Message of Grace

Luke 5:17-26:

“One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
“The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
“Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
“Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

The man had come seeking relief from physical paralysis, but God often grants to man more than he asks. The declaration of Jesus implies divine understanding of the human heart and of the deepest needs and possibilities of man, even as it implies possession of the highest authority and power of heaven.
Jesus knew that such a declaration would bring upon Him the fierce denunciation of His enemies seated in the midst. Controversy was sure to result from such an assumption of divine prerogatives by Jesus.

“Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

Jesus demonstrates his mission and his character in these actions: Make whole those who are broken: Physically and Spiritually; liberate those captives, set them free. Darrel Bock rightly notes, “Today we tend to leave sin out of the health equation, seeing it primarly as a matter of chemicals and biology.” But Jesus treats the entire person. Perhaps we should be even more concerned to announce in our messages the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name before we are ready to announce all the physical, biological stuff. I think it is imperative in our announcments of God’s grace that we announce to people that Jesus will deal with the sin our lives first. Grace deals with the whole person, starting from the inside and working its way to the outside.

Jesus Heals Many Sick at Evening

Luke 4:40-41:

40 When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ

Verse 40 tells us that once sunset occurred, those with sick friends or relatives arrived so that our Lord could heal them, too. Sunset is mentioned there because it signified the end of the Sabbath. Observant Jews then as now do not carry or operate anything on that day. Once the Sabbath is over, life resumes as normal for another week. Therefore, these Jews carrying the sick people to Jesus were observing Jewish law by doing so after the Sabbath had ended at sunset.

Note that Jesus healed all who were brought to Him (verse 40).
Some of these people had demons which came out when He laid hands on or spoke to them (verse 41). Once again, Jesus rebuked the shrieking demons; He wanted nothing to do with them. He also did not want to converse with them lest people get the idea that He was conspiring with them, although the Pharisees would later throw this accusation at Him

He cured all that were sick, poor as well as rich, and though they were sick of divers diseases; so that there was no room to suspect that he had only a specific for some one disease. He had a remedy for every malady. The sign he used in healing was laying his hands on the sick; not lifting up his hands for them, for he healed as having authority. He healed by his own power. And thus he would put honour upon that sign which was afterwards used in conferring the Holy Ghost.

 

In his sermon John MacArthur lists six characteristics of Jesus’s healings. These are sometimes referred to as ‘creative miracles’ because they fundamentally altered a person’s being. These characteristics are as follows (the sermon elaborates further on each):

First, Jesus healed with a word or a touch…on some occasions He did both …

Secondly, He healed instantly…

Thirdly, Jesus healed totally …

Fourthly, Jesus healed everybody…

Fifthly, He healed organic disease …

And sixthly, Jesus raised the dead …

Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-in-Law

Luke 4:38-39:

And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. [39] And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

What’s so significant about the words of Luke? To get the picture we must remember that Luke was a doctor.

Luke reports this with amazement. He writes that Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a (literally, mega fever) high fever. Luke knew what a high fever meant and the seriousness of it. No matter how high her fever was Jesus could cure her.

Then, only as a doctor could do, Luke goes on and shows Jesus taking a doctor’s position by standing over the patient. I wonder how long He stood there. I wonder what Jesus was thinking? We’re not told much except He spoke a word and the sickness left. With the command, the fever left.
The cure was sudden, the fever left her immediately. In other words, she didn’t lie in bed for hours as her fever became less and less, it left immediately.

The cure was also complete; she wasn’t totally exhausted after being bed ridden with a high fever. All her symptoms associated with a fever immediately vanished and her strength was returned to her.
I want to take a moment to look at what Jesus did here in this text. He rebuked the fever.

First of all, that sounds somewhat odd. I mean if someone is ill there is either a virus or some other biological cause for the sickness. Fever is a symptom of the fact that there is some sort of infection within the body causing the body to respond with a higher than normal temperature to rid itself of the virus or whatever.

Numerous times in the New Testament Jesus rebukes unclean spirits and they are cast out. With the rebuke in almost every case, the spirit is told to be silent and come out. Literally, be muzzled and come out. A muzzle, as you know, is something you put on a vicious dog so it can’t bark and won’t bite. Jesus was muzzling demons and causing them to be controllable. Luke places this account in the midst of Jesus’ work with demon possessed people to show that in the same way that He silences demons and removes them He also, silences the foreign substance in the people and cast it out. By the power of His Word the virus is rendered powerless and immediately removed and that same Word restores the sick person to health. They didn’t need a follow-up visit to the doctor, they were completely healed.

Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

Luke 4:31-36:

31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"35"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!"  

Jesus is ministering and is confronted with a person who has been affected by an evil spirit. Now, this person did not say that he had an evil sprit. It was the discernment of Jesus that made Him understand what He was dealing with. While demons still exist today, and still affect people today, evil appears in many more forms.

Evil can be experienced in the form of: self-destructive thought patterns, addictions, other people, difficult circumstances, heavy temptations, entertainment in its many forms and the list goes on and on.

Jesus teaches up that there is still hope in this world for defeating the evil in our world. Evil is real, and Satan doesn’t want you to know that: Jesus still conquers evil! The way Jesus conquered evil then is how Jesus conquers evil today.

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son

John 4:43-54:

Introduction: Today we would like to examine the faith of the nobleman mentioned in our text. The nobleman came to Jesus on behalf of his son who was grievously ill in hopes that Jesus would come and heal him. This man’s faith was initiated by a crisis in his life, as so often is the case with us. Many times we only put our faith in Christ as a last ditch effort when we should have our faith in him always. This seems to be the way that this nobleman’s faith was initiated, but that is not how it ended.

Notice with me four things about this man and his faith:

I. Notice the Resolve of his faith. (4:46-47)
At this point he had reached the end of his rope; his son was about to die. He had probably tried everything imaginable up to this point to try to restore his son but to no avail, nothing seemed to work. He had almost given up hope when he heard of Jesus being close by. He was roughly only twenty miles away from this man’s home. He had heard of the many miracles that Jesus had preformed so he resolves in his heart seek him out and implore him of his help. This is the first hint of any true faith in God abiding in this man’s heart. Like the woman with the issue of blood, he resolved that he must get to Jesus.
II. Notice the Request of his faith. (4:47-49)
This man sought Jesus out there in Cana of Galilee and upon finding Him he made a spectacular request. He asked Jesus if He would come down to his house, where his ailing son lay dying, and heal his son. His request would seem ridiculous to the most people because they would deem it impossible. However, true faith reaches beyond things thought impossible and grasp hold of God; for with him nothing is impossible. “Is anything to hard for the Lord”, was God’s reply to Sarah upon delivering the news that she would bare a son in her old age. That is a good question for us to ask ourselves today. Is anything to hard for the Lord? If we believe the answer is no, then we will begin to make spectacular requests of him, such as the nobleman did in our passage.
III. Notice the Response of his faith. (4:50)
True faith takes God at His word. When Jesus told this man to go his way, his son liveth, this man took Jesus at His word and believed Him. This man never squabbled with Jesus saying, “No Jesus, that’s not enough, you must come to my house!!” He simply believed the word that Jesus spoke to him. This is a mark of true, genuine faith. Are you taking God at His word today? If your not you do not possess true faith.

