesus provides is that there is hope in God even for heathens who are objects of contempt to the self-righteous. The tax man is justified by God’s grace, as Paul states in Ephesians 2, “by grace through faith.” All people then are on equal terms since “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.

Judgment Silently IssuedThe tax man goes to his home justified, not the Pharisee. Christ does not indicate that either man’s statements are false: they pass unquestioned. The Pharisee has virtues of justice, purity and not extorting and does good. The tax man does not. In fact, the Pharisee fasts more than the Old Law states, since the requirement is once per year on the day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27 “you shall afflict your souls”) but he fasts twice each week instead. He perceives this extra work to make him extra special before God.

The Pharisee judges himself ok. He is self-complacent, He “prays with himself,” that is within himself or unto himself. Had he been leading a public prayer, one wonders if he would have been less caustic of others and more self-deprecating. Perhaps, in a public prayer, he would have praised himself less. But in this private prayer, he shows God (and us) his heart, namely that:

He believes the rest of the world is bad. He credits himself as being good.

The tax man standing in his timid, abject way, calls himself literally “THE sinner,” as if sin were the what he is known by. He beats his breast. Under an overwhelming sense of guilt he does not lift his eyes to heaven. It appears his confession is true and his demeanor shows contrition, sorrow and repentance.

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The importance of the Judgment concept is that one is nearer to God not because he perceives himself to be just but because God pronounces him just. “Justified” refers to God’s judgment. We have no indication that the tax man went home feeling justified or thinking he is justified or favored by God. In Judgment, God may not think of me as I think of myself. What I feel to be true may not be true. The Pharisee may have gone to his house with a heavy burden lifted, feeling well pleased by his actions. By contrast, for all we know, the tax man may have gone to his home anxious and with a heavy heart.

The lesson of Judgment is that salvation does not depend on your moods as they change from hour to hour. The sun still exists, when it is covered by clouds or when it is not. When Paul states, “I know Whom I have believed,” this should be our knowledge as well. Paul will never state, “I feel Whom I have believed.”

Judgment is Pronounced on What Grounds The tax man’s self-dissatisfaction had more sincerity than the Pharisee’s complacency. In truth, “God desires truth in the inward parts,” as Psalm 51:6 states. But both men as they prayed said the truth.

To be pleased with one’s self goes further than making statements of how one lives right. Self-satisfaction implies that one has judged his spiritual condition and determined it to be adequate --- that everything is as it should be. In other words, when I come to God, have I a long list of confessions which I feel constrained to make? A worshipper offers thanksgiving out of a sense of God’s undeserved, overwhelming, gracious thoughtfulness and care, His Grace --- and when the worshipper has done wrong (and what day can he say he has lived perfectly?), then he is particularly sensing God’s Mercy.

This makes prayers of thanksgiving fit in combination with prayers of confession, too, as in: “Thank you, Father, that you have preserved me from extortion, but I confess that I

have coveted others’ food even though I have not taken it.” Or, “Thank you, Father, that I am just, but when I think about it, I confess I was not as

generous as I should be.” Or, “Thank you, Father, that I am not an adulterer, but I confess that I have thought many

wicked things in my heart, as You know.” “I thank you, Father, that I am not like my fellow worshippers, but I confess that I cannot

flatter myself that, if I had been in their circumstances, I would have done better than they. Forgive my pride.”

“I thank you, Father, for my health, but deplore that I feel such little compassion for the sick, and even the sin-sick. Please forgive me.”

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“I thank you, Father, that I can worship You each week, unlike some of my fellow-worshippers, but confess that what I owe You each minute of each day is far more than what I offer You.”

Closer to God with Confession Consider whether the Pharisee made any confession at all: be sure to mark down each confession you read about in the text. I find none coming from the Pharisee. Then consider whether God wants us to confess our sins. This lack of self-awareness makes the Pharisee self-deceived: for him, good enough is good enough. God does not seek general self-condemnations; but, where there is sin, there should be specific self-humiliation and confession of that sin.

But one has to be alive and awake, so to speak, to confess his sin. The tax man is a sinner, to be sure, but he is an honest sinner who seeks forgiveness and God’s Spirit. How different he is from the other man who boasts of his goodness. The other man, the Pharisee, is dead to his own sins, but is fully alive to the shortcomings of others, and the whole world. With a broad sweep, the Pharisee has stated that all persons, except himself and his associates, are guilty of gross sin.

The Pharisee is a comparer. Compared to others, he measures himself as ok. How easy it is for him to be a saint when the whole world, he thinks, is filthy. This is a cheap method, to always seek to be just a bit less wicked than the culture around him. Better Christ says to be light shining forth in darkness. The Pharisee remains in darkness so that his grey dullness will appear light by comparison.

The Courage to Humble Self

Christ clearly states the reason for Judgment: “Everyone who exalts himself will be abased; and, everyone that humbles himself will be exalted.” Consider that, to the extent that a person praising himself is hated by you, even so God hates it more so. Psalm 138:6, “Though the LORD be high, yet He has respect unto the lowly; but, the proud he knows afar off.”

