👨🏽 Luke – Chapters 15 and 16

🙏 Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word to remind us of Your love and Your faithfulness. In the previous chapters, You warn us against rebellion. In these chapters, You show us that we will rebel anyway 🤦‍♀️ but You never stop looking for us to return to You.  You show us a different way to live than what we see in the broken world around us.  Give us the courage and the strength to hear Your words, accept them as true, and put them into action.   Amen.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Points to Ponder: What a wonderful parable!  Jesus leaves the ninety-nine ‘good-sheep’ just to look for and carry the one lost sheep back to safety.  It is interesting that for many people who struggle with Scripture, they surrender to peer-pressure and become people-pleasers. Apparently, the return of such a lost person is angel-pleasing!!!  There is rejoicing in heaven when a lost person, turned away from God, chooses to repent and turn their attention back to God.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Points to Ponder: Saving 1 out of 100 was not too small a thing for Jesus.  In this  parable, 1 out of 10 is also cause for celebration. We get the understanding that even ONE lost soul is important to Jesus and their repentance is celebrated. 🥳

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Points to Ponder: The epic parable of the Prodigal Son.  Songs, poems, paintings, movies, books, and other forms of artistic expression have been inspired by this story – none fully capture the brilliance of what the Holy Spirit inspires through these 500 words captured here in Luke’s Gospel.

Many notice the numbers involved in these ‘lost’ parables going from 1 out of 100… to 1 out of 10… to now, 1 out of 2.  They cover different items we value – possessions, money, and relationships. Together, they tell us that God cares about them all.  In this parable, we see one man, the father, with two sons.  Every verse is worth reading slowing and thinking about… the older brother is just as lost as the younger brother.  The younger brother chose to separate himself from the father by physical distance, pursuing the pleasures of wild living, then humbly returning to his father when he comes to his senses. (The world’s solutions never seem to deliver what they promise!) And many of Jesus’ listeners would relate to this character; many still do today.   The older brother has separated himself from the father also, by a growing resentment in his heart.  He does not value the relationship that a son should have with his father or his brother. Instead this son identifies as a slave and the repentance of his brother combined with the compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness of the father, feeds the elder son’s resentment until it presents in anger.

All the property divided in the beginning belonged to the father.  Both sons are focused on what they consider ‘mine’. They are focused on the property to which they believe they are entitled.  Neither child had their heart set in a good relationship with the father… only what he could give them.  (They can represent two religious extremes of LICENSE vs LEGALISM.)  The immediate context is Jesus talking about the Father’s Kingdom to both the tax collectors and sinners as well as the Pharisees.  (Do you think the redemption of a sinner can cause the resentment of someone already saved?  This is often the case when Christians accept their own forgiveness, but still have difficulty forgiving others. (Jesus is pretty clear on this: Matthew 6:12-15, Luke 6:37, Luke 17:3-4)

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Points to Ponder: One of the more puzzling parables of Jesus, but that is not surprising given the punchline – What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Sitting with this parable is an opportunity to review our perspective on God and money.  Remember, we just finished looking at the Prodigal Son where both sons were distracted from the love of the father, by the property they felt entitled to. 

This parable is being told to the disciples, but the Pharisees are listening in. There are three main characters here… the ‘rich man or master’,  the ‘manager’ and the ‘debtors’. When money-focused, (worldly-wealth), we see how the dishonest manager is self-serving. The debtors benefit from his dishonesty.  With this focus however, we get confused when the master commends the manager for acting shrewdly, for surely the master is on the losing end of this story.  Does this parable instruct us on how to live?  And if so, is dishonesty commendable?  Absolutely not – that goes against the rest of Scripture. 

In this parable, Jesus uses an example of man’s self-focused behavior when it comes to self-preservation in worldly matters and calls us to expand our thoughts to our future eternal dwellings and becoming trustworthy with true riches.  I am helped by the writings of Dieter H. Reinstorf, Department of New Testament Studies, University of Pretoria, South Africa, in reading this parable in these two ways:

Use a different perspective – what are the true riches of God: Love, grace, wisdom, mercy, and truth.