IV. Notice the Reward Of his faith. (4:51-53)
Trusting God to do what He says that He will do always has its rewards. What would have happened if this man had not believed Jesus? It is quite possible that his son would have died, but that is not what happened is it. This man took God at his word by faith, and was rewarded for his faith.
Many times we do not see our prayers answered because we do not have faith when we pray. The Bible teaches us to pray with absolute confidence in God if we want our prayers answered ( Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.).

Water To Wine

Christians know Cana as the place where Jesus performed his first earthly miracle during a wedding by turning large jars of water into wine, according to John 2:1-11. In the story, Jesus attended a wedding along with his disciples and Mary, his mother. When the wine ran short at the feast, Mary told Jesus to do something about it. Jesus balked at her request, saying it wasn't yet time for him to perform miracles.

Undeterred, Mary went to the household servants and told them to do whatever Jesus instructed. Jesus then complied with Mary's request, asking the servants to bring six large jars estimated to hold 20 to 30 gallons each that were used to store water for Jewish purification rituals. Jesus had the servants fill the jars with water, and then told them to have the steward taste the contents. The steward was astonished at the quality of the wine, and commended the host for apparently saving the best wine for last.

The Bible calls this miracle the first sign that Jesus is the Messiah promised to the Jews.

This miracle, showing Jesus' supernatural control over physical elements like water, marked the beginning of his public ministry. Like his other miracles, it benefited people in need.

Not only did Jesus produce a large quantity of wine, but the quality of it astonished the banquet master. In the same way, Jesus pours his Spirit into us in abundance, giving us God's best.

While it may seem insignificant, there is crucial symbolism in this first miracle of Jesus. It was not a coincidence that the water Jesus transformed came from jars used for ceremonial washing. The water signified the Jewish system of purification, and Jesus replaced it with pure wine, representing his spotless blood that would wash away our sins.

The Parable Of The Sheep and the Goats

Matthew 25:31-46:

So before all nations, all people everywhere, Jesus will make the Last Day difference clear by our everyday difference. To those on his right, Jesus will say, “You did this… you did this… you did this…,” but to those on his left, he will reveal their completely opposite ways and say, “You did not… You did not…you did not…” Along with faith come fruits of love for God and his will. Along with unbelief are its fruits of enmity and hatred of God’s will. Such differences will be clear to everyone.

But he doesn’t just show the difference in outward action. There’s also a difference in their hearts. Isn’t it interesting that King Jesus would have each side answer him and respond? Why would Jesus include their comments at such a decisive moment? Because it’s part of the evidence. He wants us to see not just what they did, but the difference that was in their hearts when they did it.

Those sheep on the right were surprised at what Jesus said. In their minds, they had no list or record of good things they had done. They had humility in their hearts. They loved because God is love, not because of who was watching. They were thinking of other’s benefit. But the goats on the left were also surprised – they figured they had no failure, that their record should’ve looked better than that. They had pride in their hearts and focused on themselves.

Behold the great difference between a believer and unbeliever in both the heart and their activity. Jesus teaches us these Last Day differences to encourage us to live out the difference with fruits. Be who we are now and forever. As our lesson from 1 Thessalonians put it, “you are sons of light…you belong to the day” – so then, let us not be like others, but rather be self-controlled and put on confident faith, and love and hope…Now let us bear the fruit of who we are in Christ!

How sweet it is to hear Jesus’ call of grace to his sheep on the Last Day. Rejoice in the prepared gift of heaven waiting for you. Live in that joy now by offering your life to Jesus your Lord who bought you with his blood. Let your whole life be one of thanksgiving and praise and glory to God. Let everything you do be the fruit of who you really are in Jesus Christ, your coming King. For the Last Day difference starts today. Amen.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13:

25 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

 ⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
 ⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
 ⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
 ¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
 ¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
 ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
 ¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

We know that Jesus is coming. Yet it seems as if he is delayed. He hasn’t arrived yet. Are you ready to meet him?
On the surface, all the bridesmaids looked the same. But only half of them were welcomed in.

The foolish bridesmaids thought that everything would work out all right. If need be, they could borrow someone else’s oil; and surely they would we welcomed whatever time they landed up. But the door remains closed. The party is inside, and they have missed it. They’re outside.

There’s no second chance when the bridegroom has arrived. You see, some people think that they’ll live life the way they want and convert on their death bed at the age of 101. But which of us is guaranteed today, let alone another twenty or fifty or seventy years? The Lord Jesus could return this very day. Rather than delaying, Jesus urges us to be like the wise bridesmaid, to be ready and waiting, eager to greet him when he comes.

Signs From a Fig Tree

Matthew 24:32-35:

³² “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ³³ Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^[a] is near, right at the door. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

 In the same way, when Christ returns, I believe it will be clear. There will be signs that we cannot miss, just like a vibrant red sugar maple. No one looks at such a tree and debates whether fall is coming--it is clear. In the same way, when Christ does return, I don't think there will be any room for debate.

Until then, Christ has given us plenty to do--love and serve our neighbors, work for justice and peace, proclaim the name of Christ to every corner of the globe. Let's get busy focusing on that!
Even as the person with ordinary common sense and powers of observation needs no further evidence for the fact that summer is near when he sees the fig-tree's branches become soft with the swelling sap and the young leaves pushing forth from the buds, so the disciple of Christ who sees the signs of which Christ speaks in the whole chapter, including the destruction of Jerusalem, understands and knows that the final judgment is upon him, at his very door.

And here is another sign, a further proof for the truth of His saying, for the soundness of His prophecy: This generation will not pass away till all this will come to pass. He means to say, either: The Jewish nation will remain on earth as a race, with all the racial characteristics, till the Day of Judgment; or: The generation of children which I have chosen, My Church, will not pass away, it will stand against all attempts to overthrow it, to all eternity. Amid the crash of worlds, when heaven and earth turn back into chaos and are destroyed, the Word of the Lord abideth forever.

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Matthew 22:1-14:

In the first instance, the king sends his servants ‘to those who had been invited to tell them to come’ (verse 3). It sounds like this is a group of people who have already received an invitation. But the nature of the invitation is different from our culture. In our society, when we receive an invitation to a wedding, we are told the date and time as well as the location. But these people have not yet been told the date and the time. They have been invited more generally. Now the servants go with the word that the date and time have been set, and they are to attend.