God then forgives those who acknowledge their sins, and He imputes sin to those who deny them. This is because He wants to exalt abased persons: God scorns scorners and “gives grace to the humble,” 1 Peter 5:5,6 and James 4:6-7. “Save the afflicted and bring down high looks,” Psalm 18:27. “For Your Name’s sake, pardon my iniquity for it is great,” Psalm 25:11. The Psalmist rather than binding his inner self to his sins, confesses them thereby separating himself from them, showing that although they are his sins, they are not part of himself.

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In German, the word for humility is dermuth and the root word “muth” may be derived from the Hebrew meaning “like,” as when God makes man in His Likeness (Gen 1:27). We are all alike as humans; to perceive this that we are like God and that together as human beings we are like-brothers and Adam’s like-descendants takes humility. The courageous will humble themselves to say, “I have not lived like God would expect; I have failed my own best expectations; I have sinned.”

Judgment’s Two UsesFirst, Judgment reminds us that God saves, not man working solo. In this parable, the sincere and humble man truly succeeds; but, this does not mean that sincerity alone and humility and brokenness alone will save him. An elephant with a flea on its ear crosses a swinging bridge: on the other side, the flea turns around and remarks, “Wow, we really made that bridge swing, didn’t we?” So it is with God and us. We are saved by God in His Grace, which is Jesus’s point in the parable --- This work is God’s Judgment, not man’s.

With that said, be careful to maintain good works, Titus 3:8, and in that work remember that you are the flea, not the elephant.

Second, Judgment emboldens us sinners to hope in God’s Mercy. The behavior of the tax man shows the great crisis inside him, in his soul. Christ wants him – and us – in our bruised and smoking condition (Isaiah 42) to find rest in Him (Matthew 11). He is our firm Hope. God, because of His Deep Sympathies, does not cast down the penitent and “the LORD is near to those who have a broken heart and a crushed spirit,” Psalm 34:18.

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Study 14 – The Great Feast Luke 14:16-24

In hearing Jesus comment at the feast in the Pharisee’s house about the resurrection of the just, one guest comments, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.” This is when Jesus gives this parable.

Dinner This word “Great Supper” in King James translation is the sabbath meal. Note that this appears to occur in the daytime, because of the first two excuses given, which cannot occur at night.

“With one consent” they declined the invitation. Idea is that they decline “with some such word,” or using similar words they all said I cannot come.

“None shall taste of My Supper,” Jesus says teaching to those present how little they cared about the Kingdom and how others were destined to come in, not they. This care you expressed, He says, is something I would like to explain. I want to explain how little you really care for the privilege you seem to highly to value. Jeremiah 23:36 says similarly, “The burden of the LORD (which they treated as trivial – jb), you will never mention to me.” When one loves God, it hurts to hear fake spirituality from someone who should know better or value it more highly.

The Company He Keeps – Hungry PeopleThe wider purpose besides holding up the mirror to self-deceived piety is to explain why the Christ often keeps very different company than those pious Pharisees. It is one thing to teach the Kingdom upon streets in the city, but another entirely to teach outside the comfort and safety of the city in busy dangerous highways or in the hedges by the road, such as on Wadmalaw Island, where low-life types dwell. Christ is—to the chagrin of the Pharisees—teaching publicans and sinners.

In this parable is both the censure of the Pharisee’s smugness and His self-defense to live with and serve the downtrodden. The Kingdom is not for the full, but for the hungry. God has sent forth the invitation to all saying, “Come to the feast.” This is the feast in the Kingdom of Grace, as is shown as follows:

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1. The Host has been gracious to hold a great feast. What a gracious expensive event this will be.

2. The Host invites enough guests to fill up His House from those within the city. This is gracious behavior to not invite just a few.

3. The Host, on getting so many regrets to His 1st invitation, sends a 2nd invitation to a different group, who live on streets and lanes in the city. He is gracious to the second group to host them.

4. The Host not satisfied, invites a 3rd group from the highways and hedges outside the city. He is all-gracious when He invites so many.

5. He explains that He wants His House to be filled, which is a gracious attitude to have.

Surprising, Improbable RSVPsNote that all are invited to the home of “one of the chief Pharisees,” and in fact many appeared to have kept that appointment, showing they appreciated this real-life invitation. Contrast this to what happens in Jesus parable, where the host is turned down repeatedly, without exception.

Notice that there are 2 invitations to the 1st group. First, the host “bade many”, and second, at the time of feasting (when all was prepared), he sent his servants to say to them who are invited, “the Kingdom is near.”

One can think of the excuses then, as just pretexts to hide their real reasons. They could have upon received the first invitation of two, had saved-the-date and marked it on their calendar as an important event: they could have arranged their schedules to accommodate this important event. Did they think that by not being honest and by giving excuses that they would be showing him respect? Would there have been greater respect by telling their host, “No, we will not.” In the same way, notice that when they received that first of two invitations, THEN they proceeded to make other arrangements. This shows their indifference. The did not save-the-date because if was not important to them. These men accepted God’s invitation in letter but not in spirit, who said to God, “’I will go, sir,’ but did not,” Matthew 21:30.

