The Rich Young Ruler
Matthew 19:16 to 20:16; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30

The rich young ruler DIG: What seems to have been the rich young ruler’s view on how one obtains eternal life? Different facets of God’s goodness are revealed in Psalm 139. What do you learn about His goodness to you in verses 1-5, 7-12? What was the heart of the issue? Is the problem riches or the love of riches that prevents some from entering the Kingdom? Since wealth was commonly considered a sure sign of God’s blessing, what was the problem for the talmidim? Why didn’t the young yeshiva end up following Christ?

REFLECT: How do you fill the spiritual void in your life? Works? Faith? Keeping kosher? Mysticism? Belief in some ambiguous “higher power?” Is the difference between needing money and the love of money for you? What have you given up to follow Jesus? How is your life different as a result? What has helped you to see the impossibility of “earning” the right to go to heaven? What kind of workers are we in God’s vineyard?

In the parable of the two debtors (to see link click Ef – Jesus Anointed by a Woman Who Led a Sinful Life) we studied the same question set forth here. In each passage there is first a discussion about the Torah, then followed with a teaching with a parable as the climax in the center. Yet, at the same time, the passages are structured differently. The parable of the two debtors has two rounds of debate with two questions and two answers in each round. The parable of the camel’s eye, however, has five inverted topics with the parable as the climax in the center. This dialogue has an A-B-C-D-E-D-C-B-A structure.

As Jesus started on His way from the house where He blessed the children, a certain ruler, probably a young rabbinical student from a local synagogue in Southern Perea urgently ran up to the Lord and respectfully fell on his knees before Him. He belonged to the same class of Pharisees that young Saul of Tarsus did. This passage begins with the topic of eternal life (see Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer) and comes full circle back to the same topic at the end. But there is a difference. In the opening stanza the rich young ruler wants to do something to inherit eternal life. At the end of the teaching, however, we see that eternal life is received as a gift, not an earned right.¹²⁰²

After the encounter with the young man on the requirements of eternal life, there evidently remained some lingering questions on the part of the apostles. They needed some clarification on the fairness of the coming judgment in messiah’s Kingdom. Therefore, Yeshua teaches them the parable of the workers in the vineyard. But we start our lesson with Messiah’s interaction with a rich young yeshiva that had a very important question.

(A) Inherit eternal life: “Good Rabbi,” he asked Christ, “what must I do to inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:16; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18 CJB)? He clearly wants to achieve eternal life by his own efforts. Jews believed that to inherit eternal life and to enter the Kingdom were synonymous ideas. The young rabbinical student knew that Yeshua was offering Himself as a King and was offering the Kingdom to Isra’el. He also must have known from the Scriptures that righteousness was necessary to enter the Kingdom. He wanted to know what kind of righteousness ha-Meshiach required to enter His Kingdom, and if the righteousness he possessed was sufficient to admit him.

Jesus did not immediately answer his question; rather, like all good rabbis, the Lord answered his question, with a question: Why are you asking Me about what is good? Messiah answered. No one is good – except God alone (Matthew 19:17a; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19 NASB). There are those who take Yeshua’s words to mean, “You should not be calling me good because only God is good, and I am not God. But it doesn’t say that; rather, it challenged the young man to consider who the Son of Righteousness really was, whether He was more than an ordinary human being.¹²⁰³ The Greek construction emphasizes the word good. But here the word is agathos, which means the absolute intrinsic goodness of God, which is characteristic of His true nature.

So this young yeshiva missed the point. He should have answered, “I call you intrinsically good because You are God.” If the young man had answered in that way, he would have answered his own question. Jesus wanted the young man to think carefully about what and who is good, because there were competing types of goodness to choose from, that of the Pharisees, and that exhibited from His own teaching. Now the Lord just claimed to be intrinsically good, but does the young rabbinical student agree or disagree? The way to inherit eternal life is accepting Jesus as the Messiah. But he remained silent. His silence indicated that he had spoken the word inadvertently, not because he really believed that Yeshua was the Son of God. Therefore, Christ could not declare him righteous.

(B) New requirements explained to the young ruler: Our Savior did not criticize him, but, confirming His Torah observance, the Lord pointed him to the Ten Words (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Bk – The Ten Words): If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments. Which of the six hundred and thirteen should I obey? the young man inquired. Confirming that He was Torah observant, Yeshua replied: You know the commandments: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, you shall not defraud, and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:17b-19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20). It is of note to notice that Yeshua ben David only quotes human relationships (commandments 5 through 10). But because he did not specifically mention the commandments relating mankind’s relationship to God (commandments 1-4), the young ruler was relieved by the Lord’s answer. If eternal life could be obtained by merely keeping good human relationships, then it was already his . . . the deeper meaning of the commandments were still hidden from him.

“Rabbi,” the young yeshiva declared, “all these human relationships I have kept well since I was a boy” (Matthew 19:20a; Mark 10:20; Luke 18:21). This probably referred to the age of thirteen, when every Jewish boy became a bar mitzvah, or son of the covenant. At that point he became responsible to live by the commands of ADONAI. It was not as if the young man was saying, “I’m perfect Jesus.” He had observed those commandments. Not perfectly, but he had been as faithful as a sinful, fallen human being could be. He was about as kosher as you could get! Today we would call him Torah observant. But even the most religious, sincere rabbi recognized that there was still a spiritual void in his life, so he asked: “What do I still lack (Matthew 19:20b)?

(C) The demands of the new obedience: When Jesus heard this, He looked at him and loved (Greek: agapao) him (Mark 10:21a). This is the love of John 3:16 . . . For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. The love exhibited at the cross was called out of the heart of God because of the preciousness of each lost soul, precious to ADONAI because He sees in lost humanity His own image even though that image be marred by sin, precious to Ha’Shem because we are made of material which through redemption can be transformed into the very image of His dear Son. While it is a love based upon the estimation of the preciousness of the person loved, it is also a love of self-sacrifice, complete self-sacrifice to the point of death itself, and that for those who bitterly hate the One who loves.¹²⁰⁴

Then our Lord made a dramatic request: If you want to be [complete] you still lack one thing. Then Jesus got to the heart of the spiritual issue for this particular rabbinical student, saying: Go, sell your possessions, everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me (Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21b; Luke 18:22). To obey Messiah’s instructions would not have given this young man eternal life. It can only be obtained through faith/trust/belief in Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross (see First Corinthians 15:3-4). But, the obedience of selling all his possessions would have been an important first step in removing the spiritual barrier separating the young man from the assurance of eternal life. The root of his problem was the love of money (First Timothy 6:10) and that had to be dealt with first before the young yeshiva could have any thoughts of eternal life. Now he had his answer, however, it probably wasn’t the one he wanted to hear.

(D) The demands of the new obedience are seen as too hard by the apostles: When the young rabbinical student heard this, his face fell and he became very sad (I am sure it saddened Jesus as well). His hopes were dashed and his response was telling. He went away sad (but not sad enough to change) because he had great wealth (Matthew 19:22; Mark 10:22; Luke 18:23). To obey Jesus was too great a risk for him to take. The rabbis taught that being wealthy was a sign that God was blessing you. If they were wealthy they believed they already had eternal life! This belief made it even more difficult for them to see their desperate spiritual need for Christ. So the security of wealth kept him out of the Kingdom.¹²⁰⁵  His problem was not money, but he had gotten to the point in his life where he trusted in money rather than trusting in God. This is not a general requirement for discipleship, but was specific to his belief system. His riches were like the seed that fell among the thorns, which grew up with it and choked the Word out of his life (see Et – The Parable of the Soils). So the general application is this: Do not love anything or anyone more than ADONAI. Yeshua calls us to do away with anything that is more important to us than Him. Obedience leads to life and brings joy; disobedience leads to death and sorrow.

Then, after he had left, Jesus looked around the circle of His talmidim and taught them a lesson. He said to them: Children (for they were still being tutored in the faith), I tell you how truly hard it is for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23; Mark 10:23-24; Luke 18:24)! He doesn’t say it is impossible for the wealthy person to be saved, but someone who loves riches more than Him to be saved. How the words of James echo in our hearts: Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom He promised those who love Him (James 2:5).