The second wave of invitations goes out. Rather than send his servants to the usual suspects, now the king commands them to ‘go to the street corners’ (verse 9) and invite anyone, whether ‘good or bad’ (verse 10). The implication of this for Jesus’ critics is scandalous. He wants to invite into the kingdom the very people who had been kept out by their rules. Those with a blemish. Those who didn’t fit. Those whose reputations brought shame rather than honour.

I have seen other people ostracised in churches who have had deeper faith than the clean, eloquent types who typically fill our pews. Not that there is anything wrong with being clean or eloquent, but too often we miss the fact that Jesus by his Spirit is going ahead of us to the street corners and wooing people we wouldn’t even think of with his grace and love. It’s our calling to join in with what the Holy Spirit is doing. As we do, we become the servants of the king, carrying the invitations to the great banquet.

We’ve had two shocks so far. The expected guests at the wedding say ‘no’, and come under judgment, rather than blessing. Then, the invitation is extended to people you wouldn’t expect to be in attendance at the wedding banquet of the king’s son. It would be like the Queen throwing open the grounds of Buckingham Palace to the Occupy Movement.

But there is a third and final shock. A man turns up who is not wearing wedding clothes. Just as we dress up for weddings, so did people in the ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Furthermore, kings would provide wedding attire for their guests.

This isn’t about the physical clothes we wear, it’s about being ‘clothed with Christ’. We are clothed in his righteousness that is our forgiveness and declares us to be in the right with God through his death in our place on the Cross. But we are also clothed in Christ in that we begin to take on his righteousness by the Holy Spirit. Our worship and gratitude in response to God’s free grace is shown as we actively co-operate with Christ’s work by his Spirit in our lives to make us new people, to make us more truly into the character that is fit to be at the king’s banquet. Of ourselves we are not fit to be there at all, and we only enter by grace. But we stay as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us more into the image of the King’s Son.

The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 21:33-44:

1. What does this parable's symbolism mean?

 The vinedressers represent the civil and religious leaders of Israel and Judah whose duty was to guide the nation righteously but who were corrupt in their dealings. The vineyard being leased to them symbolizes their temporary possession and responsbility to care for it. The landowner (God) planted a hedge (the law with all its ordinances) around the vineyard to protect the vineyard from outside attack, keeping Israel separate from other nations for His special purpose. The tower symbolizes God's watchful oversight of the nation.

2. Why do the vinedressers beat, kill, and stone the servants?

The servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel, and the fruit borne are those who responded to their efforts. The wicked vinedressers "beat" one servant (meaning to flay or whip so that the skin is taken off), denoting the harsh, unjust treatment God's servants received. They kill another, representing the many prophets who died at the hands of Israel's leaders. They stone a third, not necessarily to death, for Mark records, "At him they cast stones and wounded him in the head, and sent him away." God's servants had experienced all these things. The wicked vinedressers' actions show their rejection, not of the servants, but of the landowner, God. For centuries, He had sent the prophets to warn and witness to the Israelites, and they had been persecuted and slain. There was no purpose in continuing to send more prophets to the people, so He sent His Son.

3. Why do the vinedressers want to kill the son?

The vinedressers wanted what the son would receive as heir, but they did not want to follow his example. Mark adds that he was an only son, greatly beloved, amplifying how truly valuable he was. God had one only-begotten and well-beloved Son to send, whom the world  should reverence—honor and esteem—just as the Father.  The vinedressers thought that, by killing the only son, they could easily steal the landowner's possessions already entrusted to them.

Jesus foretells His own death at the hands of the Jews just as they had persecuted and slain the prophets for centuries. He then asks the leaders about the proper way to deal with those who killed the servants. He wants them to condemn themselves by their own mouths and realize the justice of their coming punishment. They had the freewill to reverse their direction, but pride caused them to hate Christ all the more.

4. What is the ultimate fate of those who mistreat God's servants?

Jesus purposes to show the religious leaders the justice of taking away their national privileges and punishing them by destroying their city and nation. Had He stated this at first they would have ignored him, but by using a parable, He forces them to condemn themselves with the truth.   However, they still do not grasp the significance of their admission. Jesus expresses the principle by quoting Psalm 118:22-23, making them see that God would do to them what the landowner did to the vinedressers. The cornerstone—Jesus Christ—is the foundation of God's Temple, the church, but the builders rejected it because Jesus did not "fit" their preconceived idea of the Messiah. Even though the Jews rejected Jesus, God overruled them and made Him "the chief cornerstone," an act proven to be God's doing by the resurrection and the subsequent miraculous founding of the church.

5. Who receives the Kingdom of God?

The Israelites had been God's chosen people, and He took away this privilege, giving that blessing to a special people—the church—who would bear the fruits of righteousness. Jesus alludes to Himself as the Stone and describes the escalating consequences of opposing Him. Those who oppose Him out of ignorance or weakness will suffer harm, but if they willfully reject Christ, the Stone will crush them into dust and scatter them in the wind. This warning was not lost on the chief priests, scribes, and elders, intensifying their enmity toward Christ and confirming His accurate portrayal of them in the parable. It reveals the authority of Christ as the Son, Heir, and Judge, as well as the unenviable fate of those who reject Him.

The Parable of the Two Sons

Matthew 21:28-32:

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
 ³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.  ³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

In the parable of the Two Sons, another parable unique to Matthew's Gospel, the father calls one son first to go work in the vineyard. He refuses, but later relents and goes to work. The second son placates the father with a quick agreement to go and work but he never actually goes.

Then Jesus asks, "Which of the two did the will of his father?" (21:31). His technique is much like the one used by the prophet Nathan when he confronts King David about his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam 12:1-12). He tells a story and then asks the listeners to answer a question. In choosing our reply, as listeners, we pass a judgment on ourselves. (Reid, 156)

The answer seems straightforward on first glance. The first son did the father's will. But with a second glance, we see that both sons brought dishonor to the father, the first by his words, the second by his deeds. Neither son was in the right. One had the words, and the other had the deeds. We remember from Matthew's conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount that merely saying the right words does not ensure entry into the kingdom of heaven. Active obedience to Jesus' teachings must be present. In Matthew 23 Jesus warns the crowds to do as the Pharisees say, but not to imitate their actions (23:1-3).

To live a life of hearing and doing the will of God is to respect and adhere to Jesus' authority as teacher and Lord. To live a life in which one gives lip service but not life service to his teachings is to disrespect the authority of Jesus.

The Parable Of Ten Servants and Minas

Luke 19:12-27:

The man of the story was a person of position and power, a “nobleman” (NASB, v. 12). He was soon to be a man of even greater power and position. He was about to become a king. In order to be appointed as such, he had to travel to a distant country. As I understand it, the kingdom which the nobleman was to receive was not a different kingdom in a distant land, but the kingdom which he had just left. It would have been something like a lawyer going to Washington D. C., to be appointed to a high position back in his home state. It would seem to men that this nobleman would return quite soon, to assume his position of power.

