Servant

This parable is told by Jesus because the crowd surrounding Him is composed of all these soils and only a portion will bear fruit. A non-believer can appear in two ways: one that resembles what an unbeliever looks like and one that does not. Believers can appear in two different ways, one of which resembles a believer and one of which does not. Can the world tell if we are believers? It sometimes makes me wonder why so few Christians I know are actually committed to developing their spiritual maturity and passing on their faith by turning their backs on the cares and pursuits of this world. One day when we meet Jesus face to face, it will not be our bank accounts, our houses, our awards, or our photo albums that impress Him, it will be our spiritual fruit.

God’s seeming unwillingness to answer our prayers can leave us feeling bewildered and impatient. Jesus gives insight into the character of God and why we should talk with Him. Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). In reply, He told a story about a man who pestered a neighbor for help, with an unexpected twist (11:5–8). In the end, it was the man’s persistent requests, and not the neighbors’ mutual friendship, that led to the man’s success in getting his neighbor’s help—a turn of events that still baffles readers today. Does this mean that we can bug God into giving us what we want? Does it mean that He is more motivated by getting us off His back than He is by His love for us when He answers our prayers? The answer to both questions is no. What the story makes clear is that our freedom to ask does not dictate God’s response. He is not a servant waiting for a list of tasks we want accomplished. Nor does He rely on us to define our needs, outline solutions, or say when or how He should act. Our all-knowing and all-wise God does those things for us. However, God is eager for His children to develop a habit of talking with Him, including asking Him for help (11:9, 10). That doesn’t mean He will be guided by our limited understanding of a situation and its possible solutions (11:11–13). He asks us to trust Him to know what is needed and when. Our calling is to ask—even persistently—and to grow in the process. One of the most surprising benefits of prayer is how much we change when we talk regularly with God. Sometimes that in itself is the answer to our prayers.

There are some Christians who hide their light and refuse to share their witness despite their best efforts; they never bear fruit. Those Christians are those who hear the Word and respond to the Word with healthy growth. Nevertheless, they are stifled by the cares, riches, and pleasures of this world, keeping them distracted from fruit production. Christian maturity cannot be achieved because they have no initiative, no resources, no commitment, and no desire. The enchantment of worldly things is too important and too demanding for them. Consequently, they have little energy left for spiritual development, and what little is left must be used to survive, not for spiritual development.

There are some Christians who hide their light and refuse to share their witness despite their best efforts; they never bear fruit. Those Christians are those who hear the Word and respond to the Word with healthy growth. Nevertheless, they are stifled by the cares, riches, and pleasures of this world, keeping them distracted from fruit production. Christian maturity cannot be achieved because they have no initiative, no resources, no commitment, and no desire. The enchantment of worldly things is too important and too demanding for them. Consequently, they have little energy left for spiritual development, and what little is left must be used to survive, not for spiritual development.

The older brother of the prodigal son demonstrates what can happen when people are around religion for a long time. Unlike his father, who expressed relief and mercy for his brother for returning home, the older brother was horrified by the celebration held in his brother's honor. His jealousy went beyond jealousy. His fury swept over him. As a result, his father suffered and his son wasted the family's valuable assets.

On the surface, those feelings make sense, and could have been based in love for his father. But further reading shows that this son had missed the blessings the father had been bestowing on him. That was the attitude of the Pharisees who first heard Jesus tell this story. It became the view of Jews in general as the Good News spread to the Gentiles. How could Jesus be so friendly toward sinners yet so distant from people who carefully practiced the finer points of the Law? How could God show compassion toward the Gentiles while bypassing the Jews, who had been His people for generations?

It might feel as if everyone overlooks people who make a lifelong habit of obeying God. It may seem like new followers of Jesus with gruesome pasts get all the attention. To everyone who feels under-appreciated, Jesus’ parable supplies both a comfort and a challenge. The comfort is that God never forgets who His children are. He blesses them continually. He has great treasures stored up for them.

The challenge is that they need to maintain the right perspective. Every one of their godly choices brings great good. We will never stop needing the Father’s compassion and mercy to make these choices and to recover from the bad ones. And when they comprehend that, they will find it easier to watch others connect or reconnect with the Father’s heart.

Luke begins the parable, just as he did in the previous episode, by explaining its meaning. The parable illustrates the two places people place their trust. In Jerusalem, two men went up to the temple to pray. Jesus draws immediate contrasts here, as he did in the earlier parable. Jewish culture associated the Pharisees with righteousness. Similar to Mother Theresa being the symbol of righteousness throughout the world. Tax collectors had the lowest reputation in Jewish society. In the parable, the role of honor is reversed, which effectively plays on these two extremes. In these parables we find Luke records the culmination of Jesus' teachings as he travels from Galilee to Jerusalem. The whole chapter is devoted to the discussion of faith as the only route to salvation, so it only makes sense. As in the previous parable, The Parable of the Persistent Widow, this parable emphasizes the basic issue of faith as the main ingredient of a relationship with God.

Throughout this Parable, Jesus encourages his disciples to pray and not become weary or discouraged. Meaning, Jesus wanted to give the disciples reason not to give up or be discouraged in their appointed work. And that they should continue to pray in their afflictions. Jesus Had given the disciples a grim report of what to expect in the days immediately before His return. A depraved world where the enemy seemed to be taking control. And even though the disciples had no idea how long it would be prior to Jesus’ return. When persecution comes, don’t lose heart, don’t grow weary of keeping the faith and doing the master’s will.

There are Christians who hide their light and refuse to share their witness despite their best efforts, they never produce anything fruitful. Those Christians are those who hear the Word and respond with healthy growth to it. However, the cares, riches, and pleasures of this world choke off fruit production this world's interests and concerns keep them distracted. They have no time to mature as a Christian, no energy, no resources no commitment, no desire. There is just too much attraction to the things of this world, they are too important, too demanding. Consequently, people have little energy left for spiritual development, and what little there is must be used to survive, not to develop spiritually.

This Parable has a specific application to the teaching of Jesus, as illustrated in Luke chapter 8 verses 4-10. Luke raises the question of why there were such varied reactions to the miracles and the message. How can the same events witnessed by everyone in the crowd affect people so differently? In the Parable, these questions were addressed directly. Four different conditions are described in the Parable.

The Scribes and Pharisees were rebuked by Jesus for allowing their traditions to override God's clear commands. The rabbinical requirements regarding ritual washings for preparing and serving food were specifically mentioned. We no longer follow the rigid pronouncements of a priestly class. Even so, there are countless traditions and expectations-most unspoken- that govern our behavior and sometimes cause us to squabble. Christians are called at times to uphold tradition and at other times to create new patterns of living. While there are no simple formulas to guide our decisions, we can start by asking ourselves questions like these

What values and principles does a particular tradition, strive to embody?