On the first pass of reading this parable – God is the Master, Jesus is the shrewd manager, and we are the debtors. Was Jesus dishonest? Was He wasting the Master’s possessions? Of course not, but He was accused of being dishonest by the Pharisees when He forgave people’s sins.  (To their displeasure, Jesus even ate with sinners and tax collectors. How scandalous to the religious leaders!) But, dispensing the grace of God serves the master commendably as opposed to the Pharisees, who loved money and justified themselves. Jesus gives them a clear warning against using religious trappings for justifying themselves to others. 

Now reread the parable and on the second pass, God is still the Master.  But we as Christians, the forgiven debtors, already saved by faith in Jesus, are to act shrewdly in spreading the love of God with others who are still in debt. We are to do as Jesus did, dispensing the grace of God, and not have the attitudes of the Pharisees justifying ourselves. Remember Matthew 3:17 – This is My Beloved Son, in whom, I am well-pleased.

As children of God, we are people of the light and we are commanded to use our worldly riches, (time, treasures, and talents) to gain friends so that when our worldly lives end, we are welcomed into His heavenly eternity.  Who are these friends we make? Look at John 15:12-15 to see Jesus calling his disciples, not servants, but friends because everything He learned from the Father, He shared with them.  This is how we love each other as Jesus loved us.

Additional Teachings

¹⁶ “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Points to Ponder: Power-packed verses here.  John the Baptist is the transitional figure between the Old Testament teachings of the Mosaic Law and the prophecies and the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus, in the New Testament.  The good news of the kingdom is being revealed by Jesus. After centuries of manmade interpretations of Scripture, Jesus is showing people what it means to love God and love others and we must force ourselves into this revelation.  In this age between Jesus’ resurrection and His return, the Law still applies – even though how it was interpreted may not.

“Jesus gives an example of the enduring nature of the Law’s intent. In Jesus’ day some of the Pharisees themselves had become permissive, allowing men to divorce their wives on the most trivial grounds. For example, Rabbi Hillel taught that divorce could be justified by a wife spoiling her husband’s dinner. Rabbi Akiba would permit divorce if a man found someone prettier than his wife, making a mockery of the Law. Jesus reaffirms the bond of marriage in no uncertain terms.”  (reference note)

Perhaps this note on marriage, divorce, adultery was written because the various Rabbinic schools of thoughts were fighting over it.  Perhaps it was because 2,000 years later, we live in a culture where some think that divorce is a fact of life.  Maybe it was written because back then, as well as 2000 years later, divorce is often devastating to the couple, the children, the friends, and the family members of the couple involved.  Relationships are destroyed and suddenly the focus of the ‘two-that-became-one’ is split into two focusing on themselves… often the self-preservation becomes focused on worldly-wealth again, instead of the ‘true-riches’ of God: love, grace, wisdom, mercy, and truth.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. ²⁴ So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

²⁵ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

²⁷ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

²⁹ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

³⁰ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

³¹ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Points to Ponder: (See previous post on this parable.) This one stands on its own for many reasons, but for concluding chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16, we connect the previous warnings of ‘Repent or Perish’ along with the love of God to chase down the one lost soul. This parable, placed here, highlights the distinction between worldly wealth and true riches. It also highlights the consistency of God’s redemption message from the Old Testament through the New Testament. The rich man had worldly wealth and remained self-focused. He did not use it to love others, he is therefore, not welcomed into eternal dwellings where he could be trusted with true riches.  He has neglected to learn the wisdom of God, adopt the compassion and mercy of God, and it is now too late for him to change his impenitent heart.

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Summary:  These chapters remind us that God is and has always been offering us eternal life as He created it to be – very good!  These teachings of Jesus are meant for us to see ourselves in His light.  Are we embracing the life and true riches that the Father has to offer or are we rejecting Him?  Does this world entice us to believe that ‘good’ things are to be found for ourselves, apart from God.

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🙏 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank you for a love that surpasses all that we experience in our human relationships. We thank you for the forgiveness granted to us, by the sacrificial death of our Savior, Jesus. It is in His mighty name, that we ask for Your strength and Your compassion to see the lost as You see them.  Help us to make them new, eternal, friends.  Amen.