Reasons to Not ParticipateThe excuses made are not making an exhaustive list but are instructive. They could not participate because of: a) possessions, b) business and c) social ties. These three things do not account for all the ungodliness in the world; but, they are indicative of the sorts of excuses that men will give for not entering the Kingdom of God. Notice that these persons are preoccupied.

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What fills your heart so that you will not come to the feast – a sense of unworthiness that fills your thinking, a sick relative you care for who takes up your time, preconceived opinions of how religion should work, a general malaise. There was an apathy for Christ and an outright hostility that would keep these persons from the Kingdom. Perhaps all these excuses can be summed up as the wisdom of this world.

They did not participate because they had a fixed fleshly idea about God, because they cared for status and ambition, because they preoccupied themselves with money, power, an ostentatious sense of their good deeds or a sense of their worthlessness. When Christ came to them with a new set of ideas, they showed no hunger. For example, “the fool has said in his heart, ‘No God,’” in Psalm 14:1, sounds like this kind of person. He says in effect, “I am so stuffed with my own ideas and preconceptions and preoccupations, that there is no room to take on God as well.”

Success among Empty Vagrants and VagabondsChrist’s greatest success will be among the morally empty who hungered for righteousness. They are depicted in the second wave of invitations to the city’s streets and lanes, and then later in the third wave of invitations to those in the highways and hedges outside the city.

The invitation which started with those in the city went eventually to those who were outside, so in effect “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” This invitation is not a consolation prize. Rather, God had always wanted His Invitation to be to all the sons of Adam. Consider how Christ went to the pious and righteous in the city and was rejected, then went to the unrighteous and heathen outside the city (Samaritan woman, for example) and was wildly successful. The Samaritan woman was thirsty for living water, while in Jerusalem, the scribes and priests, wise and learned men, were not. Was it possible that the scribes and priests could not accept His Good News because He taught that the gospel was universal and graciously given to all: this invitation they could not accept or tolerate. So the invitation goes out to a second and third group, who were hungry to attend.

There is a place for the homeless hungering for righteousness and holiness and to rest reclining on a couch of purity.

Yet There is RoomSo poignant are the words, “yet there is room” and “that My House may be filled.” Notice that the servant indicates that there is still room available. The master wants no empty spaces, and commands, “go . . . compel them to come in, that My House may be filled.” This host is motivated by his enthusiastic hospitality.

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Think well on the concept that with This Host, there is solely the motivation of profound Love. The difficulty to getting the guests in will be there lack of belief that such a feast would ever be for them. So, the Host says, “Compel them to come in” because they may be stuck in incredulity. Like the person on the phone offering me “a free vacation for your entire family to the Bahamas,” perhaps His invitation would be suspected as well. So the servants must grab them and bring them in. Such surprise, wonder and delight are expressed in I John 3:3ff, as “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us . . .” are worth our reading once again. Incredible? In a way, yes. But so much like our Father to compel us to come to the feast for all things are ready.

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Study 15 – The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37

A Lawyer Asked - What Virtue SavesThe original question he asks is “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Another question asked, “Who is my neighbor,” is also responded to; but, this is a subset of the initial wider question, namely, what is the supreme duty, by the performance of which a man may hope to attain eternal life.

The moral of the story is that love in action toward a neighbor sanctifies or makes holy. This is poignant because the persons in the story are the priest and the levite, both holy men by profession and occupation. The Samaritan by contrast is of a different culture, so to speak, and not expected to be engaged in truly holy activity. The story will compare apparent holiness with genuine holiness.

This story tells how God values love in action as a high and noble good. “Everyone that loves is born of God and knows God,” 1 John 4:7b (even a Samaritan).

It is easy to see why this parable is included in Part 2 of this study, the parabolic teachings about God’s Grace. Jesus is not describing Himself in the parable but an “unholy” Samaritan; and yet, Jesus is the Supreme Example of the virtue of love in action when need arises. As you study this parable if you will consider His Love as you consider the Samaritan’s love, you will broaden your understanding of the natural beauty and pathos of the actions taken to relieve suffering.

The 3 Contrasted Figures – Arriving by Chance – Acting with HeartJesus will offer three persons to skillfully and carefully portray the moral. Notice that Our Lord says that “by chance” a priest went down that way. Fortuitously, as Jesus prefers to illustrate in the story, the 3 turn up in a lonely place in sequence at approximately when the poor traveler had experienced hardship. This helps drive home Jesus’s intention, for His hearers to consider how ironic that the two holy men arrived first, but it took the unholy Samaritan to at last nobly help.

Our ability to help comes from the heart, so that instances will arise quickly without benefit of foreknowledge, where we are called upon to be a good neighbor or not. Consider your work as a servant. Each day you are looking for opportunities to assist. Do not be blind to the grim

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or perilous needs in front of you: keep a heart of pity ready to act on benign impulses to assist “a certain man,” which literally means “a human being” in need.

Love will act in uncommon ways that are stronger than fear and self-preservation. Love sacrifices and gives without calculating the expenditure of time, pains or money: this sounds like and is the love of God Himself. The reward of love is the blessedness of doing actions that God would do and commend.

