Lessons Into Luke: Lesson 14

FACTS AND THOUGHTS

LESSON FOURTEEN - INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS

(Luke 16-19 - 17:37)



In the previous lesson we stopped in the middle of a discourse by Jesus. We did so both because we had already dealt with enough material and also because we wanted to stress the spiritual adultery of the greedy Pharisees. We had observed that, when Jesus was teaching His disciples the importance of proper stewardship of things intrusted to them, and that relationships in God's kingdom were more important than material possessions to be hoarded, the Pharisees were standing by, scoffing at such teachings.

So therefore Jesus told these hypocritical Pharisees that (1) they were perverting the Law they had been commissioned to teach and obey; (2) although the Kingdom He was announcing was superseding the Law, yet the Law itself would be fulfilled in every detail; and (3) by departing from the true meaning of the Law to which they were spiritually "married," they were divorcing the truth to marry greed.

Now Jesus immediately told another story, to provide a climax to His denunciation of the Pharisees. (Luke 16:19-31.) Because Jesus, having had His origin in the land of Eternity, knew of conditions after death, some have wondered whether the story was true. This is the only story told by Jesus in which any of the characters is actually named. Here we have a beggar named Lazarus.

If the story is true, what a terrible warning to the Pharisees to whom Jesus was speaking! And even if He told only a parable, how serious indeed were the words of the Teacher!

In this life, the rich man had all the privileges of wealth, luxury, and wanton selfishness one could imagine; while Lazarus the beggar lived an existence of squalor, hunger, disease, filth, and degradation. They both died. Lazarus was escorted by angels to the comfort of "Abraham's bosom," a place of absolute peace, contentment, and blessing. The rich man found himself in the abode of the dead, tormented with fire and pain: a suffering made more intense when he could see from afar the blessed state of Lazarus.

What is even more poignant in the story is the fact that the rich man, even in His sorry state, still never did appreciate the true situation of Lazarus.

He said to Abraham, "'send Lazarus' to help me." And when Abraham told him that was not possible, again he said, "'send Lazarus' to warn my brothers." He still considered Lazarus a servant, a peon, a slave. He could not appreciate the true dignity of an human being. In the eyes of eternity, the man Lazarus, even in his beggarliness, was worth more than all the material wealth and luxury of the rich man.

Finally, there was the warning that eternal destiny is determined by decisions made in life. Decisions that are made in this life, and the character we form here, become fixed, congealed, by our transition to the realm of eternity. "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed," and "Neither will they" (or we) "be persuaded if one rise from the dead."

Did the Pharisees "get it"? Did they grasp the inference that the "rich man" was a description of each of them? Surely they must have realized that they themselves were the object of the story. Whether or not they appreciated, it was a telling indictment of their being "lovers of money."



FURTHER WORDS WITH THE DISCIPLES (Luke 17:1-10.)


The foregoing words of warning by Jesus had been directed to the Pharisees. Now He must return to His warnings to His disciples. He must resume where He had left off when He told them of the "unjust steward" (Luke 16:1-13.)

So Jesus warned His own to beware of misleading others. Some may, and in fact will, fall away from the truth; but do not you yourselves be the cause of leading others astray. "Woe unto him, through whom they" (occasions of stumbling) "come!" (Vs. 1.)

What a severe warning is this! Any of us in a position of leadership must needs take these words seriously. This writer is often made nervous by the responsibility thrust upon him. And when we, each of us, realize that "each one of us may be the best Christian someone else knows," we can be "caught up short" by our obligation.

What is the answer? In part at least, it would seem to be the next words. "Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." (Vs. 3.) We need to monitor each other, and help each other. And the help and correction we need may not be only in what we say, but also and especially in our evident attitudes and actions.

"Ah," said the apostles. (Notice that the text says "apostles" rather than "disciples." They were mentally picturing themselves going out to proclaim the Gospel, and were so interpreting the Lord's words.) "Ah: what we need is more faith. 'Increase our faith.'"

Now notice the response of Jesus. He seemed to say, "You have enough 'faith' right now. All the faith you need to transplant a tree into the sea is equivalent to a single mustard seed: no, not even one seed, but a grain of a seed. Your danger is pride. What you need is not more faith but more humility." And Jesus told another parable.

He said, "If you have a servant working as a field-hand on your estate, when his day's work is done, you do not feed him. Rather, you expect him to prepare your meal first and afterwards to feed himself.

Then Jesus added the strange statement, "Even so ye also," (putting yourselves in the position of the field-hand,) "when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do.'"

Why "unprofitable"? Did you ever hear a disgruntled employee say, "You are not paying me what I am worth." Did you ever say it, or think it? Yes, that is true. No employer can afford to pay you what you are worth. Look at it this way:

A man is in business for himself, and earns a modest living. He thinks, "if I could hire an employee, I could increase my production and therefore make more profits." He calculates that an employee would earn him an extra hundred dollars a day. This means that the employee would be worth an extra hundred dollars a day. So he hires the employee for fifty dollars a day. The profit to the employer is then the other fifty dollars.