Knowing that he would be absent for a time, the nobleman called some of his slaves to him, to give them their orders for the period he was to be absent. He gave each of the ten slaves one mina. From the marginal note found in the NASB at verse 13, we can learn that this was equivalent to nearly 100 days’ wages. A talent, on the other hand (as mentioned in Matthew 25:15ff.), was worth about 50 times as much (cf. marginal note in NASB at Matthew 25:15). His command was specific. The slaves were all to “do business” (Luke 19:13, NASB) with the money, or, as the NIV puts it, to “put the money to work” until the master returned. The master expected to get back more than he put into the hands of his slaves. Money, as a friend of mine put it, has a time-value. Money should always increase over time, since it can always be loaned out at interest, or at least put in the bank, where it will be loaned out. The master thus expected to get back more than he left in the care of each slave.

The master not only had slaves, who were obligated to serve him, he also had citizens who should also serve him as their master. In those days, citizens were virtual slaves of the king. It would seem that the citizens were silent as the nobleman left their country. They did not like this man, nor did they want him to return to rule over them, once he was officially king. They seem to have gotten their courage in the nobleman’s absence. Thus, they sent a delegation to that distant place, informing their “king” that they did not want him to return, and therefore strongly suggesting that he not return.

 

It is not difficult to understand the story thus far, nor is it difficult to see its meaning with reference to Jesus, His “departure,” His rejection, and His return. Like the nobleman, Jesus came to the earth with great position and power. Like the nobleman, Jesus’ power greatly increased as a result of His departure. Jesus was rejected by men, hung on a cross, put to death, buried, raised, and then ascended to heaven, where He now is seated at the right hand of God. Jesus’ power is now even greater than it was when He first came to the earth (cf. Philippians 2:9-11). His return to reign over His people, His citizens has been delayed (from our human perspective), but He will surely come.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9-14;

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Here we find 2 different men, praying 2 different prayers, and getting 2 differing results. One was saved that day and the other was not.

Either could have qualified to be saved, but only 1 did. There are numerous examples in Scripture of both Pharisees and Publicans that were saved.  Either could have had the ‘right answer’, but only 1 did. So what made the difference?

The Pharisees’ prayer was all about himself.

v. 11-12 He acts holy and like he’s thanking God, but really he’s praising himself. He’s saying, “God, you must really like me because I don’t drink, smoke, or chew, or kiss the girls that do!”

We all want to feel good about ourselves, but the Bible says to let another praise you, and not to praise yourself. This man lifted up his own righteousness and good works, and it is clear that he is trusting in himself for his salvation. If he was to make it to heaven on his own merit, I guess he would get the credit and be able to sing “How Great I Am” for all eternity.

The Publican’s prayer did the opposite. He recognized himself as a sinner and realized his only hope for heaven was not in anything about himself but only in God and His mercy.

So, how about you? Is your answer about good that you have done or about Jesus and what He did for you on the cross at Calvary?  It’s very important at this point that we all be transparent as we think about our answer. I beg you, make sure your goal is to be right, not to ‘have been right’ all along. Be correctable.

v. 14b Don’t try to convince yourself that you are saved…ask God to convince you by the facts, or to convict you if you are not. Humble yourself! God forbid that your answer be about you being a good person. How good is good enough? The devil’s most successful lie is one that says that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

Luke 18:1-8:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

¹⁵ People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

This parable means, a lot of preachers would say, that if we want something from God, we just need to pray. Not getting any results? Pray harder! Still nothing? Must not be praying hard enough, so try again. Try and try and try—keep trying—until God finally gives in and gets you what you want, if only to make you shut up. This sounds a little too blunt, I know, but if you want to put some really nice, spiritual language around the point, you can easily use Luke’s words: “Don’t lose heart! Keep praying! God will answer your prayer!”

Three distinct possibilities present themselves that, while drawing on similar elements, yet differ enough from each other that the preacher will need to exercise homilitical and pastoral judgment in determining which route to pursue.

 

God the Good Judge

The point is not that God is like an unjust judge who will, eventually relent to the persistent petitions of the widow. "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:13). We might read today's comparison similarly: "If even the most unjust of judges will finally relent to the ceaseless petitions of a defenseless widow, then how much more will God -- who is, after all, a good judg
He -- answer your prayers!"
The focus of this interpretation is on God's goodness and eagerness to bless. Therefore, the sermon offers believers who are perhaps reluctant to address almighty God with their petitions both an invitation and encouragement to pray without ceasing, confident of God's desire to respond.

God the Just Judge

A second and related path would be to give primary attention not only to Luke's introductory note but also to the choice of the unjust judge as a major character. Might the parable give voice to some of the discouragement of early believers, whether caused by the delay of Jesus' return or the difficult or unjust circumstances they were enduring? If so, the parable might be saying, "While I know that God may seem like an unjust judge, God's actions are just and God will deliver justice in due time."
The focus in this case is on the interpretation of the parable in the latter verses of the pericope. Correspondingly, the rhetorical force of the sermon is not so much invitation as it is comfort for those in distress and encouragement to persevere in faith and prayer. Believers, like the widow, should pray and petition without ceasing and not lose heart, confident that God's justice will in time prevail.

The Widow as Pursuer of Justice

A third interpretive route shifts our attention from the judge to the widow. Widows in the ancient world were incredibly vulnerable, regularly listed with orphans and aliens as those persons deserving special protection. The fact that this particular widow must beseech a judge unattended by any family highlights her extreme vulnerability. Yet she not only beseeches the judge, but also persists in her pleas for justice to the point of creating sufficient pressure to influence his actions.
The focus in this reading is on the judge's description of his own motivation for settling the widow's claim. He asserts (as the narrator already had) that he neither fears God nor respects people, thereby testifying that his unsavory character has not changed during the course of the parable. When he explains why he relents, however, he utters a description of the effect of the widow's ceaseless complaints on him that most translations dilute. A more literal translation of the judge's grievance (18:5) is that the woman "is giving me a black eye."

Like all black eyes, the one the widow's complaints threaten to inflict have a double effect, representing both physical and social distress. That is, the judge complains that the widow's relentless badgering not only causes him physical harm but also risks publically embarrassing him. For this reason, he says -- perhaps justifying his actions to his wounded sense of self? -- that he relents not because he has changed his mind but simply to shut up this dangerous widow. In this case, insolent, obnoxious, even intolerable behavior results in justice.