The Wounded ManThe man is in desperate condition, robbed of his goods and clothes, then heartlessly abandoned for dead. The appropriation of his clothes and the fact that his robbers have wounded him describes their violence to forcibly confiscate everything he has and not leave him to tell who his assailants were.

He has no money to bind his wounds, no funds to pay the innkeeper for food and lodging. Love rises to the adversity. The greater the need, the more love seeks to be generous. While poverty is not the wounded man’s usual condition, he is in desperate need now.

The Inhumanity of the Priest and Levite – from the HeartTheir actions are only briefly described. They are acting quite naturally. These holy men acted exactly as the world would act – passing by without allowing pity and benevolence the opportunity to work. Jesus states of both that they “passed in the opposite direction.” Clearly in the face of such an obstacle, this was the only place to pass. Jesus does not focus on their direction of travel as much as on their avoidance of the wounded traveler, how they gave him a wide berth and hurried on from the place. They acted unsurprisingly.

Such inaction would not necessarily have come with pangs of conscience or a feeling that they were acting monstrously. Excuses are easy inventions. There are reasons I cannot help you when you are in need and ask me:

I am late

I am different from you

I am engaged in holy business

I don’t have money

I don’t like you

I just helped someone yesterday so completed my quota of helping

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I have more important things to do

Someone else can help him

He looks like he is beyond helping – Nothing to do here

He may have been harmed because he deserved it

He is not worth helping

He may harm me (or he harmed me in the past)

He could be a comrade of the robbers

The robbers could come back and hurt me

There are many plausible, maybe even “prudent,” excuses for not helping. If you want an excuse, then one will always be ready for you. Why didn’t you encourage the brethren in that other congregation during their special series of studies? Why didn’t you visit the widows in their hospital rooms? Why didn’t you provide a get-well card to the sick child? What was your reason not to welcome the new folks?

The Good SamaritanHe is the joy of every traveler, sufferer, wanderer and outcast. The Good Samaritan is imprinted on our hearts and changes our consciences.

Moved with compassion, the Samaritan feels pity. Maybe the other two did too, but they had just enough pity—or revulsion—to run away and not draw nearer. He draws near to serve promptly without hesitation.

He does not stop helping until the work is done. He does not allow other pressing matters to take him away. Consider his specific actions and how he is prompt, thorough, self-denying and patient to the extreme.

He works with tact, doing things in their proper order, first attending to the wounds with wine and oil. Second, he conveys the man to the place where he can recover. Third, he makes himself answerable for all charges associated with the convalescence. There is no sentimental syrupiness in the story. For doing his good work, the Samaritan gets no fanfare or parade. Samaritan works with good sense, without anyone except the innkeeper knowing.

Who is My Neighbor?

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The one in need is my neighbor, says Jesus. Neighborhood then becomes virtual, not necessarily in my personal subdivision block of houses. My neighborhood has now become wherever human beings exist in need. I am a neighbor to him when I do for him as his case demands.

Fascinating to note that I am his neighbor and he is mine, too. Jesus commands to the lawyer and to me, “Go and do likewise.” No more do I want to quibble with Jesus about what I theoretically should do but haven’t: now, I know I should act with love toward the next person in need that I encounter.

What Virtue Saves?“Without holiness no man will see the Lord,” Hebrews 12:14. In the parable, two types of holiness are contrasted – the genuine holiness of the Samaritan compared to the fake holiness of the pious men. Piety without morality/righteousness does not save. It is righteous to love. Love your neighbor. God loves you. Love is expressed in kind actions for your family and friends. Love.

Seeking to be holy without love is spurious, as counterfeit as the priest and Levite’s holiness. They are inhumane because they do not love. They do not “have mercy on him,” Luke 10:33. Jesus reminds us that God desires Mercy and not sacrifice.

Jesus does not state to the lawyer, “This do (have love and mercy) and thou shalt live,” because love without a faith that takes action and obeys God, is not sufficient to save. Faith is indispensable, Hebrews 11:6, to pleasing God. Rather, He makes clear that a person who loves God will show loving actions to his brother and neighbor in need.

To consider the love of God in Christ is an easy jump to make, comparing the Samaritan to God and the broken neighbor to ourselves. The difficulty is in giving up our freedoms to now see ourselves as the Samaritan and our neighbors in need as the broken neighbor.

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Study 16 – The Unjust Steward Luke 16:1-9

Using Resources for SelfThe parable uses the same word in 16:1 “waste” as was used in 15:13. This steward is truly an unjust waster. What makes it worse, he is wasting what belongs to another; unlike the prodigal who wastes what is his own. How repulsive is his behavior.

In chapter 15, what was lost has been found; but, in chapter 16, the evangelism continues with the lesson that resources can be used to benefit the hearers.

Still, one is repulsed by this waster, as one was repulsed by the parables of the selfish neighbor (a reference to God) and the unjust judge (again a parable about God). In addition, Christ refers to Himself as a thief in His teaching.

In this parable, is Christ teaching a low moral lesson, that it is prudent to make use of money when we are in trouble? Is that corrupt message truly the teaching of Christ? By no means. Christ’s messages are noble, generous and unworldly.

The wasters are the scribes and Pharisees who wasted the Old Law by offering the people less than what God intended.

