Exploring God’s Word with Brad Thurston

Cultural Complexities:

1. Jews thought riches are a sign of the blessing of God: referring back to Abraham who received the covenant from God: Gen. 12:1-3 and in 13 he is described as “very rich”. Issac inherits his father’s riches, is described in 26:12,13: “Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundred times as much. And the LORD blessed him, and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy;”. Wealth was interpreted as the blessing of God missing entirely the true purpose of God being redemption and reconciliation which are the true blessings of His Kingdom. The riches of this world cannot be compared to the riches of eternity.
2. If we misunderstand the purpose of God, and the power of God and the love of God, then we will attempt to find a way to rationalize what Jesus says in order to make things more acceptable to our way of thinking. So here is this strange saying of Jesus about rich people entering the Kingdom of God: in the fifth century, some scribe changed the word camel to rope to make the task easier.  In the 15th century, an idea began to be shared about a camels gate in Jerusalem where the burdens had to be laid down in order for the camel to enter.  Great way to make money off of tourists! Issues of war, issues of camels, issues of misinterpretation of the scriptures are all ignored with this idea.

Contextual considerations:

1. The constant back and forth between Pharisees, lawyers, scribes and rulers to disciples and Kingdom principles.  Jesus is constantly comparing Kingdom values to the misrepresentations of the ruling leaders: in chapter 11 Jesus points out the flaws in the leaders approach showing they like what is going on on the outside but their inside is totally corrupt. In 16 he points out that the Pharisees were lovers of money, and in 18 he has just nailed their prayer life as being based on pride and arrogance. His dialogue here with the ruler varies from Matthew’s account as he is not young, nor is he specifically pointed out as being “loved” by Jesus. Rather his stumbling block to recognizing the Kingdom of God and it’s value is made strikingly clear.  He has a heart conflict with loving the things of this world as opposed to loving God.
2. The immediate context is the comparison between infants and their total dependency on their parents and the ruler who is proud of his self sufficiency.
3. The primary focus here is on the word “impossible”. Salvation is not possible with any person. It is only possible with God!  Notice Jesus is not concerned about the wealth issue, especially since in the next chapter he goes to eat with a rich man who repents, and uses hie wealth for righteous purposes. The question has to do with eternal life! The same as the lawyer in Chapter 10 asks about salvation and hear to keep the commandments and Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan and instructs him to Go and do likewise!  The greatness of his wealth is reflected in the greatness of his sorrow as he leaves.
4. The comparison between the dependent child and the independent ruler cannot be more crass.
5. The comparison then moves to a new dimension of instruction to the disciples: the instruction concerning giving and receiving more is not comprehended by them.  Look at all they have given up, and wonder what the future holds.  Jesus uses this opportunity to explain the passion to them more fully, and is asking them to follow him in what he does:  look at what Jesus gives up for others…. This is the core of the Gospel and not understood until after the resurrection. We get so caught up in our own thoughts that we miss the focus of what Jesus is saying, even as we look at babies and camels we miss the key information about all of the riches Jesus surrenders for our benefit.

What do we do with our riches? How do we invest in God’s kingdom? Where do we need to repent of which sins? Or do we have sorrow as a result of our abuse of what has been entrusted to us?  Have we misinterpreted the purposes and the focus of God’s love for us? Don’t go away sad, come to Jesus and get it right.

The verse upon which these two parables hinge is the question in verse 8: Will Jesus find faith on earth?

Notice, that the context of the question is asked in terms of two stories concerning prayer! One story is told to the disciples while the other is addresses to the Pharisees who are also a part of the crowd around Jesus.  The closer they get to Jerusalem the clearer Jesus speaks to the two knowing what is about to happen. And addressing his disciples Jesus links prayer to growth in faith! 