(E) The parable of the camel and the needle. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25; Luke 18:25). Matthew and Mark speak of a needle that is used with thread, and Luke uses the medical term for the needle used in surgical operations. Luke does this type of thing numerous times and is the reason why many people suppose he was a doctor. Yes, there are places in Jerusalem where the Jews built small entrances so an enemy could not merely ride in on their camels. But Jesus is using humor here. The Talmud twice speaks of an elephant passing through the eye of a needle as being impossible (Tractate Berakhot 55:2). That being the case, this statement by Yeshua is best seen as a striking rabbinic-like hyperbole to capture the attention of the students.The one main point of the parable of the camel and the needle is that it is impossible for anyone whose love for wealth keeps him or her from trusting in Messiah as Savior, to be saved.

There is a shift at the center of the teaching that can be seen in the move from the singular to the plural. The first half is addressed to a particular person, the rich young ruler, and all the verbs are in the singular. In the center the parable of the camel and the needle makes a generalized application, but from now on the text deals with plurals and collectives. This specific observation is crucial for an understanding of the whole teaching, including the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Therefore, the discussion with the rich young ruler sets the stage for an analysis of the same question for all of us.

(D) The new demands are only possible with God: When the talmidim heard the word-picture they were even more amazed. Such teaching seemed inconceivable to the Twelve who had been brought up on the rabbinical teaching that riches were a sure sign of divine pleasure and an evidence of God’s blessing. So in unison they broke out into a cry of despair, exclaiming: Who then can be saved (Matthew 19:25; Mark 10:26; Luke 18:26)? The way the apostles heard Christ, they didn’t think it was difficult – they thought it was impossible! But what Jesus was actually saying, was that it was as hard for some who loved their wealth more than Him to get into heaven as a camel going through the eye of a physician’s needle. In other words, He was showing them that it was utterly impossible for one who trusts in money to enter the Kingdom.

Jesus looked at them and reminded them that there is always hope, for with mankind this is impossible, but not with God; with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27). The word with in the Greek literally means beside. Take your stand beside the world in the question of riches and it is impossible to be saved. But take your stand beside God on the matter, and what used to be impossible becomes possible.¹²⁰⁶

(C) The demands of the new obedience are fulfilled by the apostles: Granted, it is very difficult for a person who values their wealth more than God to change their lifelong priorities, but God is bigger than their struggles. All this begged the question for those committed apostles of Christ. Peter was quick to point out that he and the others had done what Messiah demanded of the young yeshiva. Speaking for all twelve of them, he asked Him, “We have left everything to follow You! What then will there be for us” (Matthew 19:27; Mark 10:28; Luke 18:28)? Peter and John left a lucrative fishing business, and Matthew, a rich source of income from his tax collector’s office, to become the talmidim of a poor itinerant preacher. It was as if Peter was saying, “ What reward will we get for having become poor for your sake?” What follows is a beautiful promise from Jesus to the Twelve.

Yeshua said to them: Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man (see Co – Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man) sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Isra’el (Matthew 19:28). With the tremendous faith commitment of the original twelve will come a tremendous blessing as a reward. The number twelve is not coincidental. As the twelve sons of Jacob were blessed to head the tribes of ancient Isra’el, so would the twelve messianic leaders lead the spiritual renewal of Isra’el. Indeed, the talmidim had made a commitment far beyond all others in their day, and, in fact, all subsequent disciples down to today. They were the first ones to leave all their personal relationships and worldly possessions to follow a brand new Jesus movement.¹²⁰⁷

(B) New requirements fulfilled by all believers: No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or [husband or wife], or parents or children or fields for Me and the Gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, [husbands, wives], mothers, children and fields – along with persecutions – for the sake of the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:29a; Mark 10:29; Luke 18:29). But not only will the twelve apostles be rewarded but anyone who has made the sacrifice for His sake will inherit eternal life and the Millennial Kingdom.

(A) Inherit eternal life: Those who follow Christ will receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come. They will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29b; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30). Their reward may not necessarily be monetary or material. If nothing else, such disciples are promised the blessing of shalom as they invest their lives in the things of the kingdom of God. But the greatest blessing of all, which Yeshua guarantees here, is that of eternal life.

However, it is not only the rich young ruler or the twelve talmidim who should carefully consider this lesson. Present-day Jews and Gentiles likewise should consider the spiritual implications of what we value in this world. All believers will appear before Jesus and give an account for our lives and our decisions (see my commentary on Revelation Cc – For We Must All appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ). And at that time many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first in Christ’s coming Kingdom (Matthew 19:30; Mark 10:31).

The apostles were looking forward to the coming Kingdom with eager expectations, but they believed that when it came they would greatly profit in a material way. Peter’s question had revealed their mercenary spirit and Messiah immediately discerned it. Therefore, He used that teachable moment to tell His little band of students another parable.

Therefore, Jesus taught them the parable of the workers in the vineyard. This parable answered Peter’s question: We have left everything to follow You! What then will there be for us (Matthew 19:27; Mark 10:28; Luke 18:28)? Once again this parable is set in a chiastic structure with E as the climax: A-B-C-D-E-D-C-B-A.

At the end of The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan notes that there is an entrance to hell even from the gates of heaven. Judas is proof of that. The night he betrayed Jesus with a kiss, he stepped forever out of Christ’s presence and sealed his eternal doom. Who knows how many like him have come near enough to learn the truth and profess faith in Messiah, only to forfeit heaven completely because they refuse to surrender control of their lives? In a sense, their entrance to hell is from the gates of heaven.

But there is a contrasting reality as well and was pictured often in Yeshua’s earthly ministry. It is that even the lowest of sinners may be ushered into heaven from the very doorstep of hell. Tax collectors, prostitutes, thieves and beggars all found the Lord who gave them eternal life in exchange for the leftovers of their squandered earthly existence. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save to lost (Luke 19:10) and He loves to snatch others from the fire and save them (Jude 23a). No one, no matter how entangled in sin, is beyond the reach of His redemptive power.

Yeshua did what no one else could do for them. He cast out evil spirits from the demon-possessed. He touched and made whole the ravaged bodies of lepers. He gravitated to such people, and they in turn were drawn to Him for salvation. Consequently, He is totally able to deliver those who approach God through Him; since He is alive forever and thus forever able to intercede on their behalf (Hebrews 7:25 CJB). Every repentant sinner who surrenders in faith to Christ receives full salvation. This is the way salvation operates. All the redeemed receive the same eternal life, whether they are young or old, respectable or contemptible, Pharisees or tax collectors. No one who comes to the Savior of sinners receives preferential treatment or is slighted because of his or her background.¹²⁰⁸

(A) The kingdom of Heaven is like: For the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard (Matthew 20:1). This situation was common in first-century Isra’el and would be useful in shedding some light on the reality of the Kingdom. Every summer, both old and new vines had to be pruned back to improve production. Vineyards were generally planted on stony terraced hillsides. Therefore, building the terraces, pruning the vines and preparing for the harvest was demanding work. Because most landowners did not have enough household servants or regular workers to do those jobs, temporary day workers were hired from nearby towns and villages. They would begin work at six in the morning and continue to work until six in the evening.

(B) Agreed to pay them the usual daily wage: As would be expected, the landowner found them in the marketplace and agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard (Matthew 20:2). A denarius per day was a good wage – equal to a day’s pay for a soldier. It was likely they were normally paid less, so they readily agreed to the landowner’s equitable offer. No one had any reason to complain; all were paid, exactly what they had agreed to work for.

(C) I will pay you whatever is right: The workday began at six in the morning. Then about nine in the morning the landowner realized that he would not be able to finish the urgent tasks with these workers alone, so he went into town again and saw others standing in the marketplace because no one had hired them. He immediately hired them, not offering them a specific wage but simply said: You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went without a word of bargaining, trusting in the justice of the employer. The situation grew even more complex when he went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing (Matthew 20:3-5). Each time he found more men hoping to work and he generously hired them.