Using Resources in View of EternityThe one lesson shown is the prudence of the steward using resources available to him to benefit him most. The other lesson shows how gracious and beneficent is the Master. Combining the two shows Christ’s thought and purpose. Where chapter 15 is regarding only what the Shepherd, Homemaker and Father do (what God does), chapter 16 shows what man’s duty is—even the evil man. His duty is to show kindness to others. It also shows the kindness of the rich man (God).

The Owner Hires an Objectionable StewardThe Rich Man (God) has left into the steward’s hands (the scribes and Pharisees hands) the administration of his whole estate. This steward is unfair: his Master, the Rich Man, is aware. The unjust steward’s job is about to come to an end. Consider that if the unfaithful servant had

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been a faithful servant, then Christ’s story would not have had a purpose. The steward must be evil for the story to make its moral points.

The Rich Man is aware of the unjust steward’s actions, so indicates , “this that I hear . . .” God has heard. In fact, the prophets like Ezekiel (Ezekiel 23:2), Malachi (Malachi 2:8) and Christ Himself (Matthew 23:1-5) have spoken against this steward, so to speak. “Render the account” is what the Rich Man (God) expects; this happens now since Jesus has arrived. They must account for themselves before God in Christ. Ultimately each of us gives an account of himself before God.

What can an unsavory character teach us?

First, that dismissal is due to his unjust nature. Second, that it is prudent to make provision for the time to come (the new covenant to come). Such provision is by the grace of God.

The Rich Owner has planned to remove the steward. He simply wants an accounting now of how much has been misappropriated and what is left. And, for the steward, he wants an opportunity to provide for his needs in the coming days after he is dismissed.

The steward’s future bad event (his dismissal) is laid to heart. He honestly considers himself too broken and effete to complete honest labor. “I cannot dig,” he says. He is too proud to beg. “To beg, I am ashamed.” Here is a man who can neither work or beg to stay alive – too weak to work effectively and too self-honored to let another Man save him. One could think of his life after being dismissed as either his living under the New Covenant or his living in Heaven. Either will represent a profound change to him.

The Rich Man’s Goodness and Beneficence will in the end commend the evil steward’s wise actions – but of course the Rich Man makes clear the point that the evil steward is unjust/evil.

“I Know What I Shall Do!”How will he be prepared for the change to come? The evil steward at last knows the answer.

The word “know” is not a long standing habitual knowledge, but an answer that comes to him suddenly, out of the blue. His plan is to do his creditors a favor so that when he is turned out of the Rich Man’s house, he can receive favors from the creditors (the people of Israel) – not as a beggar, but as one entitled to receive favors from them.

He is a knave toward his Master; but, is a kindly person to the creditors (the Israelites he serves as a teacher/leader of the Law).

Christ is teaching the high worth of acts of kindness toward people in preparation for the evil day (the day of their dismissal from service, so could be the day of their death for example). A “bath” is about 10 gallons and a “cor” is about 14 bushels. These are large amounts owed. So

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the evil steward takes advantage of the situation by establishing his steep discounts—without his Master’s permission—and is able to then pay back a large sum to the Rich Owner, but he cannot pay back all that is owed.

This action makes the steward appear to be a benefactor to each debtor. They all appreciate him because he marks down Truth, so to speak.

The unjust steward calls all the debtors together in one place. This way they are ALL implicated in his scheme. No debtor will inform against the other ones. Briskly, he hands each his bill and tells him what to write down (what is forgiven and what debt remains). Even today, preachers or church leaders mark down the Truth when they offer discount things like: marriages simply dissolved for any reason, the Lord’s Supper not observed according to the New Testament pattern, singing to one another psalms hymns and spiritual songs—and playing instruments—to one another, and creating theatrical events to become the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, rather than the preaching and teaching of the gospel.

The Rich Man’s PraiseThe steward is commended for his activity, and this praise comes with a grain of salt, so to speak. The steward’s being evil is not commended, but rather his diligent activity. This abruptly ends the parable. What is commendable about the unjust steward?

He told himself the truth and took account of his own need, which was great. With this accounting, he accurately appraised the necessity to make provision against his future requirements (Rev 3:18)

He used what was at hand (what he could control) to make provision for himself He acted briskly, with all possible speed. This was important to him, so he did

not linger.

All people should do these things regarding eternal life to come. Take honest stock of their predicament, use the Word of God at hand for analysis of self, and make such urgent steps as needed to assure future provision. This is commendable before God.

The evil rogue is not praised for his sin, but for his prudent handling of his own interests. Jesus Himself calls the evil man an “unjust steward,” so He will not praise his evil qualities; but, will note his prudent deeds.

Application by Christ HimselfThen Christ says, making the application, “And I say to you . . .” Here is the summation that we need to hear.

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“The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light,” He explains.

Taking the children of light at their best, they are inferior to how the children of this world live. The children of this world help themselves unceasingly; they are self-interested self-preservationists about temporal things. The children of this world act more quickly upon their earthly interests, than the children of light (scribes and Pharisees) act upon their eternal interests.