Read this way, the parable serves to encourage those suffering injustice to continue their complaints and calls for justice. A sermon following this path will encourage believers in their efforts, noting that sometimes it takes extreme, even socially unacceptable behavior to effect change. God, the Bible has persistently insisted, gives special attention to those who are most vulnerable; therefore, we should persist in our complaints, even to the point of embarrassing the powers that be in order to induce change.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16:

 

To illustrate this point, Jesus told the story of the workers in the vineyard. Some of the details in this story seem very strange to us, but in fact this is just the kind of thing that could happen regularly during the grape harvest in Israel. Storms could easily ruin the crop and it was important to get the harvest in as quickly as possible. So for a time, anyone who wanted a job could have one. The work was hard; working hours were from dawn to sunset, which in a Mediterranean country means a twelve-hour day. The wage was a standard one, a ‘denarius’ or silver coin. A denarius was the average daily wage for a worker, but it’s important to know that it was also the average cost of surviving per day for the masses of poor families in Israel. It didn’t allow any room to manoeuvre; a denarius would buy your family what they needed to stay alive, no more and no less. It would get you basic food on the table, but not Shaw cable or Internet service!

 

During the grape harvest, men who wanted to work would go to the marketplace and stand around; it was like going to an employment centre in the morning to look for a job for the day. They would work the twelve hours, and then they would be paid at the end of the day so that each man could go home with money to buy food for his family. If a man was unable to find work on a particular day, then his family would not eat. If he found work for only a part of the day, and thus was unable to earn a whole denarius, his family would eat, but not enough to stave off hunger pangs.

 

Thus far, there are no surprises in Jesus’ story. But now come a couple of unexpected twists, and these are the details that would have stood out for the people who first heard the parable. So let’s spend a few minutes looking at these unexpected features in the story.

First surprise: It was not the custom for the owner of a vineyard to go himself into the marketplace to hire workers. The usual practice would be for the owner to send his manager or some other employee. In fact later on in the story, when the time comes to pay the workers, we do see the owner working through his manager in this way; if you look in verse 8 we read ‘When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay”’’. But when it came to the actual hiring, he went out into the marketplace and looked after it himself.

 

So what we have here is a very unusual boss. He actually cares about the down-and-outs in the marketplace who are desperate to earn a silver coin so that they can feed their families for the day! He cares about them so much that he goes out, not once, but five times during the day to see if there is anyone there standing around looking for work.

 

What is this telling us about God? The gospel teaches us that God doesn’t stay safely in heaven, insulated from the pain and sin of a broken world. Jesus told us that God is like a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep who are safe in the fold and goes out into the wilds to look for the lost one. And of course in that story Jesus is describing himself. In Jesus, God has come among us to search for the lost. He cares about every human being in this world, and so he has come among us to live and die so that we can come home to him.

 

Here’s the second surprise: Everyone, even the latecomers, gets a full day’s pay. Of course, that was what the contract said. They’d all agreed to work for a denarius. But when the ones who had worked all day long saw the eleventh-hour types getting a denarius, they naturally thought that they themselves would get a lot more. After all, they’d worked twelve times longer!

 

Their problem was that they were understanding the money in terms of wages. But a landowner who pays a full day’s wage to someone who has only worked for one hour is obviously not paying a wage; he’s giving a gift. Paying them all at prime rate was not an economic decision; it was an act of grace.

 

And it’s the same with our place in the Kingdom of God. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God today, not because of anything good we have done, but because of God’s free gift of grace to us. It was secured for us long before we were born, when Jesus gave his life on the Cross for our sins. What he did there for us was a perfect work, to which nothing needs to be added. We don’t have to earn it; in fact, nothing I could do in my entire life would ever be enough to earn it.

 

 

The Parable - Rich man and Lazarus

^{Luke 16:19-31:}
  First, I will endeavour, with God's assistance, to explain this history. "There was a certain rich man;" and, doubtless, on that very account, highly esteemed among men, -- "who was clothed in purple and fine linen;" and, consequently, esteemed the more highly, both as appearing suitably to his fortune, and as an encourager of trade; -- "and fared sumptuously every day." Here was another reason for his being highly esteemed, -- his hospitality and generosity, -- both by those who frequently sat at his table, and the tradesmen that furnished it.
 
2. "And there was a certain beggar;" one in the lowest line of human infamy; "named Lazarus," according to the Greek termination; in Hebrew, Eleazer. From his name we may gather, that he was of no mean family, although this branch of it was, at present, so reduced. It is probable he was well known in the city; and it was no scandal to him to be named. -- "Who was laid at his gate;" although no pleasing spectacle; so that one might wonder he was suffered to lie there; -- "full of sores;" of running ulcers; -- "and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table." So the complicated affliction of poverty, pain, and want of bread, lay upon him at once! But it does not appear that any creature took the least notice of the despicable wretch! Only "the dogs came and licked his sores:" All the comfort which this world afforded him!

3. But see the change! "The beggar died:" Here ended poverty and pain: -- "And was carried by angels;" nobler servants than any that attended the rich man; -- "into Abraham's bosom:" -- So the Jews commonly termed what our blessed Lord styles paradise; the place "where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest;" the receptacle of holy souls, from death to the resurrection. It is, indeed, very generally supposed, that the souls of good men, as soon as they are discharged from the body, go directly to heaven; but this opinion has not the least foundation in the oracles of God: On the contrary, our Lord says to Mary, after the resurrection, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father" in heaven. But he had been in paradise, according to his promise to the penitent thief: "This day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Hence, it is plain, that paradise is not heaven. It is indeed (if we may be allowed the expression) the antechamber of heaven, where the souls of the righteous remain till, after the general judgment, they are received into glory.

4. But see the scene change again! "The rich man also died." -- What! Must rich men also die? Must they fall "like one of the people?" Is there no help? A rich man in London, some years ago, when the physician told him he must die, gnashed his teeth, and clenched his fist, and cried out vehemently, "God, God, I won't die!' But he died with the very words in his mouth. -- "And was buried;" doubtless, with pomp enough, suitably to his quality; although we do not find that there was then, in all the world, that exquisite instance of human folly, that senseless, cruel mockery of a poor putrifying carcass, what we term lying in state!

5. And in hell he lifted up his eyes." -- O, what a change! How is the mighty fallen! But the word which is here rendered hell does not always mean the place of the damned. It is, literally, the invisible world; and is of very wide extent, including the receptacle of separate spirits, whether good or bad. But here it evidently means, that region of hades where the souls of wicked men reside, as appears from the following words, "Being in torment;" -- "in order," say some, "to atone for the sins committed while in the body, as well as to purify the soul from all its inherent sin." Just so, the eminent heathen poet, near two thousand years ago: --

6. "He seeth Abraham afar off." -- Far, indeed! As far as from hell to paradise! Perhaps, "ten-fold the length of this terrene." But how could this be? I cannot tell: But it is by no means incredible. For who knows "how far an angel kens," or a spirit divested of flesh and blood? -- "And Lazarus in his bosom." It is well known that, in the ancient feasts among the Jews, as well as the Romans, the guests did not sit down at the table, as it is now the custom to do; but lay on couches, each having a pillow at his left side, on which he supported his elbow; and he that sat next him, on the right side, was said to lie in his bosom. It was in this sense that the Apostle John lay in his Master's bosom. Accordingly, the expression of Lazarus lying in Abraham's bosom implies that he was in the highest place of honour and happiness.