(D) Going out about five in the afternoon: Still needing more workers to finish the demanding work, the landowner went into town again about five in the afternoon (about one hour before sundown) and found still others standing around. This group evidently had been standing around all day long doing nothing. Perhaps they were in another section of the market or had somehow been overlooked. Or perhaps they were the oldest, weakest and least productive workers and no one wanted to hire them. But those particulars are really irrelevant to the parable. The point is that the landowner was touched and he said to them, “You also go and work in my vineyard even at this late hour” (Matthew 20:6-7).

(E) Beginning with the last and ending with the first: Finally, when evening came, it was time for the workers to receive their appropriate wages. Following the requirement in the Torah to pay such workers at the end of each day (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:14-15), the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the workers and pay them their wages.” But his next command was quite unusual. The men were to be paid beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first (Matthew 20:8). Here is where Jesus was able to demonstrate mankind’s self-serving ideas of fairness, and where the parable begins to intersect with the proverb the last will be first, and the first will be last (Matthew 20:16 and 19:30). The primary idea of the parable, and Yeshua’s application of the proverb is a simple reversal of the payment order. Although the procedure wasn’t customary, it shouldn’t have produced much concern. The radical action of the landowner, which reflects the parable’s main point is that those hired at the very last received the very same payment as those who had labored all day.¹²⁰⁹

(D) Those who went out about five in the afternoon: The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they were elated! Because he had paid the other men a full day’s wage for one hour’s work, they expected to receive more than a full day’s wage. At that rate they would have received twelve day’s pay for one day’s work! They were more than willing to be paid last if it meant being paid so well. But much to their disappointment, each one of them also received a denarius (Matthew 20:9-10).

(C) They thought they should have received more: When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. Their complaint seemed legitimate at first. “These who were hired last worked only one hour,” they said, “and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day” (Matthew 20:11-12). The workers who had worked the entire day felt they had been cheated. Their normal, very human reaction was, “That’s not fair! Those men only worked an hour at the end of the day. We worked hard all day long and during the heat of the day. Why should they get paid as much as we did?” They may have been overdramatizing their case, but their basic description of the situation was correct. The problem had nothing to do with how they were treated. The problem was that these workers could not accept the good fortune of the others. They were envious.

(B) Did you not agree on the usual daily wage: But when the landowner was questioned about the apparent injustice, he corrected their thinking and answered one of them, saying: I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? They should not be complaining if he chose to be generous, so he said: Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. He reminded them, “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or do you begrudge My generosity?” Literally, “Is your eye evil because I am good (Matthew 20:13-15 CJB)? The generosity of the landowner was not evil, but the jealousy of the workers was. They could not stand the thought that someone else could get equal pay without working as hard or as long as they did. And instead of rejoicing, they grumbled.

(A) The last will be first, and the first will be last: The closing sentence ties the parable to the larger context of Yeshua’s teaching. No one is ahead and no one is behind, so the last will be first, and the first will be last (Matthew 20:16 and19:30). Therefore, in the coming kingdom of the Meshiach everyone crosses the finish line at the same time. A place in the Kingdom is not something to be earned. ADONAI gives it without regard to how long you worked or how hot the day was.

Many workers (believers) have different spiritual gifts and serve for various periods of time as the Lord allows. Whether it is a short period of time, or a long period of time, it should make no difference if we are sincerely serving Yeshua. There are many blessings in this present age that long-time believers enjoy (Matthew 19:29). Yes, it is a wonderful blessing to be assured of eternal life. What isn’t brought to light in this analogy is the fact that the workers who were hired last missed out on so many potential blessings. If you have that perspective, the workers who were hired first had many extra benefits for which they could give thanks. The one main point of the parable of the workers in the vineyard is that no matter what our personal experience, God is completely fair in how He treats His children. Instead of grumbling, our energy would be better spent enjoying the journey as we serve our Messiah!¹²¹⁰

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

I rode upon a Railway Train; and we were in the Rocky Mountains. And we woke in the morning, and the Train was climbing, with two Engines pulling us, and one pushing behind. And we were nigh unto Twelve Furlongs above the Sea.

And it came to pass as we ascended, that there were clouds below us, and Clouds upon the sides of the Mountains, but there were no Clouds above us, but the clear shining of the Morning Sun.

And there came unto me a small Girl and her younger Brother, who were riding upon the Train, and we talked about the Clouds. For so did John Ruskin, and Aristophanes, and the little lad was very happy, and he said, I have never been above the Clouds before.

And his sister was Worldly-wise. And she said, A Cloud ain’t nothing but just fog.

And he said, Nay, but this is more. And behold now, how then is a Cloud just under us, and we ride upon the top of it?

And she said, We are on the Rails, just as we always have been; and there can’t nobody ride on a cloud.

And the boy said, Jesus can ride upon a Cloud; for I saw a Picture of Him.

And the little girl may have been right; but I thought within myself that this world hath too many people who look out on Life through her windows. For they see not sunlit Clouds, but only Fog; and they have little faith in rising above Clouds, and live in the sunlight of God. And I have know others who, whenever it is said unto them, Thus have others done, or this did the good Lord Jesus, make reply, Yes, but that ain’t us.

And if it is spoken concerning the House of God, Thus did the Church in Jonesville, and thus was it done by the Church in Smithville, they answer, Yes, but that ain’t us.

And if it be said, You should be a better person; for others have risen above the Clouds and their Infirmities, they say, Yes, but that ain’t us.

And when it is said, Thus hath the grace of God abounded in other lives, they say, Yes, but that ain’t us.

But if it ain’t, why ain’t it?

For this cause did God dwell in human flesh that we should never count any good thing impossible through the dear Lord Jesus.

For He is our peace, who hath broken down the middle partition, that we should no longer have to say, But that ain’t us.¹²¹¹

The Little Children and Jesus
Matthew 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17

The little children and Jesus DIG: Why would parents bring their little children to Jesus? Why might the apostles discourage this? What is Messiah’s view of children and the Kingdom? What childlike qualities was Yeshua commending? How many do you possess? Which are missing?

REFLECT: How childlike are you in your relationship with YHVH? How often are we too busy with important things that we miss God’s will right in front of us?

It was a very natural thing that Jewish parents should want their children to be blessed by a great and distinguished Rabbi. Just a few months earlier Jesus had called a little child to Him, and placed the child among the Twelve. And He said: Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:2-3). No doubt at countless other times the talmidim had witnessed similar expressions of Messiah’s tenderness and gentleness and His great patience with those who came to Him for help. This incident probably occurred in Southern Perea just a short while before His triumphal entry into Tzion as the Passover Lamb.

Parents were bringing little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. The imperfect tense of the verb for bringing tells us that the parents were continually bringing their children to the Chief Shepherd. Because Yeshua did not rebuke the parents it was obvious that their motives were pure. The act of imparting a blessing is one of the most universal customs found in Judaism. The rabbis commanded the duty upon every Jew to give thanks continually to God for His blessings because The earth is Adonai’s, with all that is in it, the world and those who live there (Psalm 24:1 CJB).

Not surprisingly an entire book of the Talmud is devoted to the concept of blessing the Name (Tractate Berakhot). Rabbi Meir (second century AD) concluded that it is the duty of every Jew to recite one hundred blessings daily, not just for religious ceremonies like the Shabbat candles or Kiddush, but also for everyday happenings such as a wonder of nature, completing a successful trip, or hearing good news.

There were many blessings associated with children. The most famous is recited every Shabbat evening at the start of dinner. After the blessings of candles and wine and bread, the parents place their hands on their children for the proper blessing. For the boys, based on Genesis 48:20, it is to say, “May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh.” The daughters receive the blessing, “May you be like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.” It is not surprising, therefore, that some eager parents rushed their children before the loving Rabbi Yeshua so that He might place His hands on them and pray for them.1196

Yeshua was not naively sentimental about children. Having created them, He knew full well that they are born with a sin nature. Yes, children have a certain innocence, but they are not sinless. He knew that they did not have to be taught to do wrong, that their little hearts were naturally bent toward evil. He loved them unconditionally nonetheless. But when the apostles saw this, they rebuked the parents bringing them (Matthew 19:13; Mark 10:13; Luke 18:15). Surely Messiah had more pressing priorities than a bunch of children! Always the Master teacher, He saw another teachable moment for the Twelve.