The children of light fall short of God’s calculation – that is, they are not good administrators of the Old Covenant—and they are not able to even encourage the debtors (the people) to pay part of what they owe, not all of what they owe (we all owe giving complete, true reverence to God. We owe Him the daily sacrifice of ourselves in service). God knows the children of light’s lack of interest to make things right.

Unrighteous Mammon“I say to you make to yourselves friends with the mammon of unrighteousness.” In what ways is wealth unrighteous?

Wealth deceives its owner into believing that it is his Wealth tempts him to trust in riches Riches foster a false sense that these offer happiness and security, when they really rob

him of dependence on God Riches estrange him from his former friends Wealth surrounds him with fake friends

In short, wealth is unrighteous because wealth deceives. “When it shall fail” means that ultimately world’s assets and treasures fail and cannot continue after the life of the wealthy person.

The Jews have not paid God what they owe. But they are glad to provide what little they think they can spare. Have we paid all to God that we owe? Or are we discounting the Truth to ourselves and others, seeking with unrighteous mammon to save ourselves in the day of trouble.

ONE CONCLUDING REMARK ---- God commends the steward in the ways in which he could perceive his professional failings with honesty and quickly seek to correct them, avoiding future earthly disaster. But, Christ’s lesson through the parable is entirely spiritual.

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Study 17 – The Rich Man and Lazarus + The Unmerciful Servant Luke 16:19-31 and Matthew 18:23-35

What God HatesThese stories tell what God hates. In both, men show no mercy.

With the Rich Man and Lazarus, in Luke 16, the rich man becomes friends with unrighteous mammon to his ruin. Unlike in the previous parable, Jesus with this story will not indicate what it means. The story speaks for itself dramatically and without need for explanation.

LazarusWith this story, a man’s name is mentioned. Lazarus is the Latin transliteration of the Hebrew word Eleazar, meaning “God my help.” His name is important because of the dialogue that Abraham and the rich man have later. Lazarus, whom God helps, has no need for another Helper. The rich man knows Lazarus, since he refers to him by name from Hades: this implies that he has seen Lazarus’s needs and refuses to act. Such turning of the head makes him inexcusable and inhuman: his lack of love will damn him.

If we can bear it, Lazarus is not representing one person but a type of persons laid at our door who need help.

The Rich ManThe moral inclination of the rich man is not shown. Rather the text shows he lived a life of princely splendor and luxury, faring sumptuously. Nothing is said about whether he was greedy regarding food or whether he lived idly. The text does not indicate that he was hard-hearted toward the poor. This lack of other specific information accentuates in the story his unsympathetic heart toward Lazarus.

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Notice that Lazarus “was laid at his gate,” meaning that Lazarus was a person with whom the rich man would have to pass by and deal with or not. Lazarus represents opportunity for the rich man. This obtrusive, in-your-face, urgent opportunity is almost inescapable. And yet consider that the rich man is able to turn away from it nonetheless.

The rich man is not a monster. Lazarus is placed at the door so that he can help him and provide crumbs that fall from his table. The rich man is the average of us today, self-centered, living with alms giving but not bearing the miseries that the poor suffer each day. The rich man has the opportunity to act as the Samaritan did for the wounded man.

Note what the average person should be doing for the poor – Deuteronomy 15:7,8; Isaiah 58:7; Proverbs 3:27. This is much more than providing them table scraps and includes feeding the hungry, opening your home to the needy stranger, giving warm clothes to those who have none.

Lazarus condition – the dogs licking his ulcers—shows how awful was his chronic condition, and how they could approach him without fear. He died as he had lived, a beggar. One wonders what happened to his carcass, and whether it was buried or simply thrown into a ditch.

“Thou in thy lifetime received thy good things,” explains how the rich man’s happiness was entirely spent on himself, and he took pains to assure that his woeful fellow human had none. The rich man had made friends of unrighteous mammon.

A Great ChasmThe story provides clarity about what happens when we die. It is Truth since it is spoken by Jesus. This can generate in us a raft of questions: what is the great chasm? Why is it fixed? For how long? Can it be bridged somehow? In what way is love impossible in the place of torment? In what way is repentance impossible there? These are questions not meant to be answered. Rather Abraham makes the assertion that there is no communication between the two states. This statement hammers home Jesus’s point, that this is a grave situation, no pun intended, and that in the next life those who are not now kind will have no future place with those who have been.

Jesus gives no living Jewish person an excuse to not learn of God. Instead of forfeiting bliss, Jews He says should read and attend Moses and the Prophets. The rich man’s words are not, ”Had I only known, I would have acted otherwise,” but rather, only words of regret. Now he wants relief from the one to whom he gave no relief in life (Lazarus). As in life, he is concerned with fulfilling his comforts or lack of them.

Still, he says he wants his brothers to avoid this place. To this, Abraham replies, “If they will not hear Moses and the Prophets,” then there is no value if one were to rise from the dead. The warped, wrong-crafted mind refuses to understand that God’s Word is all one needs to

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comprehend God, His Will and His Law. Like the rich man in his lifetime, he is blind to the suffering around him.