Observing Jesus in prayer:

Beginning of his ministry is bathed in prayer in the wilderness

Knowing his purpose and direction

Selecting the disciples to invest in

Praying alone and the revelation of who he is in 9:18

In 11 Jesus teaches them to pray when that is the only thing the disciples want to be taught

After Jesus prays, people are healed, delivered, and set free from every type of disease and hurt

Now Jesus is teaching his disciples about the importance of prayer in all that they are to do and will be doing: Indeed his instruction will be after the resurrection for them to stay in prayer until the are filled with the Holy Spirit! So these parables are a critical addition to both the observations of the disciples and the previous teachings by Jesus on prayer:

Three critical observations on prayer from these parables: 

1. Prayer is to be persistent
2. Prayer is to be patient
3. Prayer needs to be filled with power, not pride

Concerning 1: Don’t give up! George Mueller was a man of faith and prayer: all were answered

Concerning 2: My mother never saw the answers to her prayers for me, but she persisted in them

Concerning 3: Who is the object of your prayers? Is it God or is it you?  If it is God, then we need to be about the things that God is interested in, which is the redemption and reconciliation of the lost! Pride comes before a fall - “When pride comes, then comes dishonor; But with the humble there is wisdom.”

Proverbs 11:2 

Conclusion: Grow in your prayer life – pray at all times. Let that become your lifestyle.

In Luke 19:37-39 Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph with the crowd shouting praises:  Blessed is the King, the One who comes in the Name of the Lord; Peace in Heaven and Glory in the Highest (like the angels at the birth of Jesus) – but the Pharisees ask him to rebuke his disciples!

They have been with him along this journey to Jerusalem and have continually grown in fear of the people and despair at their loss of respect, power, and authority. Fast forward 5 days, after Judas agrees to betray Jesus and the leaders see their opportunity arise:

Now Jesus has been condemned by the religious leaders due to false testimony and brought before Pilate – who sends him to Herod who also finds no fault in him.  He returns and passes judgement 3 times: Jesus is innocent at every turn, except in the minds of the Jewish leaders: Each declaration becomes more general:  First he is declared innocent of the charges brought by the Jews.  Second, he is innocent of leading people astray.  Third, he is innocent of any wrongdoing worthy of death.  The final question is: Why, what evil has he done?  There is no answer to that question, because he has done no evil and they all know it. The only way to deal with this is to incite a riot. In the midst of this, a man who is guilty of inciting a riot and murder, is released and Jesus is handed over to their will!!! Barabbas, the guilty one, goes free – while the innocent one is not punished for his sins, but is a sacrifice for the sins of others.

I propose that we often think of God as a God of judgement, who is just looking for an opportunity to cast us into the fires of hell.  I for one do not believe that, but I do believe and if God did not spare his own son, how will he not with him freely give us all things!  A God of Love is not nit picking on our sins but wants above all to save us.  Save us from what?  Here is the answer: Our own Will!

The worst thing God can do to us, is to let us have our own way and do our own thing.  We see that as freedom, but God sees that as real bondage.  And here is the condemnation of Jesus we can see it clearly. 

First let us look at the leaders who are the protagonists of this dastardly deed:

Their pride is hurt.

Their authority is diminished.

Their purpose is questioned.

The only way they can see to regain their place of prominence among the people is to rid themselves of the one who is undermining them.  Their very existence is in their religion.  They don’t care about Rome, or Herod or Egypt, they are the inheritors of the greatest religion.  They are to safeguard their traditions and their understanding of the forefathers experiences and they see themselves as the gatekeepers of God’s Kingdom, and Jesus is threatening them and all that they stand for.  History is repeating itself since they have always killed the prophets and have done so in Jerusalem.  And now with the short window of time they have to get it done before sunset so as not to blemish their high feast of Passover.

Look what happens in their judgement:  When they get their will:

They look to get their pride, traditions, authority and power back, but the result is very different:

When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. Job 8:4

13The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

Acts. 3:13-15:  Ignorance listed in 17 as their cause.  They very thing they accused Jesus of, they were guilty of!!!!  Why because they wanted their will and not God’s will in their lives.  They were blind to the will of God and paid for it.

See Romans 11:8

as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.”

The same is true when they came out of Egypt - Psalm 81:11-14

11“But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. 12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. 13“If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, 14how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!

When we place our trust in God and in his will, what might look like servanthood, is actually the greatest freedom available.  His will is for none of us to perish! His will is for us to prosper and be in health.  His will is for us to overcome all of our enemies – through his strength, his presence and his power in our lives.  When we harden our hearts against God and want to do our own thing, we are in the greatest danger, that God will actually let us do it.  And the results could be that we actually get what we ask for.

How was Judas preparing for this Passover festival?  What went through his mind? What was his motivation?

Luke carefully points out, it was not really his personal greed, but other forces are at work here. And his plan is being controlled by the devil.  Others are in play here, and the guilt is not on the Jews, but their leaders who organize the events coming up. Rising hatred for the one who is more popular than they are, and who is a threat to their way of life as well as their religion!