When Jesus saw this, He was indignant (Mark 10:14a). The error of the talmidim was similar to Peter’s error (Mark 8:32). Kefa wanted to protect Christ from suffering and death; the apostles now wish to keep Him from present trouble and fatigue. They did not know exactly what was going to happen in Jerusalem, but they clearly knew that trouble lay ahead. They did not want Him to be bothered. They couldn’t conceive that He would want the children around Him at such a time.¹¹⁹⁷

He called the children to Him and said to the talmidim: Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. Ironically, the apostles were so consumed with the “big issues” of Messiah’s Kingdom that they ignored those who were closest to the Kingdom itself. And in a striking show of affection, Messiah took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them (Matthew 19:14-15a; Mark 10:14b-16a; Luke 18:16-17). In these words Jesus was stating that a person must come to Him in humility in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Children come with expectation and excitement. They come realizing that they are not sufficient in themselves. They depend totally on others. If these same attitudes are not present in adults, they can never enter into the Kingdom.¹¹⁹⁸

In other words, the Kingdom is populated by only two kinds of subjects, those who die while little children and those who come in trusting and humble with the attitude of little children. Only those enter God’s Kingdom who come to Him in the simplicity, openness, dependency, lack of pretension, and lack of hypocrisy of little children.¹¹⁹⁹

Then He went on from there (Mt 19:15b; Mk 10:16b). The only way we can fully understand the beauty of this passage is to remember that Christ was on His way to the cross – and He knew it. That cruel shadow could never have been far from His mind. But even in such a time as that, He still had time for children.

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

There is a land that is called Switzerland, and Keturah and I traveled there a long time ago. And in one of the cities there was a Great Pit with Bears in it. And the Tourists buy Carrots and feed them to the Bears. And around the place are Booths where they sell Picture Post Cards that people can buy and send to their friends, showing them that you are in a country where there are Bears, just as they are in their own country where they receive the Picture Post Card. And by the Pit there are shops of Woodcarvers, who sell Wooden Bears. And I purchased one of these, being half as tall as I am, and holding in his Paws a Wooden Ring for holding Canes or Umbrellas. And the Bear is in my Study, and holds Canes that I have carried in Many Lands.

And all Children love the Bear, for he is Friendly, and his Glass Eyes are Friendly, and his Glass Eyes are Kindly, and no little boy or girl could be afraid of him. And the Head and Back of the Bear are Smooth with the patting stroke of Little Children.

Now the daughter of the daughter of Keturah has a Little Sister, and she is Two Years old. And she is about the Brightest Little Bit of Color that shines up this old world. And almost every day, when the daughter of the daughter of Keturah and my Little Grandson are in school, then does the daughter of Keturah come over to see Keturah, and they climb the stair to where I work.

And I hear the Little Feet climbing the Stair, and a Little Voice saying, I want to see Grandpa. Is Grandpa in?

And all the way as she comes up the Stair, her Single-track mind is full of the idea of Seeing Grandpa. But the minute she enters the room, she takes one look at the Grandpa, and runs across the room and Hugs the Bear, whom she calls the Bow-wow.

And Grandpa is not in the running until she has hugged the Bow-wow.

Now, if I were a silly old Grandpa, I might feel hurt at this. But I am neither old nor silly, and I do not intend to be either. And I Say Nothing until she is done with the Bow-wow. Then does she run to me, and climb into my Lap, and put her Chubby Little Arms around my neck, and say, I love you Grandpa.

And I have considered these things, and considered My own conduct.

For I have climbed slowly and with faltering feet up the Stairs of reverence and devotion, saying as I climbed on Stepping Stones of my Dead Self to Higher Things, I would see God. I would know more of my Heavenly Father. And in this I have been sincere.

But then, as has happened more than once or twice, I have seen some Trivial, yet Pleasant Thing, and I have run to it, and later have been sorry that I was so Fickle.

Now the Bible does not say that Little Children are to enter into the Kingdom like Grown Folk, which would be a Sad Misfortune, but that Grown Folk are to enter as Little Children. And this is an encouragement to me.

Thus, I pray, saying, O God, who knows our Frame and Remembers that we are Dust, You are more Wise and Just than to judge me Wholly by the way I turn to the left or the right in pursuit of this or that Trivial Thing in Life. Know My Heart even as I know the heart of this Chubby, Snuggly Little Lump of Caprice and Affection. Judge me, O my God, as I judge this Little Child, and love me as I love her, and even a Little More. And have Mercy of the shortcomings of Your Fickle Children, for Lord, we love You more than these other things.¹²⁰⁰

How should we pray for our children? Here are thirty-one different ways.

1. Salvation: Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Jesus Christ, with eternal glory (Isaiah 45:8; Second Timothy 2:10).

2. Growth in grace: I pray that my children may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah (Second Peter 3:18 CJB).

3. Love: Grant, Merciful God, that my children may learn to live a life of love, through the Spirit who dwells in them (Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:2).

4. Honesty and Integrity: May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection (Psalm 25:21).

5. Self-Control: Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be alert and self-controlled in all they do (First Thessalonians 5:6).

6. Love for God’s Word: May my children grow to find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb (Psalm 19:10).

7. Justice: ADONAI, help my children to love justice as You do and act justly in all they do (Psalm 11:7; Micah 6:8).

8. Mercy: May my children always be merciful, El Shaddai, God Almighty, just as their Father is merciful (Luke 6:36).

9. Respect (for self, for others and for authority): Father, grant that my children may show proper respect to everyone, as Your Word commands (First Peter 2:17).

10. Biblical self-esteem: Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:10).

11. Faithfulness: Let love and faithfulness never leave my children, but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts (Proverbs 3:3).

12. Courage: May my children always be strong and courageous in their character and in their actions (Deuteronomy 31:6).

13. Purity: Create in them a pure heart, O God, and let that purity of heart be shown in their actions (Psalm 51:10).

14. Kindness: ADONAI-rophe, the One who heals life’s wounds and sweetens its bitter experiences, may my children always try to be kind to each other, indeed, to everyone (First Thessalonians 5:15).

15. Generosity: Grant that my children may be generous and willing to share, and to lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age (First Timothy 6:18-19).

16. Peace-loving: ADONAI-shalom, the God of peace, let my children make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 14:19).

17. Joy: May my children be filled with the joy given by the Ruach ha-Kodesh (First Thessalonians 1:6).

18. Perseverance: ADONAI, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to run with perseverance the race marked out for them (Hebrews 12:1).

19. Humility: God, please cultivate in my children the ability to show true humility toward everyone (Titus 3:2).

20. Compassion: ADONAI-rohi, ADONAI my Shepherd, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion (Colossians 3:12).

21. Responsibility: Grant that my children may learn responsibility, for each one should carry their own load (Galatians 6:5).

22. Contentment: Father, teach my children the secret of being content in any and every situation, through Him who gives them strength (Philippians 4:12-13).

23. Faith: I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s heart’s, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them (Luke 17:5-6; Hebrews 11:1-40).

24. A servant’s heart: God, please help my children develop a servant’s heart, that they may serve wholeheartedly, as if they were serving the Lord, not people (Ephesians 6:7).

25. Hope: May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

26. Willingness and ability to work: Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to perform their tasks wholeheartedly, working for You, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23).

27. Passion for God: Lord, please instill in my children a soul that clings to You (Psalm 63:8), one that Your right hand supports.

28. Self-discipline: Father, I pray that my children may acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right, just and fair (Proverbs 1:3).

29. Prayerfulness: Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18).

30. Gratitude: Help my children to live lives that are always overflowing with thankfulness and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah (Ephesians 5:20 CJV; Colossians 2:7).

31. A heart for missions: El Elyon, Most High God, please help my children to develop a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:3).¹²⁰¹

Is It Lawful for a Man to Divorce His Wife?
Matthew 19:1-12 and Mark 10:1-12

Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife DIG: When the Parisees asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife,” how were they trying to test Messiah with their question? What was their viewpoint on divorce? Instead of answering their question, how does Jesus put them to the test by emphasizing God’s original intent for marriage? What was Moshe’s real intention in allowing divorce? How had the Pharisees twisted this into an excuse to divorce their wives? What was Messiah really condemning? What does Rabbi Sha’ul say about divorcing an unbeliever or marriage after the death of a spouse?