The concept of afterlife was mentioned by Moses, Job and the Prophets, but clarified further in this passage by Christ. While it will not answer all questions, it affords the clarity needed to assure work to not enter that place. One key message of Christ in this story is to listen to the words of the Bible, or as He says, “they have Moses and the Prophets.”

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The Unmerciful Servant (parable 2)Matthew 18:23-35The moral of the parable is stated in the last sentence He provides to His disciples. This is the conclusion of the conversation Jesus has with them about who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. He says it to persons like us, who are prone to do wrong, then to be unforgiving towards wrong done by others.

Jesus will not allow his disciples to offend the weak, but rather to learn to behave when they received offenses. His teaching is to be meek and merciful, and to be good and ready to forgive.

The spirit of love will overcome evil with good. Our forgiveness Christ tells Peter is to be times without number. Your forgiveness will be as numerable as the wrongdoer’s revenges. Never weary pardoning offenses.

Citizens of the kingdom find it odious and criminal to not forgive. In the spirit of Christ, they will forgive even those who offend them.

Tone of the ParableSeverity in tone is observable in the parable. Listen to the words, “His lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due to him. So likewise shall My Heavenly Father do unto you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.” The reason is because Jesus speaks here to offending disciples, His own circle of companions, future apostles and those who will be charged with the well-being of the soon-to-be-founded Church. Since He is leaving earth soon, His chosen ones only will be His representatives to the world. How great will be the burden on them to always be forgiving. How often will they be offended. How tempted will they be to not forgive.

This parable then, encourages them and us to heroic counsel and stern warning, so we can understand what is at stake. You represent God. Hold high that lofty standard when offended.

“Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” The

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little ones are those who do not have the faith or experience that the disciples have. Careful, disciples, that you love those little, weak ones and forgive them when they stumble.

Persons who are not Christians will forgive. But only Christians will forgive because they themselves have been forgiven by a loving God and know that they are alive because of Divine Mercy.

Ten Thousand TalentsA talent is about 75 pounds in weight so depending on whether this was silver or gold it would be costly nonetheless. You can reasonably think of this as millions of dollars. All men’s indebtedness to God is huge. Each man’s indebtedness to his fellow man is also of value, but this is represented as 100 denarii or a few dollars.

How easily could the future apostles have become harsh, merciless tyrants, lording the heritage of God like popes and cardinals over their earthly kingdoms. But they won’t be, when they take to heart that their Gracious, Magnanimous LORD “abundantly pardons,” Isaiah 55:7.

Sell Him, His Wife and His ChildrenRoman law allowed this payment for debts. The Old Covenant was rigorous – Exodus 23:3; Leviticus 25:39, 47; Amos 2:6; Amos 8:6. In contrast to this the free pardon of the “loan,” because this is the literal meaning of the word in the text, shows how unusual and unlikely is the Mercy of God.

One is tempted to declare that the concept of sell-him-and-his-family is altogether lawful, while the forgiveness of the debt shows how Mercy triumphs over judgment and how Grace came by Jesus Christ. As Galatians 3 shows, how clearly the Old Law is our teacher to bring us to Christ: we understand the indebtedness we owe, so we can appreciate the forgiveness in Christ.

But when His own disciples are fussing with one another about who is greatest, He sees the need as a Good Shepherd to point them to His Way. The great debtor forgiven straightaway meets a fellow-servant, who owes him a petty debt. In a truculent manner he grabs him and demands immediate payment. What he does is literally to seize him by the throat. Unmoved by the exact words he had just used with his Master, he brutally drags him to prison, there to stay until he has paid the paltry sum.

Is it possible that I am under Grace and still harbor anger and unforgiveness to my brothers? Do I arise from the communion table only to act angrily toward my brother who offended or harmed me? Am I that hard and unmerciful?

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Pardon RevokedThe great debtor calls the petty debtor “wicked,” because he could. For these reasons, the great debtor’s pardon is revoked. He is remitted to the jailers, who are termed his tormentors. Christ’s intense, strong language provokes a response in us.

The sentence given has been stern. It is also equitable and just. “So also shall My Heavenly Father do unto you, if you forgive not everyone his brother from your hearts.” Christ could have called God, the Judge of all the earth, but He does not. He is their Father, an endearing term. The Judge did not forgive them, so to speak, but His Father. Christ and His Father are One on this thinking.

Just because God is a Father and motivated at all times by love, He will abhor meanness of spirit and mercilessness in action.

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Part Three – Parables of Judgment

Study 18 – Children in the Marketplace Matthew 11: 16-19 and Luke 7:31-35

The Generation Judging ChristThis generation will judge that it would not be the Christ but other Rabbis that would lead them. Later, they will declare, “not this Man, but Barabbas.”

In this eleventh chapter of Matthew, Jesus will describe the moral quality of John the Baptist, then that of the Jews and last the moral character of Himself. John the Baptist is referred to as the great prophet yet is less than the least in the Kingdom of God. Of Christ Himself, He says that He is despised of wise ones and accepted by babies, but that the ones who despise Him cannot live without Him. He says that He is the way to the knowledge of the Father and that their contempt of Him does not harm Him because He knows He has a Father who knows and loves Him and has committed the sovereignty of the future into His Hands.