The disciples are preparing a meal.  Experiencing the work of a prophet again. Caught up in the moment, but unable to see the big picture that is unfolding. They do not suspect that one of their own is involved in this great moment in history. They simply set the stage: thinking it is just another Passover, they do not see the implications of what they are doing.  Would they have been involved if they had?  Did they not flee when Jesus was arrested, fading away because they feared for their own lives?  

Jesus is preparing for the greatest victory and moves towards both great suffering and great faith. The preparation at this Passover meal is about the events that will unfold in prophetic form at the coming meal. He wants to prepare the disciples for their future task that lies ahead of them, knowing he has to do this one thing alone. But he does see the whole picture and knows he is committed to it.  He lays out the plan and sets the stage for what goes down.

Do we trust Jesus with the preparations for our lives? Do we believe he sees the big picture and loves us in the midst of all we are going through? Put your trust in God!  If he carefully planned this out to the smallest detail, then he knows the smallest detail of your life as well!

The three parts of this text: the healing, the Pharisees challenge, and the instruction of the Kingdom to his disciples.

Part 1

The road to Jerusalem is not straight. Related to the places his disciples had gone to prepare his arrival.

Leper colony where strangers are forced upon one another.

Had a measure of faith when they raised their voices to be heard – desperation.

All had faith for healing, only one was made whole: two aspects to faith, obedience and gratitude (worship). Jesus expects both.

Part 2

The challenge to Jesus’ authority from a theological position. “Who do you think you are?”

            Rejecting the evidence in front of them. A simple end times approach to the Messiah

            Unable to examine their own perspective and cultural heritage

The response by Jesus is that the kingdom is not just some internal ideas, but there is real power in it’s existence to heal, deliver, and to transform lives.  It is all around you for those who have eyes to see, and ears to hear.

Part 3

Using the worldview and mindset of the Jewish leaders, Jesus instructs his disciples concerning the Kingdom.

Notice, this part of Jesus as King of the Kingdom is now coming into focus. He will be proclaimed, mocked and labeled: King of the Jews

His resurrection will be his enthronement on high where he is placed on a throne.

He will judge the living and the dead. He is the King above all kings, supreme ruler in heaven and earth. It is not a question of when, or where as most would have it.  The end will come quickly, but what is important is your response to the King now. This is not about chronology (timing), it is about conversion!

Hold lightly to pleasures, relationships, and possessions, but commit to the King and the eternal is secured regardless of what happens in this world.

And it is for all who are called and visited by the King.

Luke Johnson writes: “The Pharisees were indicted for false legal piety, they did not keep the deep moral demands of the law and prophets even as they posed as their protectors. As Money-lovers, they tried to both serve God and Mammon.” Now Jesus turns to the disciples with positive instruction concerning the demands of the Gospel.

There are four matters which Jesus addresses: 

1. The presence of scandal
2. The demands of forgiveness
3. The power of faith
4. The attitude of service

These are not matters of comfort,  rather they show the difference between living a kingdom of God kind of life and using religion as a means of disguising sin.  

The first two are very radical statements:

• Scandals are necessary 
• They show the need for repentance and forgiveness
• Forgiveness is necessary 
• This demonstrates the power and presence of God’s character in a life

The response of the shocked disciples is, how can we do that?

• Jesus reply is twofold:
• to focus on the importance of faith in a believers life
• to fulfill the purpose of God in service and obedience
• This is in direct opposition to the self-justifying attitudes of the Pharisees 

This reply begs the question, how do I get this kind of faith?

            The righteous shall live by faith

            The empowerment of the Holy Spirit enables us to have mustard seed faith

            The confrontation in Jerusalem, and the start of a new era is coming into focus

Your response to sin and scandals, will determine how your spiritual walk is governed. The objective here is not perfection, but humility and love motivating your actions. 

Here is the setting: the people are rejoicing over the newness of the message and the Kingdom of God. The barriers are being torn down and they are excited about being allowed in where they thought only special people could go. They are excited about healings and deliverance, a new life made available. The disciples are exploring these developments with the teachings of Jesus and are being overwhelmed with the newness and excitement of it all.  The Pharisees see their very existence threatened.  And Jesus is not condemning or unloving, he just continues to share the deep and cutting truth that hinders people from experiencing the love and healing power of God.  At stake is the basic understanding of who God is, and the result of wondering if all they have done in life is of any value at all. This conflicts with their views on power, authority, wealth, position, culture, even God’s decree of their special status in the world, whether the Romans knew it or not.  