REFLECT: By contrast, in today’s contemporary society (even Jewish culture), how easy is it to get a divorce? How can you apply the principles of marriage stressed here? Do you think the Lord would give the same response to someone in a troubled marriage that asked sincerely: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason? Why or why not? What do you need to work on to have the marriage God desires? When divorce does occur, what hope does Jesus offer someone?

When Yeshua had finished telling His parables to the masses (Luke 17:11 to 18:14), He left the Galilee with His talmidim and traveled down the east side of the Jordan River. In modern times since 1948, this has been the territory controlled by the country of Jordan. In biblical times, this area east of the Jordan River was still part of the tribal inheritance of Isra’el. Today, there is still debate over the so-called “west bank” territory west of the Jordan River. During the time of Christ, however, that area was identified as part of the land of Isra’el. Modern political negotiations will no doubt continue, but the biblical promises remain secure. The little messianic band of believers continued southward until [they] went into the region of Judah (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1a CJB).¹¹⁸⁵

Again large crowds followed Him, and as was His custom, He taught and healed them individually by a demonstration of faith (Matthew 19:2; Mark 10:1b). This will account for the different incidents along Jesus’ way to Jerusalem and how the different apostles may have recorded different material to tell their Gospel message to their particular audience.

The introduction to Christ’s teaching on divorce in both Matthew and Mark may seem rather abrupt until we realize that this was not the first time He had dealt with the hostile Pharisees in the same part of the country (Luke 16:14). Messiah had already answered their taunts and objections previously by charging them with breaking the spirit of the Torah, which they supposedly represented, by pointing out their corrupted views and teaching on divorce (Luke 16:17-18). It seemed to have irritated them to no end. They probably imagined that it would be easy to highlight the marked differences between the teaching of Moshe and the rabbis and the teaching of Jesus, thereby turning the masses against Him. But their plan wasn’t working.

Not surprisingly then, when some Pharisees encountered the Lord again on His way to Judea, they took up the subject of divorce exactly where they had left off. The apostate religious rulers had to be concerned that the maverick rabbi was once again entering their own turf. By that time it was obvious that they were not sincerely seeking new truth about the possible Meshiach, but were only trying to justify their own unbelief. Consequently, their purpose was to test Him by asking: Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason (Matthew 19:3; Mark 10:2)?¹¹⁸⁶

Marriage is not easy. It never has been. When two people are brought together, in a sense it exposes them because they cannot hide. Whoever they really are, for good or for bad, is there for the other person to see. Someone once said that marriage is our last and best chance to grow up. And it was no different during the time of Christ.

The issue of divorce had been a volatile one among the Jews for centuries. Therefore, the main object of the Pharisees here was to involve Jesus in a controversy about divorce with the two main rabbinic schools in the first century. The school of Rabbi Hillel was the more lenient, often taking a less strict interpretation of social issues. The opposing school of Rabbi Shammai, who often took a more stringent and conservative view. The vast majority of the Pharisees embraced the school of Rabbi Hillel and had become the leading advocates of easy divorce.

The controversial question at hand centered on the much-debated verse in the Torah. Suppose a man marries a woman and consummates the marriage but later finds her displeasing, because he has found her offensive in some respect. He writes her a divorce document, gives it to her and sends her away from his house (Deuteronomy 24:1). The phrase offensive in some respect (ervat davar) in the Hebrew literally means a thing of nakedness. The school of Shammai took a very narrow view of this phrase, interpreting it to mean sexual immorality (as the term ervat strongly implies). Therefore, that branch of the Pharisees forbade divorce in any circumstance except adultery. Some of the school of Shammai believed that the penalty for adultery was actually death (Deuteronomy 22:22).

It seemed that the Pharisees asking this particular question favored the more liberal position of the school of Rabbi Hillel, who interpreted ervat davar in the broadest sense, allowing divorce for anything that would be displeasing to the husband. This could include such disrespectful acts as a wife not having her head covered in public or even at the act of consistently burning her husbands food (Tractate Gittin 90a)! It is important to understand, however, that Hillel’s liberal view was not based on one mistake by the wife. It required consistent and deliberate acts of disrespect that would undermine the very covenant of marriage. The vast majority of the Pharisees embraced the theology of Rabbi Hillel and had become the leading advocates of easy divorce.¹¹⁸⁷

Those Pharisees had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about this question that attacked Jesus on two fronts. First, because of His previous teaching on divorce (Matthew 5:32), the Pharisees knew Yeshua had a narrow view of divorce. But the right to divorce was highly valued by the Jews. They actually considered it a gift from God that was not given to the Gentiles. If Messiah denied the Jews the right to divorce, as they suspected He might, then He would alienate Himself from the masses. Secondly, the Pharisees were well aware that Christ was preaching in Perea, which was under the control of Herod Antipas who had already imprisoned and eventually beheaded John the Baptist for condemning his unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias (Matthew 14:3-12). Undoubtedly, the Pharisees hoped that, by denouncing divorce because the husband found the wife offensive in some respect, the Galilean Rabbi would publicly denounce Herod’s adulterous relationship just as John had done, and suffer the same fate.

Messiah’s response was to ask a question of His own: What did Moses command you? He didn’t ask them for their personal opinion or even their rabbinical interpretation (Mark 10:3). It was not what was heard in rabbinic debate that was important, but what was written in the Torah. They said: Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce (sefer kritut) and send her away (Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:4). The Hebrew term sefer kritut from Deuteronomy 24:1, actually means a document of cutting, which is a graphic description of what divorce really is – a cutting of a relationship and a covenant. The Hebrew word get is the rabbinic word for the paperwork for such a religious divorce within Judaism. Even when Jews have lived outside of Isra’el of the Jewish community, it was not enough to acquire a civil divorce from the state authorities. For traditional Jews today, one must still receive a religious divorce through a local rabbinic court in the form of a get. The implication of their question seems obvious. Divorce is not even mentioned in Genesis and Moses permitted it in Deuteronomy. So why shouldn’t a man be able to divorce his wife if she is offensive in some respect?

Jesus’ answer reconciles any conflicting views. He declared: Moses permitted (not commanded) you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard (Matthew 19:8a; Mark 10:5). It wasn’t even in ADONAI’s original intention to even consider divorce, but He made a concession based on human frailties. But it was not this way from the beginning. Haven’t you read what Genesis 1:27 has to say on the subject, He replied, that at the beginning of creation God “made them male and female” (Matthew 19:4, 19:8b; Mark 10:6). This has always been God’s perfect will, but fallen human nature (Romans 3:23) and the free will He has given us, can often derail the beautiful plans of our Creator. If men and women consistently had a soft and yielding heart toward Ha’Shem, divorce would be unnecessary. But we not only break the commandments, but we often have a hardened heart about our personal choices.

Yeshua continued to quote the Torah to justify the LORD’s original design for marriage by saying: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).

Yeshua is portrayed by Mark as appealing to both Genesis 1:27 (God made them male and female) and Genesis 2:24 here. Yeshua, then, adds the comment: So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate (Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:7-9).

This suggests that, at least in Mark’s view, Messiah accepted the model for marriage and sexual union presented in Genesis 1-2. These creation texts authorized only one type of sexual union. It would have been a foregone conclusion for him that homosexual  relationships and human-animal unions, both prohibited in Leviticus, were unacceptable. The whole point of Yeshua’s stance here is not to broaden the Torah’s openness to alternative forms of sexuality but rather to narrow or constrain the Torah’s sexual ethic to disallow any sexual union other than a monogamous, lifelong marriage to a person of the opposite sex. In short, there is simply no place in the Genesis account to accommodate any grounds for same-sex unions. Messiah’s unreserved embrace of the creation account and His bold appeal to it as a means of ending a concession in the Torah establishes His commitment to one – and only one – model for sexual union.