7. "And he cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me." -- Thou fool! What can Abraham do? What can any creature, yea, all the creation do, to break the bars of the bottomless pit? Whoever would escape from the place of torment, let him cry to God, the Father of mercy! Nay, but the time is past! Justice now takes place, and rejoices over mercy! -- "And send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame!" How exceeding modest a request is this! He does not say, "That he may take me out of this flame." He does not ask, "That he may bring me a cup of water, or as much as he might hold in the palm of his hand;" but barely, "That he may dip" were it but "the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue." No! It cannot be! No mercy can enter within the shades of hell!

8. "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Perhaps these words may supply us with an answer to an important question: How came this rich man to be in hell? It does not appear that he was a wicked man, in the common sense of the word; that he was a drunkard, a common swearer, a Sabbath-breaker, or that he lived in any known sin. It is probable he was a Pharisee; and as such was, in all the outward parts of religion, blameless. How then did he come into "the place of torment?" If there was no other reason to be assigned, there is a sufficient one implied in those words, ("he that hath ears to hear, let him hear!") "Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things;" -- the things which thou hadst chosen for thy happiness. Thou hadst set thy affection on things beneath: And thou hadst thy reward: Thou didst receive the portion which thou hadst chosen, and canst have no portion above. "And likewise Lazarus evil things." Not his evil things; for he did not choose them. But they were chosen for him by the wise providence of God: And "now he is comforted, while thou art tormented."

9. "But beside all this, there is a great gulf fixed:" -- A great chasm, a vast vacuity. Can any tell us what this is? What is the nature, what are the bounds, of it? Nay, none of the children of men; none but an inhabitant of the invisible world. -- "So that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." Undoubtedly a disembodied spirit could pass through any space whatever. But the will of God, determining that none should go across that gulf, is a bound which no creature can pass.

10. Then he said, "I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." (Luke 16:27, 28) Two entirely different motives have been assigned for this extraordinary request. Some ascribe it wholly to self-love, to a fear of the bitter reproaches which, he might easily suppose, his brethren would pour upon him, if, in consequence of his example, and perhaps advice, they came to the same place of torment. Others have imputed it to a nobler motive. They suppose, as the misery of the wicked will not be complete till the day of judgment, so neither will their wickedness. Consequently, they believe that, till that time, they may retain some sparks of natural affection; and they, not improbably, imagine that this may have occasioned his desire to prevent their sharing his own torment.

11. "Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the Prophets: let them hear them." (Luke 16:29) "And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent." Who would not be of the same opinion? Might not any one reasonably suppose that a message solemnly delivered by one that came from the dead must have an irresistible force? Who would not think, "I myself could not possibly withstand such a preacher of repentance?"

 

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Luke 16:1-8:
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^[a] 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^[b] 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.

If we understand the parable's social setting, we'll see that his actions are not dishonest, just shrewd. By shrewd, I mean calculated to insure one's own self-interest. I think this parable disrupts our usual definition of what acting in our own self-interest means in light of the reversal of fortunes the kingdom of God will bring.
In ancient Palestine, there was a complex social, economic relationship among landowners, stewards, peasants, and merchants. The wealthy landowners sought to get as much profit as possible from their holdings and tenants. The steward was the middleman between the landholder and the merchants and tenants in the exchange of goods and services such as buying and selling grain, oil, and crops and collecting rents. If he was able to get an additional take for himself in these transactions, the master didn't mind; in fact he expected it. As long as the master's profits kept rolling in and the steward did not get too conspicuous in his consumption, the master was fine with the steward's benefiting from each deal. As for the merchants and tenants, they were in a relatively powerless position, unable to directly confront the master. Their target, when they were disgruntled or felt put upon, was the steward, the master's retainer.
The steward's position in this complex social network was both privileged and vulnerable. He had a relatively high standard of living, a benefit of his being able to read and write and his training by the master, but he was completely dependent on the goodwill of the master. He himself states it in verse 3. "What will I do now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg." We might assume that he is whining here, selfishly unwilling to engage in honest labor. He is actually just stating the fact that he is not prepared by physical training or by the habit of hardship to compete with the peasant labor pool for the hardest, most menial of jobs: digging. His strength gone, he would be reduced to begging, and, in short order, would die because of the malnutrition and disease that came with poverty. His situation is dire. Something must be done to prevent this future. No one can do it but him.
While there is desperation in the steward's action, there is also premeditated, self-interested shrewdness. He calls the debtors in one by one, not giving them the chance to compare notes and collaborate against him ahead of time. He knows that his reduction of what they owe will not ensure their permanent goodwill and hospitality toward him. At best it may postpone his poverty for a short time as they invite him to a couple of meals. He may be hoping that the master cannot blame him for not extracting the interest, since to do so would be an admission that his steward, with his blessing, had been condoning charging interest, in violation of the Torah. He may be hoping his actions could make it possible for him to secure another position as a steward for another member of the landowning elite, thereby saving him from a life of hard labor.
While there is desperation in the steward's action, there is also premeditated, self-interested shrewdness. He calls the debtors in one by one, not giving them the chance to compare notes and collaborate against him ahead of time. He knows that his reduction of what they owe will not ensure their permanent goodwill and hospitality toward him. At best it may postpone his poverty for a short time as they invite him to a couple of meals. He may be hoping that the master cannot blame him for not extracting the interest, since to do so would be an admission that his steward, with his blessing, had been condoning charging interest, in violation of the Torah. He may be hoping his actions could make it possible for him to secure another position as a steward for another member of the landowning elite, thereby saving him from a life of hard labor.
 

The Parable Of The Prodigal Son

The parable states the fundamental principal of God's dealings with sinners; and explains something of Christ s own loving concern for them.

We learn from the story, that God loves the sinner; every bit as much before he repents, as afterwards; and that, when the sinner has repented, he or she is fully restored into the family of God.

Let us look at the main points to be made, twice; first, in relation to their place in the developing story; and the second time, in relation to their spiritual significance, in the Christian life, today.

V.11. There is an assertion of self-will. ‘Father, give me…my share’.

In New Testament days, as in our modern culture: it was the customary thing, for there to have been a death, and a bequest, before there could be an inheritance; yet the younger son wanted his share, before it was due.