Jesus is not being unkind, but his love for them all does not allow him to be dishonest in confronting the dominant sins in their lives. And his knowledge of God does not allow them to hide their sins behind their assumed religious façade, which permits them to secretly hide their sins: see 1 John 2:16

So what Jesus is helping them do, is to peel back the onion skins of their lives:

You know what happens when you do this? It eventually brings out the tears! (Peel onion 🧅)

This background is key to understanding this passage:

1. The Pharisees feel threatened so now their hostility reaches a new level of openly mocking Jesus
2. Seeing the heart is an allusion to 11:39-41 where greed and alms giving is exposed inside and outside does not fool God!
3. Law and Prophets till John, now we see the Kingdom of God which is the rule of God from the heart!  All are urged to enter in.  Entrance is not by the impossible work of trying to keep the law without the right heart attitude, it is by repentance and forgiveness, which opens it for all who would believe! This is what all people yearn for and are wanting to get to in life!
4. In this process God does not change! His Word and ways are set and he doesn’t change!
5. Mal 3:6
6. Example is with divorce:  God hates divorce: Mal 2:16
7. But God does forgive and accept sinners!
8. He redeems, heals and delivers! He sets free the oppressed
9. But the Pharisees have different schools of thought concerning this and a major debate amongst themselves to cover up their fornication. School of Shammai allows divorce based on fornication, and Hillel allows it if the man finds another woman more attractive. But Jesus is radical enough to see the emotional and social damage divorce brings, that he can forgive and heal when it happens under any circumstance.  But that comes with repentance! A change of mind to agree with God, not use forgiveness as a means to hide your impurities!
10. Now he focuses on the wealth of the Pharisees which covers all three areas of their pride, the love of power, lust, and money, three main idols that will destroy any person. Those who were destroyed by it, want healing, those who benefit from it, want to maintain it
11. So this story, whether a parable or real is debated, but it clearly peals the onion of the Pharisees, pride, culture and religious standing before God. 
12. Lazarus is Greek for Eliezer which means My God Helps
13. The rich man is unrepentant in his torment and sees Lazarus as a servant
14. The reply of Jesus is twofold, to show the hardness of heart and lack of understanding about both God and the Scriptures as well as to foretell about his own upcoming experience that these very people would still deny!

The horror of this story is the fact that God’s offer is so inclusive and so marvelous, but still rejected by those who only see the temporal as meaningful in this life.  They exclude the life to come.  We should not make the same mistake, nor ought we find ourselves caught up in the pride of life and destroyed by our own insensitive justifications for our sins and prejudices. The way of deliverance is in repentance and forgiveness.  Entrance into the Kingdom happens as we come humbly and not by maintaining our own innocence of God’s revelation of Jesus and his gift of eternal life. What silliness is it for us to gain the whole world and yet forfeit our own life.  

Where do you need to repent in your life? Where do you need forgiveness or to give forgiveness? What do you need to be freed from?

Many find this text confusing and it has given rise to many discussions as to its meaning and interpretation. I find that the understanding of this text is seen in two particular aspects:  first, the cultural setting in which the story is told, and second, the reaction of the Pharisees at the end of the story.  These two clues point to a dynamic in the Kingdom of God that Jesus sees as critical for the spiritual growth and development of his disciples.

First let us examine the cultural background of the text, then the revelation concerning the Kingdom of God, and lastly the application to the lives of any disciple of Jesus.