If he were to pay the employee one hundred dollars a day (what the employee is worth to him), there is no profit for the employer, so he might as well not employ the man. So, said Jesus, if all you do is what you are paid to do, you are not making any profit for your employer. You are an unprofitable servant. And in fact, all we do, and in fact all we can do in God's service, is that which He enables us to do. True humility teaches us to say, "we are unprofitable servants."

And Jesus continued on His way, to Jerusalem: to His coming crucifixion. (Luke 17:11.)


TEN LEPERS CLEANSED (Luke 17:11-19.)


And on the way an incident occurred. It was an incident which would give illustration to the point Jesus had just been making to His disciples. He met ten lepers, who asked for mercy. In reply, Jesus told them to go and present themselves to the priests.

To understand these instructions, we must remember that according to the Mosaic law, when a leper became cured of his leprosy, he was to have a priest examine him. If he was indeed cured, he would make a proper offering, and then be permitted to resume a normal life. (See Leviticus 14:1-32.)

Here Jesus told the lepers to go to the priests before they were cured! It called for an act of faith on their part: even a "grain of mustard seed" of faith. But as they acted on faith, they were cured.

And one man turned back. He was not a Jew, but a Samaritan. The others were cured, but only he returned. Jesus remarked that only he "returned to give glory to God." This was the "profitableness" to God. The others were thus "unprofitable." To give glory to God is to return Him a profit. To give Him glory is to regard ourselves with absolute humility. It was a perfect illustration of the previous teaching of Jesus to His disciples.



WHEN DOES THE KINGDOM OF GOD COME? (Luke 17:20-37.)



Jesus, The Son of Man, the Ideal Human Being, has been teaching about the New Humanity, the New Creation, and the Kingdom of God. And the Pharisees, literal-minded, asked when this Kingdom of God would come.

Jesus gave a reply which is capable of two interpretations. He said, "the kingdom of God is not to be seen outwardly, but is 'within you.'"

What does "within you" mean?

There are many who have interpreted it to mean, "the kingdom is the good impulses within your heart, your soul." When you choose the good, the unselfish, the godly impulses, that is manifesting the kingdom within yourselves.

But there is another interpretation. "Within you" means "in your midst." The "you" is plural. And Jesus, the King of the kingdom of God, was standing right there in their midst. Had they recognized Him, they would have seen the Kingdom, for in His Person it was there.

And this interpretation makes much sense. All during His earthly career, Jesus was denied recognition of Who He was. Yes, the kingdom was a spiritual kingdom. But yes, to see Jesus was to see His spiritual nature. And for any who could see Him as He really was (and is), is to see the nature of the spiritual kingdom. He, as ideal Man, is the king of the kingdom. Without Him there is no kingdom. As King Louis XVI of France said, "L'etat, c'est moi." ("The state, it is I.") So Jesus could say, "The kingdom: I am it. I am in your midst, and if you see me, you see the kingdom."

But He stood in the midst of the Pharisees. And because they did not recognize Who He really was, they could not see the kingdom.

But then He turned to His disciples, with further words of instruction.

You are not going to see things turn out as even you might expect, He seemed to say to them. And filled with longing, you may be in danger of heeding siren voices which would turn you astray. But do not heed them, for when The Son of Man does finally come, there will be no question of knowing Him, for He will be visible throughout the earth.

This reminded Jesus to tell of certain intervening events. Chief in His mind at this time was His coming death, so He spoke of it. (Luke 17:25.) And He also said that many, while neglecting signs to herald His near coming Advent, will continue with their ordinary affairs of life, just as the people in the days of Noah and of Lot were surprised by the coming judgments. "But you be ready," He was saying.

Are you who read and study these words ready, waiting, and watching for the coming of The Son of Man?



QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW, STUDY, AND DISCUSSION



1. Review of preceding text: As you read the foregoing, what did you learn that was helpful to you?



The following questions are based on excerpts from Luke 18:1- 19:28:

2. Three people prayed: (1) a widow needing justice; (2) a proud Pharisee, boasting that he needed nothing; and (3) a tax-collector asking only for Divine mercy. As you read the record, do you see yourself in each of the three categories? Discuss.



3. Read the story of the healing of the blind man. (18:35-43.) Do you look for ways, not only to praise God but to share the results of your blessings so that others may praise God as well? Discuss ways in which you have done so.



4. Describe (1) the character of Zaccheus (19:2-3); (2) His vows of good conduct (19:8); (3) What two reasons did Jesus give for blessing him? (19:9-10)



5. Jesus told a parable about a nobleman who left his affairs with several servants. Some traded well; one failed even to earn interest. Do you see yourself as using your abilities to further God's work? Why or why not? Discuss.



6. Picture the scene: Jesus finished the parable of the nobleman, turned, and started up the hill toward Jerusalem. Do you think:

(1) the people stood about, pondering the parable;

(2) the people reluctantly followed, slowly and at a distance; or

(3) the people followed with enthusiasm? How do you think you would have reacted?



7. Try to memorize 19:9-10.












--- Norman L. MacLeod Jr.

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