V.13. ‘Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had’.

Most of the son's inheritance; would have been made up of land, sheep and cattle. Because he could not have taken these things with him, to that 'far country'; the text encourages us to infer that the young man sold the land, sheep and cattle for spendable cash.

If so, this implies that some part of the family estate, has been eroded away, or even completely lost.

The 'far' or 'distant' country must have been a long way off, because not only the Jews; but all of the Semitic people, in the countries around; had nothing to do with pigs.

The text tells us that, in that far-away land, the young man squandered his wealth in wild living. The word 'squandered' is quite explicit. The wealth has been wasted away, with nothing good to show for it. When he was penniless; and a famine set in, and he was in great need; he hired himself out to a citizen of that country - but little good came out of looking after the other man's pigs.

The younger son 'came to his senses’; realized what a great mess he was in, and entered into a debate with himself.

He could see, clearly enough, that he was worse off than the lowest-paid servants in his father's employ; and that there was little or no way that his situation could improve, without going back to his father; asking to be forgiven; and being accepted once more: the alternative to going back home, being to starve to death where he was.

He put his thoughts into action; and went home. He received a far greater welcome, than he would have dared to hope for. His father was watching out for him, and saw him coming, while he was still far away.

The father; dropping any sense of dignity, that might belong to being the head of the family, and estate; and being full of love and concern; ran to meet his son.

He put his arms around him (the text says 'threw' his arms around him; much more emotionally-expressive) and kissed him. In that part of the world, then; and ever since; for a man to kiss another man, on the cheek, is a mark of acceptance.

The returned son had hardly begun to explain himself, and to plead his case, when his father waved all that to one side: it just wasn’t necessary. The father had the best robe fetched, and put on his son. The robe was a mark of place, purpose and leadership within the family and the estate.

He had a ring put on his son's finger. This would have been a signet ring; and, through wearing it, the son could act in proxy for his father, sealing letters and documents with hot wax, marked with the imprint of the ring.

He had sandals put on his son’s feet. Slaves and servants went barefoot, but sons wore sandals.

Wealthy households in that day, always had a special animal being brought along, against the day when a special guest arrived, or a feast was called for.

In having the 'fatted calf' prepared, he regarded, and treated, his returned son as someone so special, that the occasion just could not be allowed to pass without celebration.

The reason for celebrating, was made very plain by the father: ‘This son of mine was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found’.

As we read; the older brother became angry, and refused to share in what was going on. He gave his reasons, which had a certain degree of validity, but which could have been put to one side, as he joined in the celebration.

The father did not argue a case against the older son's attitude. Instead, he stated his love and care for him; and then went on, to make yet another invitation: ‘We just have to celebrate! Won't you join in?’.

Let's look at these points again, from a more spiritual angle.

Verse 11: ‘Father, give me my share’. Through the centuries, especially in Victorian times, Christians largely believed that there could be no 'inheritance' until they had 'died and gone to heaven'.

However, the parable of 'The Prodigal Son' clearly shows that there can be a receiving of part of the inheritance before physical death.

As Jesus taught elsewhere: ‘Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; and will not be condemned, for he has (already) crossed over, from death to life’.

For the believer, 'heaven’, and the inheritance of it, begins now.

If 'heaven’ begins now; then the Godly qualities that we receive in this life, can be misused, and wasted away; else where lies free will?

The ability to waste away the things of God; without the free will to do so, being snatched away from us; is one of the central points made by Christ in his ‘Parable of the Talents'.

The Prodigal's father loved him enough to let him go; taking a great part of the family's wealth with him.

God, our Father, loves us enough to let us go, even though we may waste the spiritual gifts and graces entrusted to us; and become lost to him.

Verse 14 says: ‘After he had spent everything ...’, he began to be in need and, eventually, his father met those needs. Some Christians see this sort of thing as unfair ...

... on a 'have your cake, and eat it' basis. The young man had what he wanted, of both the 'things of the world', and the 'things of heaven'; and, surely, that can't be right?

To think like this, is to miss the whole point of Christ's teaching about the wideness of God's forgiving love.

Verse 17 says: ‘When he came to his senses, he said...’. The 'King James Version’ puts it even better: ‘When he came to himself'’; when those deep-down things of his true nature, triumphed over the lesser things, then he could return.

When the son returned to his father, he appeared to be driven by a sense of expediency, based on law and justice: ‘If I do this thing, and say that thing, then such-and-such an outcome might be possible’ …

... but his father was not prepared to debate possible arrangements; based on expediency; for he was driven by love and compassion.

God our Father, in the grace of Jesus Christ, is not prepared to discuss issues and arrangements with us; but only to accept us, in love and compassion, and to restore whatever may have become lost to us.

The Prodigal's father was watching out for him; saw him while he was still a long way off, and ran to him. God always watches out for those of his children who have strayed, for whatever reason.

The father threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. The putting of his arms around him was a sign of welcome; and the kiss was not only a sign of acceptance, but also of restored trust.

When any of God's children break trust with their Heavenly Father; and then repent, and are forgiven; God's trust in them is fully restored.

The Prodigal's father put the robe of belonging and leadership around his son's shoulders; the signet ring of responsibility upon his finger, and the sandals of son-ship upon his feet.

So it is, with God our Father. Just as the Prodigal was placed in a position higher than he had before he went away; into sin; so it can be with forgiven and restored sinners ...

... perhaps because the very experience of the severance from God, makes the restored-to-God sinner stronger in understanding and resolve; and, therefore, capable of greater things than before.

The joy of the young man's father, and his desire to celebrate, is in keeping with Christ's teaching: ‘There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over 99 righteous persons, who do not need to repent’ (Luke 15:7).

The older son took a complaining, judgemental attitude to the whole situation, and refused to join in the celebrations. In Christ's story, the older son represents the Scribes and Pharisees, and their carping, judgemental attitude, to the new things that God was doing through Christ.

By refusing to go into the feast, the older son cut himself off from what was going on. By refusing to accept Christ, the Scribes and Pharisees cut themselves off from God's new way of doing things.

But the younger son - the 'Prodigal' - became not only a 'new man' through responding to those deep things of true self; and turning back to their source, to God; but he also became entrusted with greater things than before.

Is there any way in which our lives, or part of our lives, have been lived in 'a far country'; where we have been rather prodigal in our use of, or waste of, the things of God?

If so, how might we turn back to the Lord once more? If we do know our need to turn back, how strong is our resolve to actually do so?
T
he parable states the fundamental principal of God's dealings with sinners; and explains something of Christ s own loving concern for them.

We learn from the story, that God loves the sinner; every bit as much before he repents, as afterwards; and that, when the sinner has repented, he or she is fully restored into the family of God.