The original Hebrew word ekhad is often translated one but perfectly reflects the concept of unity. In marriage, the two people do not lose their individuality or uniqueness but are united together in the spiritual covenant. Ekhad is the same Hebrew word that ADONAI uses to describe His own character. In the famous Deuteronomy 6:4 passage: Sh’ma Isra’el adonai elohaynoo, adonai ekhad. It tells us that ADONAI is our God, ADONAI is One!¹¹⁸⁸ The union of marriage is one that God, as its Creator, never desires to be broken. Divorce is a denial of His will and a destruction of His work.

Upon hearing Yeshua’s interpretation of the divine commandments of marriage and divorce, the apostles began to draw their own disturbing conclusions. They came to Him and said: If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry (Matthew 19:10). Judaism has always considered marriage both normal and desirable: The unmarried person lives without joy, without the blessing and without good . . . an unmarried man is not fully a man (Talmud: Yevamot 62b-63a). On the other hand, some believers came to grant abnormally high status to celibacy (First Corinthians 7:1-40). Depending on the calling and preferences of the individual, Yeshua allows that either the married or the single life can be one of service to God and humanity; and He takes care to minimize needless guilt on the part of those making the choice.¹¹⁸⁹

The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, demands celibacy. Both priests and nuns are denied normal family life. The practical effects of the monastic system down through the ages show clearly that the forced and unnecessary restrictions are a hindrance, not a help, to personal sanctity. It is based on two false principles, namely, that celibacy is a holier state than marriage, and that total withdrawal from society brings one closer to God. Celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church is, of course, merely a church regulation, not a command of Scripture. She refuses to believe that her clergy is following anything but a divinely instituted role. Christ, however, imposed no rule against the marriage of leadership in the early Church (1 Tim 3:2), nor did any of the apostles. But, Peter was a married man and his wife accompanied him on his missionary journeys. The same was true of the other talmidim and of the brothers of Jesus (1 Corinthians 9:5).¹¹⁹⁰

Meshiach replied: Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way. These are people who are born with congenital deformities that involve undeveloped sexual capacity. And there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, such as were male harem guards of that day. In some ancient religions, castration was considered a way of pleasing and serving a pagan deity, and parents sometimes even had their infant sons castrated for that purpose. And there are those who choose to live like eunuchs. Here, Jesus is speaking of voluntary celibacy of those to whom that gift has been granted by God. In that case, celibacy can indeed be for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Messiah said: The one who can accept this should accept it. So those who by God’s gift are able to accept a life of celibate singleness should accept it as His will for them (Matthew 19:11-12).¹¹⁹¹ Thus marriage is the norm for believers. In fact, it takes a special calling and leading from God not to marry.

Today, gay theology twists this scripture to meet its own desires. It teaches that, “Jesus loved eunuchs, who were the early precursors of today’s gay community.” The quest to find that justification, no matter how dim, leads the gay church into Scriptural assumptions. These lies are so simple to invent and sell that gay pastors just cannot resist the temptation. They declare that those eunuchs were really homosexuals all the time and Yeshua’s love and compassion for eunuchs must mean that He approved of homosexuals and their lifestyle. They say that because one of the first converts of Phillip was an Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40) that God approves of homosexuality. The gay church will invent theological excuses for their sin as long as there are those who buy and live the inventions.¹¹⁹²

When they were in the house again, the Twelve asked Jesus about this. He answered: Anyone who divorces his wife (her husband) except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman (man) commits adultery against her (him). And if she (he) divorces her husband (his wife) and marries another man (woman), she (he) commits adultery (Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11-12). Messiah is saying that a man who divorces his wife exposes her to the temptation to remarry, thus committing adultery. The Lord makes it clear that legal divorce does not end a marriage relationship as far as He is concerned. Since the marriage union actually ends with the death of a spouse (First Corinthians 7:39), marriage to a divorced person violates an existing relationship, resulting in adultery.¹¹⁹³

It should be noted that this is not the only place in the Bible that discusses the grounds for divorce. Rabbi Sha’ul speaks of other possible grounds for divorce. But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife (First Corinthians 7:15-16). However, if both spouses are believers and they end up in a divorce, then neither one of them is to remarry. The obvious hope is that there may be reconciliation as they both keep faithful to their marriage vows and try to rebuild their troubled relationship. To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife (First Corinthians 7:10-11). The only other situation for a biblical divorce and remarriage is in the case of the death of a spouse. The Torah binds a married woman to her husband while he is alive; but if the husband dies, she is released from the part of the Torah that deals with husbands. Therefore, while the husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress if she marries another man; but if the husband dies, she is free from that part of the Torah, so that if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress (Romans 7:2-3).

For those today who believe that divorce is never acceptable (even for adultery and desertion), it is important for them to understand that God handed Isra’el a certificate of divorce Himself (see my commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click At – Unfaithful Isra’el). Jesus would not ask anything of us that He could not tolerate Himself. In the final analysis, God hates divorce and its devastating effects on the family (Malachi 2:16 NASB), but it’s not the unforgivable sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9).

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

Now, after I had planted my Garden, there were certain mornings when I arose early and took my Hoe, and went out, and Watched Things Grow. And my soul was Enlarged.

But as it grew later in the Spring there came nights when I had been out, and the Morning Came Too Soon, and I went not into my Garden. And when I went after a Week or Two, I saw the Weeds had grown Faster than my Plants.

And I toiled with my Hoe till I blistered my Hands, yet I gained very little. And Everything seemed to Happen to my Plants, and nothing to harm the Weeds.

And one day I returned from my Garden, and I was weary. And I ate my bread in the sweat of my face. And I said, O Keturah, I am a Horrible Gardener. And Keturah answered, It would not be becoming of me to Dispute my husband. And I said, Look, my fathers before me were Horrible Gardeners. My first Ancestor was a Gardener, and he could not Hold Down his Job.

And Keturah answered, Do not be Discouraged over much. That Ancestor of yours Got some Good Things out of his Garden; surely you can do as well as he. And I answered, Yes, he got some good things out of that Garden, the one of which was Experience; and that is a fruit that has its bitter and its sweet, but is Profitable.

And Keturah answered, You have spoken wisely. Likewise did Adam get a vision of the Eternal Mystery of Life, and beheld the wonder of Nature, that seed thrown to the ground brings out marvelous forms of beauty. Oh, Safed, is that not worth a blistered hand?

And I answered, O you wise woman, you speak wisely and well; for Adam and Eve learned how to be workers together with God. Then we were silent for a while, for we thought of many strange and wondrous things that we had seen in our Garden.

And I said, Keturah.

And she said, Speak on.

And I said, Adam got one other good thing out of his Garden.

And she said, What was that?

And I said, It was the most Enjoyable, yet the most Troublesome.

And she said, You speak in riddles, Surely you do not mean the serpent?

And I spoke, saying, The fairest flower that blossomed in Eden was no other than Eve.

And Keturah said nothing, and I made as if I had nothing more to say; but she knew that I would say more. Therefore, she was silent.

And I said, Keturah, I have a choice blossom from that same vine. Neither I nor Adam have failed wholly in the care of our Garden.¹¹⁹⁴

God of peace and unity, bind affected families together in love. When one member is weak, fill the others with strength and compassion so that the one who falls will have someone to pick him or her up. Help them not to lose patience with each other, attack each other, or in any other way be separated by these tragic circumstances; instead, knit them together in love and strength (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Matthew 19:6).¹¹⁹⁵

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18: 9-14

The parable of the pharisee and the tax collector DIG: In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, how do you feel about the Pharisee? Why do you think he acted this way? How do you feel about the tax collector? Why did he act the way he did? How does this parable complement the one on persistence (to see link click Ih – The Parable of the Persistent Widow)? How do both demonstrate faith? What do both teach about ADONAI?

REFLECT: When have you been like the Pharisee in this story? Like the tax collector? What accounts for the difference? Right now, considering your attitudes toward others, which are you most like? Why?