Of the Jewish people, He will give this similitude about the spirit of their time. “They are like children.”

Second ChildhoodVictorians called one’s old age and weakness his time of “dotage,” meaning feebleness and silly mindedness. This is a second childhood, only because the enfeebled relative acts more like a child than a mature adult. Mentally, he is quick to be distracted, peevish, playing but not

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working, complaining, feeling hurt or upset for no cause, demanding that others play the game they prefer at a time they want, and not thinking clearly about actions and consequences.

This is the generation during Christ’s life – where their senility is close by and death is not far off. Blind to their plight, they could focus no further than their own interests. No wonder they had no need for John the Baptist or Jesus. Both great prophets were interesting to hear about and see, but not worthy of their esteem.

The Two Prophets Think of the two prophets of this time. Each was powerful, hand-picked representatives of God Himself: one preparing the way for Messiah and the other being Messiah Himself. And each was unpopular. John wore austere clothes and preached the need for repentance, so it would have been great, the children thought, to have a prophet less severe. When they observed Jesus, the see Someone Who is genial, and was seen eating, drinking and dressing as other people. He was kind to sinners, but stern toward holy people.

Neither prophet was tame, or half austere and half genial, or mediocre. Because of their character, both were offensive. John was too gloomy preaching, “repent repent;” he was a madman, they said. At the other end of the spectrum, they said Jesus was too profligate, enjoying the company of people; He too was a madman, they said. Both were intolerable so would be eliminated.

Against these two prophets were varying and disparate groups of Herodians, Sadducees, Pharisees. This generation was united only in their hatred of the movement led by Jesus and supported by John.

Wisdom is Justified by Her Works and ChildrenThis generation was playing at marriages and funerals, all the while slandering Christ and John. But, Christ declares that, “They said such things about John and Me, and of course We are justified by true wisdom.”

John came and was mistreated. The same occurred to Jesus. Both were rejected by their generation for superficially opposite reasons – this one was too somber and That One was too joyful. But One God sent both prophets and their wisdom was perceived by a small number of persons.

These few persons who learned of Christ and received His Insights well are the works of Wisdom. They justify wisdom. Wisdom is justified in all the diverse ways of working.

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Wisdom is seen in both the many varied works of Christ and John to assist and help people find the Way to God.

Yet this generation esteemed their poor opinion of Christ, remaining unconvinced of their sin and Christ’s righteousness, keeping only the prophetic prospect of the calamity of wrath within the first century, from which both John and Jesus would gladly have led them.

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Study 19 – The Barren Fig Tree Luke 13:6-9

Reinforcing the WarningThis parable’s purpose is to enforce the dire warning, “Unless you repent, you will also perish.” The unfruitful tree, Israel, is about to be cut down. Another year of grace is added. However, the parable is judicial in tone. Judgment is impending – and the measures taken by the gardener are for a specified time within which experiments are tried to make the tree fruitful.

When the tree is to be cut down then another will grow in its place. So when Israel is taken away the Gentiles are planted in that same location. This attraction for the Gentiles, may be why this parable is included in only Luke’s gospel to the Gentiles. The removal of Israel’s grace and mercy, as the Nation/Kingdom/Household of God, were the very start of the Gentiles receiving exactly God’s welcomed grace and mercy in Christ as His Nation, Kingdom and Household.

Fig Tree in a VineyardWhere does one find a fig tree – in a vineyard? This location strikes one as odd. For example, one wonders why Christ did not teach about a vine in a vineyard. In fact a fig is not required to be in a vineyard. But vines are. Israel had no right per se to possess occupancy as God’s Nation/Kingdom/Household, any more than the fig had a right to forever be in the vineyard.

She held her place in the vineyard because of the favor of the land owner. The Favor of God is needed for each of us to remain where we are planted.

This speaks against the pride, self-importance and bigotry Christ saw. They were the fig tree, planted there by the choice of the Owner, as long as they served the purpose which He wanted.

But Israel would liken itself to the vine of God, a choice vine taken from Egypt and nurtured in the warm sand of Canaan, and to their thinking quite fruitful.

Empty Fig

For three years the owner has sought to receive a fig from the tree. Three years is plenty of harvests – three entire harvests – to see how much fruit will set. Three could be the three

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years of Christ’s service on earth preaching the gospel. Or three could be the time of the judges, the kings, and the return when the priests were leaders. In either case, the message was clear that God was coming, the tree had better set fruit.

Christ’s own preaching could be seen as the intercession of the gardener for a year. He offers the sole hope they have, if they will latch onto it. Our God is longsuffering and yet His patience is exhaustible.

Dig about it and Dung ItWhat does One do with chronic, incurable sterility? He has been gracious long enough – Now He will be righteous – after one last attempt.

So came John the Baptist to show the way at last, and Best of all, then came Christ. After that, what hope was there for the barren tree. Their work could regenerate Israel with new leaves, new fruit, new hope.

Yet the tree’s spiritual decay was throughout, with few exceptions. God’s goodness in John and Christ, did not lead it to repentance. Rather, it despised the riches of His goodness, forbearance and long-suffering.

They were axed and we were adopted into the tree.

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