Let us look at the main points to be made, twice; first, in relation to their place in the developing story; and the second time, in relation to their spiritual significance, in the Christian life, today.

V.11. There is an assertion of self-will. ‘Father, give me…my share’.

In New Testament days, as in our modern culture: it was the customary thing, for there to have been a death, and a bequest, before there could be an inheritance; yet the younger son wanted his share, before it was due.

V.13. ‘Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had’.

Most of the son's inheritance; would have been made up of land, sheep and cattle. Because he could not have taken these things with him, to that 'far country'; the text encourages us to infer that the young man sold the land, sheep and cattle for spendable cash.

If so, this implies that some part of the family estate, has been eroded away, or even completely lost.

The 'far' or 'distant' country must have been a long way off, because not only the Jews; but all of the Semitic people, in the countries around; had nothing to do with pigs.

The text tells us that, in that far-away land, the young man squandered his wealth in wild living. The word 'squandered' is quite explicit. The wealth has been wasted away, with nothing good to show for it.
When he was penniless; and a famine set in, and he was in great need; he hired himself out to a citizen of that country - but little good came out of looking after the other man's pigs.

The younger son 'came to his senses’; realized what a great mess he was in, and entered into a debate with himself.

He could see, clearly enough, that he was worse off than the lowest-paid servants in his father's employ; and that there was little or no way that his situation could improve, without going back to his father; asking to be forgiven; and being accepted once more: the alternative to going back home, being to starve to death where he was.

He put his thoughts into action; and went home. He received a far greater welcome, than he would have dared to hope for. His father was watching out for him, and saw him coming, while he was still far away.

The father; dropping any sense of dignity, that might belong to being the head of the family, and estate; and being full of love and concern; ran to meet his son.

He put his arms around him (the text says 'threw' his arms around him; much more emotionally-expressive) and kissed him. In that part of the world, then; and ever since; for a man to kiss another man, on the cheek, is a mark of acceptance.

The returned son had hardly begun to explain himself, and to plead his case, when his father waved all that to one side: it just wasn’t necessary. The father had the best robe fetched, and put on his son. The robe was a mark of place, purpose and leadership within the family and the estate.

He had a ring put on his son's finger. This would have been a signet ring; and, through wearing it, the son could act in proxy for his father, sealing letters and documents with hot wax, marked with the imprint of the ring.

He had sandals put on his son’s feet. Slaves and servants went barefoot, but sons wore sandals.

Wealthy households in that day, always had a special animal being brought along, against the day when a special guest arrived, or a feast was called for.

In having the 'fatted calf' prepared, he regarded, and treated, his returned son as someone so special, that the occasion just could not be allowed to pass without celebration.

The reason for celebrating, was made very plain by the father: ‘This son of mine was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found’.

As we read; the older brother became angry, and refused to share in what was going on. He gave his reasons, which had a certain degree of validity, but which could have been put to one side, as he joined in the celebration.

The father did not argue a case against the older son's attitude. Instead, he stated his love and care for him; and then went on, to make yet another invitation: ‘We just have to celebrate! Won't you join in?’.

Let's look at these points again, from a more spiritual angle.

Verse 11: ‘Father, give me my share’. Through the centuries, especially in Victorian times, Christians largely believed that there could be no 'inheritance' until they had 'died and gone to heaven'.

However, the parable of 'The Prodigal Son' clearly shows that there can be a receiving of part of the inheritance before physical death.

As Jesus taught elsewhere: ‘Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; and will not be condemned, for he has (already) crossed over, from death to life’.

For the believer, 'heaven’, and the inheritance of it, begins now.

If 'heaven’ begins now; then the Godly qualities that we receive in this life, can be misused, and wasted away; else where lies free will?

The ability to waste away the things of God; without the free will to do so, being snatched away from us; is one of the central points made by Christ in his ‘Parable of the Talents'.

The Prodigal's father loved him enough to let him go; taking a great part of the family's wealth with him.

God, our Father, loves us enough to let us go, even though we may waste the spiritual gifts and graces entrusted to us; and become lost to him.

Verse 14 says: ‘After he had spent everything ...’, he began to be in need and, eventually, his father met those needs. Some Christians see this sort of thing as unfair ...

... on a 'have your cake, and eat it' basis. The young man had what he wanted, of both the 'things of the world', and the 'things of heaven'; and, surely, that can't be right?

To think like this, is to miss the whole point of Christ's teaching about the wideness of God's forgiving love.

Verse 17 says: ‘When he came to his senses, he said...’. The 'King James Version’ puts it even better: ‘When he came to himself'’; when those deep-down things of his true nature, triumphed over the lesser things, then he could return.

When the son returned to his father, he appeared to be driven by a sense of expediency, based on law and justice: ‘If I do this thing, and say that thing, then such-and-such an outcome might be possible’ …

... but his father was not prepared to debate possible arrangements; based on expediency; for he was driven by love and compassion.

God our Father, in the grace of Jesus Christ, is not prepared to discuss issues and arrangements with us; but only to accept us, in love and compassion, and to restore whatever may have become lost to us.

The Prodigal's father was watching out for him; saw him while he was still a long way off, and ran to him. God always watches out for those of his children who have strayed, for whatever reason.

The father threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. The putting of his arms around him was a sign of welcome; and the kiss was not only a sign of acceptance, but also of restored trust.

When any of God's children break trust with their Heavenly Father; and then repent, and are forgiven; God's trust in them is fully restored.

The Prodigal's father put the robe of belonging and leadership around his son's shoulders; the signet ring of responsibility upon his finger, and the sandals of son-ship upon his feet.

So it is, with God our Father. Just as the Prodigal was placed in a position higher than he had before he went away; into sin; so it can be with forgiven and restored sinners ...

... perhaps because the very experience of the severance from God, makes the restored-to-God sinner stronger in understanding and resolve; and, therefore, capable of greater things than before.

The joy of the young man's father, and his desire to celebrate, is in keeping with Christ's teaching: ‘There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over 99 righteous persons, who do not need to repent’ (Luke 15:7).

The older son took a complaining, judgemental attitude to the whole situation, and refused to join in the celebrations. In Christ's story, the older son represents the Scribes and Pharisees, and their carping, judgemental attitude, to the new things that God was doing through Christ.

By refusing to go into the feast, the older son cut himself off from what was going on. By refusing to accept Christ, the Scribes and Pharisees cut themselves off from God's new way of doing things.

But the younger son - the 'Prodigal' - became not only a 'new man' through responding to those deep things of true self; and turning back to their source, to God; but he also became entrusted with greater things than before.

Is there any way in which our lives, or part of our lives, have been lived in 'a far country'; where we have been rather prodigal in our use of, or waste of, the things of God?

If so, how might we turn back to the Lord once more? If we do know our need to turn back, how strong is our resolve to actually do so?