The one main point to this parable is that all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

How important it is to understand that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8)! This was the fundamental difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector in Jesus’ parable. The Pharisee believed that his own works would justify him, while the tax collector realized that he was a sinner and that his only hope was in God’s mercy. What a difference these attitudes can make in the way we live!¹¹⁶⁹

Messiah told this parable to some who were confident of their own righteousness like the Pharisees and looked down on everyone else (Luke 18:9). This parable is set in a chiastic ABC-D-CBA structure. It’s kind of a poetic parallelism, and a normal device in Near Eastern prose to facilitate storytelling. This parable is deliberately structured with seven stanzas that invert with the climax D in the center.

A. Two Go Up, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector: Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector (Luke 18:10). The Pharisee had high social status, while the tax collector was despised. The Pharisee is mentioned first, then the tax collector. They both go up. But when it comes time to go down, the tax collector will be in the lead. In the West the word pray is almost exclusively used of private prayer and the word worship is used for corporate worship. However, in biblical literature, the verb pray can mean either. For this parable we will assume public worship.

Yet one can ask, doesn’t each man in the parable offer a private prayer? Yes, but their “private” prayers are in the context of “public” worship. Many Jews would go up to the Temple daily to worship in the court of the women and pray during the burning of the incense at the morning and evening (three o’clock in the afternoon) sacrifice.  This was so commonly accepted as the right time for private prayers that people who weren’t even in the Temple were known to offer their own special prayers at that time.¹¹⁷⁰ The time of incense was especially appropriate as a time of personal prayer because by that time in the service the sacrifice of the lamb had covered the sins of Isra’el, and thus the way to ADONAI was open. The faithful could now approach Him.¹¹⁷¹ The incense arose before Ha’Shem’s face and the faithful offered up their separate prayers. This scene combines the idea of private prayers (which the two men in this drama need to offer) in the context of public worship (in that the atonement sacrifice that is mentioned below) in a place of public worship like the Temple.¹¹⁷²

B. His Manner and His Prayer: The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed out loud, to himself and not to God, in spite of his appearing to address ADONAI. He continued, saying: God, I thank you that I am not like other people (Luke 18:11a). He wasn’t in contact with God at all but merely boasted and justified himself. The Pharisee’s reasons for standing by himself are easily understood. He considered himself righteous, and indeed, not like other people, as we see from his description of them.

Those who kept the Torah in a strict fashion were known as associates (Hebrew: haberim) and those who did not were called people of the Land (Hebrew: am-haaretz). In our parable, paying the tithe is specifically mentioned. In the eyes of a strict Pharisee the most obvious candidate for the designation of an-haaretz would be a tax collector. Furthermore, there was a particular type of uncleanness that was contracted by sitting, riding, or leaning against something unclean.¹¹⁷³ This uncleanness was called midras-uncleanness. The Mishna specifically states, “For Pharisees the clothes of an am-haaretz count as suffering midras-uncleanness” (Mishna Hagigah2:7).¹¹⁷⁴ With this background it is little wonder that the Pharisee wanted to stand by himself, away from the rest of the worshipers. If he accidentally brushed up against the tax collector, or any other am-haaretz, he would sustain midras-uncleanness. His state of cleanliness was too important. It needed to be guarded all the time and not compromised for any reason. Physical isolation, from his point of view, would be a statement – and an important one at that. Consequently, the Pharisee carefully stood aloof from the others gathered in the court of the women.

The Jewish practice is to pray out loud. This adds high definition to the scene. In essence, the Pharisee is therefore preaching to “the less fortunate unwashed” around him. It’s as if he were thinking to himself, “They have little chance to get a good look at a truly righteous man like myself, so I will graciously offer them a few words of judgment along with some instruction in righteousness.” But his prayer reveals more of himself than he probably intended. Prayer in Jewish piety primarily involves offering praise and thanks to ADONAI for all He has done, and petitions for the worshiper’s needs. This Pharisee does neither. He brags about his own self-righteousness and has no requests. Thus his “prayer” degenerates into mere self-aggrandizement. As he proceeds it goes from bad to worse.¹¹⁷⁵

C. The Pharisee (the image): For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector (Luke 18:11b NLT). The Pharisees usually displayed a self-conscious superiority toward virtually everyone else. They were offensively contemptible, outspoken, sometimes with almost incredible rudeness, lacking decency and charity, but always with much pious self-assertion. Here, his words were selected because he felt they specifically applied to the tax collector, who is already spotted standing at some distance away from the other worshipers.

D. His Self-Righteousness: I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get (Luke 18:12b). There is no evidence that the Pharisees fasted twice a week, although they did fast frequently (Matthew 9:14 CJB). The Talmud speaks of one who “undertakes to fast every Monday and Thursday throughout the year” as not unusual but nevertheless not the norm (Ta’anti 12a). Within the framework of trusting God, fasting was and is a normal part of a believer’s life (Isaiah 58:1-12; Mattityahu 6:16-18, 9:14-17).

Because those who reject the Gospel sometimes accuse believers of acting “holier-than-thou,” it is noteworthy that it was Isaiah who first used that phrase referring to Isra’el in rebellion against God. The rebellious Israelites, as if speaking to ADONAI by their actions, said: Keep Your distance and don’t come near [us], because [we are] holier than you (Isaiah 65:5). Unfortunately, God’s people are susceptible to this most offensive of sins, against which both the TaNaKh and the B’rit Chadashah severely warn, religious pride.¹¹⁷⁶

There were four great Jewish fasts, which in addition to the Day of Atonement and the Fast of Esther (see my commentary on Esther, to see link click Bw – The Fast of Esther), are still kept. First, the fast of the fourth month, which took place on the seventeenth of Tammuz, in memory of the pillage of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar and the interruption of the daily sacrifice. The rabbis teach that this was also the anniversary of the making of the golden calf, and of Moses breaking the Ten Commandments (see my commentary on Exodus Gq – The Golden Calf Incident). Second, the fast of the fifth month is on the ninth of Av (see Mt – The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple on Tisha B’Av in 70 AD). The rabbis teach that the third great fast, the fast of the seventh month on the second of Tishri, was in memory of the slaughter of Gedaliah and his associates at Mizpah (see my commentary on Jeremiah Gg – Gedaliah Assassinated). Fourth, the fast of the tenth month was on the tenth of Tevet, when the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar started.¹¹⁷⁷

Private fasts would, of course, depend on individuals, but the strict Pharisees fasted every Monday and Thursday during the weeks intervening between Passover and Weeks, and again, between Sukkot and Hanukkah. Their reasoning was that Moses had gone up to Mount Sinai on a Thursday and came down on a Monday, when he received for the second time the Ten Commandments.¹¹⁷⁸ It was to this fast that the Pharisee was referring to when he said: I fast twice a week (Luke 18:12a). The rabbis taught that in order to be a proper fast, it had to continue from one sundown until after the next, when the stars appeared. For about twenty-six hours they were to observe the most rigid abstinence from all food and drink.¹¹⁷⁹

And I pay tithes on my entire income (Luke 18:12b CJB). The requirements to pay ten percent is based on Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18:21-26; and it is discussed in tractate Ma’aserot of the Talmud, which sets forth what products must be tithed and states the principle that only tithed produce may be eaten (thus untithed produce is not kosher). The Mishna says, “A person who undertakes to be reliable must tithe what he eats, what he sells and what he buys; and he may not stay as a guest with an am-ha’aretz, or an unlearned man (Demai 2:2). But in general tithing all of one’s income was regarded as beyond the call of duty. I would suppose this Pharisee felt he was doing something special and unique for God, for which God owed him thanks and reward. Such a mentality is, of course, neither peculiar to Pharisees in particular nor unbelievers in general; on the contrary, it is those who consider themselves believers who seem to be especially susceptible to this sort of false pride.¹¹⁸⁰

C. The Tax Collector (the reality): But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven. The image of the tax collector in the mind of the Pharisee is in sharp contrast to the reality of the broken, humble man standing some distance away from the assembled worshipers. He does not stand aloof, but at a distance because he doesn’t feel worthy to stand in the midst of God’s people.