1.  The rich landowner is a righteous man. The amount of riches a person has does not determine either the extent of the blessing of God in a persons life, the righteousness of their walk with God, or their faithfulness and submission to the will of God.  You can be righteous before God, waking in holiness and be rich or poor in the world’s eyes.  It is not possessions that make you rich, it is your submission to both God’s will and character in your life that makes you rich in both spirit and truth.  The rich man is not righteous because of his wealth, but because of his character!  Some dangerously and falsely assume that wealth - as a sign of God’s blessing - determines righteousness. Righteousness is determined by our faithfulness to God, regardless of our circumstances. 
2. The manager is a person who is unrighteous not because of his possessions or lack of them, but because of his love for money, and his corruption in his dealings with money. He assumes that he can abuse his relationship with the landowner and that he has a right to his employers wealth!  This leads to his being fired! 
3. The manager sees the doom of his impending future, so he acts in such a way as to ingratiate himself with the tenants, and procure a future for himself in a legal way.  The righteous employer sees how shrewd the manager has changed his perspective (repented) from seeing wealth as more important than relationships, and complements him on his life’s change of direction!
4. Now Jesus turns to discuss how his disciples treat their stewardship of what belongs to God, and how faithfulness is determined by their handling of little things. Compare with 12:30-34. 

The focus of all parables has to do with the revelation of the Kingdom of God, how life in the Kingdom functions and grows and impacts the world about them.  

Here are some major themes in understanding the nature of the Kingdom:  

1. Jesus is King, and requires submission to his rule.
2. His rule is for others at great cost to himself!  He loves all of his subjects, and does not abuse that relationship as other leaders do.  His righteousness is not in question!
3. He demands repentance from his subjects to begin to think and act like he does, considering others as more important than himself
4. He looks for those who will learn the life of faith and holiness, who depend on him to transform their lives from the inside out! Not placing their own needs and desires above the others!  This is radical and the Pharisees see it, that they are in essence being compared to the unrighteous managers who need to repent of their ways and attitudes! They were just compared to the older lost son in the previous parable.  Now Jesus is showing his disciples the core issue that they are dealing with, it has to do with their relationship to riches and money. That is the bottom line.  It has little to do with kingdom relationships, primarily to the King.
5. Even the smallest sign of repentance is enough to begin with in transforming our thinking and our dependence upon the mercy of the master.  He can work with that.
6. The difference in this parable to the last one, is that there is no resolution for the older son, but here, there is an opening for grace that can be built upon for the one who sees their relationship to God being in jeopardy. 

Finally, the key interpretation of this parable is evident in verses 9-13. 

1. How do you use your money?  Not, how do others use their money for my benefit? Are the things I am a steward of, properly cared for?
2. Faithfulness in little things leads to faithfulness in real valuables!  This is the spiritual impact of dealing with monetary issues.  There are heart issues here that require us to examine ourselves.  First comes the natural and then the spiritual. 
3. True riches are based upon being righteous with little things, and the things of others!
4. If I cannot manage the things that belong to others correctly, how will God entrust me/us with our own possessions?
5. Compare verse 13 with 12:34
6. The tell tale sign of worldly versus spiritual is seen in verse 14!
7. What do you and I need to repent of?

Preached often from this show the power of being redeemed – bought back and restored

Powerful message about reconciliation and the process we go through to arrive at a place of repentance (the peeling of an onion to get at the heart of the matter)

The joy and the honor that comes with being a child of God! The importance of the clothes, the ring and  sandals! Again, a feast with dancing! Joy in community! 

This time through, I read it in it’s context of the criticism by the Pharisees, and how Jesus responded to them with these parables:  I can imagine just how thrilled the crowds were with his answer, and how much more upset the elites were with his response.  

And that leads us to the heart of all three of these parables!

1. The position that the Pharisees held was that they were the ones to hold the truth and enjoy the benefits of those who were righteous – reading, explaining, and leading the people in how to be righteous. Jesus is challenging their authority and the people are responding to Jesus! 
2. The real focus of these parables is not about the sheep, the coin, or the lost sons!  It is about the shepherd, the woman and the Father.  The focus on the third parable is the highlight of understanding who the Father is and how he yearns for a relationship with all who will come to him!  It is about the heart of the Father, and his coming out to both sons, making the same offer!  All that I have is yours!
3. The older boy responds as a slave would respond, not as a son.  In the same way as his younger brother who had no interest in the Father, only in what the Father could provide!  Both missed the yearning desire of the Father to to love and be loved.  He was only there to be used and abused.
4. In this last portion about the older son Jesus exposes the very hypocrisy of the Pharisees – who are also just as blind to the heart of the Father and live slavishly under rules that they impose on others. The judgement is as clear as the invitation to experience the Fathers great love.

How do you see your relationship with the Heavenly Father?  Living in Forgiveness, restoration and rejoicing? Or is it a burden you bear, rather than casting all your burdens on to Jesus.