B. His Manner and His Prayer: But he beat upon his chest. The accepted posture for prayer was, and is, to cross the hands over the chest and keep the eyes cast down.¹¹⁸¹ But this man’s crossed arms do not remain immobile. Rather, he beats upon his chest. This dramatic gesture is still used in villages all across the Near East from Iraq to Egypt. The hands are closed into fists that are then struck upon the chest in rapid succession. The gesture is used in times of extreme grief or intense anger. It never occurs in the TaNaKh, and appears only twice in the Gospels, both times in Luke. The remarkable feature of this particular gesture is the fact that it is normally characteristic of women, not men. For men it is a gesture of extreme sorrow and it almost is never used. It is not surprising that in all of biblical literature we find this particular gesture mentioned only here and at the cross. When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their chests and went away (Luke 23:48). The crowd naturally included both men and women. Indeed, it took something of the magnitude of the cross to evoke this gesture from Near Eastern men.

What’s more, we are told that he beat on his chest. Why the chest? The reason for this is given in an early Jewish commentary on Ecclesiastes 7:2, where Solomon writes: It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. These are the righteous who set their death over against their heart; and why do they beat upon their heart? As though to say, “All is there” (note . . . the righteous beat upon their heart as the source of evil longing) (Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes VII, 2,5, Soncino, page 177).1181 Therefore, this classic Near Eastern gesture is a profound recognition of the truth that out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander (Mattityahu 15:19). This gives us an illustration of the depth of the tax collector’s remorse. What then was his specific prayer?

And said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Grace is getting what you don’t deserve (forgiveness) and mercy is not getting what you do deserve (punishment). The tax collector is not offering a generalized prayer for God’s mercy. He specifically longs for the benefits of atonement (see my commentary on Exodus Go – The Day of Atonement), or a substitute. Those coming to pray at the time of the evening sacrifice would first see the slaughtering and cutting up of the sacrificial lamb (see my commentary on Exodus Fe – The Burnt Offering). Then they would notice the priest going into the Holy Place to burn incense (see Ak – The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold).

Both of these were acts that the Israelite was not merely an onlooker, for they were performed in the name of the people (of which the priest was a representative) in order to affirm daily Isra’el’s relationship to ADONAI. After the incense had been burned, the priest announced the blessing with outstretched hands and put the name of YHVH upon the people. It was for the reception of the blessing that the people “bowed themselves” (Ecclesiasticus 1.21) to the ground on hearing the Name. This was followed, in the awareness that God would graciously accept the gift, by the bringing of the sacrificial lamb to the bronze altar.

You can almost smell the pungent incense, hear the sounds of the liturgy, the loud clash of the cymbals, the blast of the shofars, the reading of the Psalms, the singing of the Levitical choir on the steps of the Nicanor Gate,  see the great cloud of dense smoke rising from the burnt offering on the bronze altar, and the final prostration of the people. The tax collector is there. He stood at a distance, anxious not to be seen, sensing his unworthiness to stand with the other worshipers. In brokenness he longs to be a part of it all. He desperately wants to stand with “the righteous.” In deep remorse he beats on his chest and cries out in repentance and hope: Oh God! Let it be for me! Make a substitute for me, a sinner! There, in the Temple, this humble man, acutely aware of his own sin and unworthiness with no merit of his own, longed that the sacrificial lamb on the bronze altar might apply to him. As a result God forgave him.¹¹⁸²

A. Two Go Down, the Tax Collector and the Pharisee: Jesus concluded: I tell you that this tax collector, rather than the other, went down to his house justified before God. In the beginning of the parable two men went up to the Temple to pray at the same time with the Pharisee in the lead. Now the two come down again at the same time. The service is over. But now the tax collector is mentioned first. He is the one justified in ADONAI’s presence. The Pharisee was merely going through the motions; he was just wasting his time. The self-righteous returned home unjustified. The false pride of the Pharisee served only to intensify his guilty condition and increase his sin. The sacrifice of the lamb for the sins of the people is made – but the broken of heart, who come in unworthiness trusting in Ha’Shem’s atonement, they alone are made right with God.¹¹⁸³

Conclusion: For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 18:14). The original audience was pressed to reconsider how righteousness was achieved. Yeshua proclaims that righteousness is a gift of ADONAI made possible by means of the atonement sacrifice, which is received by those who, in humility, approach as sinners trusting in God’s grace and not their own righteousness.¹¹⁸⁴

The Parable of the Persistent Widow
Luke 18: 1-8

The parable of the persistent widow DIG: In the parable of the persistent widow, what was the attitude of the judge? What chance did she have of shaming him into doing the right thing? What means did this poor widow get a hearing and have the case settled in her favor? What caused Him to cave in and grant her request? Why was Jesus telling this parable to His apostles? How is YHVH like and unlike this judge?

REFLECT: Through prayer, when have you allowed ADONAI to turn your hopeless situation into His glorious achievement. As for prayer, are you more likely to give up or hang tough? Why? Does this story mean I should keep praying to win the lottery or to see the coming of God’s Kingdom? Why? Why not?

The one main point to this parable is that persistent prayer conquers fear.

What is your view of God? Do you think of Him as an unjust Judge? Do you think you need to sweet-talk Him into caring for you? How easy is it to misunderstand the way Ha’Shem works! How quickly we develop false perceptions based on the way we interpret the events in our lives. Yet, the truth still stands out that ADONAI is loving and just. We need not fear, we can count on Him to provide us with all that we need.¹¹⁵⁹

Then . . . Jesus told His apostles a parable to show them that they should always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). The word then indicates that the Lord’s teaching here grew out of the previous instruction (to see link click If – For the Son of Man in His Day Will Be Like Lightning), concerning the postponement of the Messianic Kingdom and the delay in the fulfillment of that for which the talmidim had been waiting.¹¹⁶⁰

The Shameless Judge: He said: In a small town there was a judge who neither feared God, nor respected what people thought (Luke 18:2). Jehoshaphat, the godly king who brought the people back to God, appointed judges throughout the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, and instructed the judges, and instructed them, saying: Think about what you are doing; you are not dispensing justice by merely human standards but on behalf of ADONAI; He is with you when you deliver a verdict. Therefore, let the fear of ADONAI be upon you; be careful what you do; for ADONAI our God does not allow dishonesty, partiality or bribe-taking (Second Chronicles 19:5-7 CJB). Such warnings are always needed in every society, and the righteous of the TaNaKh tried to keep justice at the gate. Amos in particular was upset over the corruption of the judges (Amos 2:6-7, 5:10-13).

But the same problem surfaced in the B’rit Chadashah. The judges in Jerusalem were traditionally so corrupt that they were called Dayyaney Gezeloth (Robber Judges) rather than Dayyaney Gezeroth (Judges of Punishments), which was their real title. The Talmud speaks of village judges who were willing to pervert justice for a dish of meat (B. T. Baba Kamma114a).¹¹⁶¹ In the perversion of Jehoshaphat’s command, this judge has no respect for neither people nor for God. The word often translated respect (Greek: entripo) can also mean being humbled. The active of the verb is to make ashamed, and the passive is either be put to shame or have respect for. The common vernacular in the Near East would be, “He is not ashamed before the people.” This very important aspect of the description of the unjust judge is thereby overlooked by other translations. The point is that Near Eastern traditional culture is a shame-pride culture to a significant degree. That is, appealing to shame encourages a particular pattern of social behavior. The parent does not tell the child, “That is wrong, Maria” (with an appeal to an abstract standard of right and wrong) but “This is shameful, Maria” (with an appeal to that which stimulates feelings of shame or feelings of pride). In such a society the vocabulary that surrounds the concept of shame is very important.¹¹⁶² One of the sharpest criticisms possible of an adult in the Near East is “he or she does not feel shame.”

In this regard, ancient attitudes are reflected. Jeremiah had the same problem. We are told the wise men are put to shame (Jer 8:9), but in regard to the prophets and the priests he writes: They should be ashamed of their deeds, but they are not ashamed at all, they don’t even know how to blush (Jeremiah 8:12). The Hebrew uses two strong words for shame (bwsh, klm) and speaks precisely to the problem faced with the unjust judge. Nothing shamed him. There is no spark of honor left in his soul to which anyone can appeal.

In this case the unjust judge is hurting a destitute widow. He should feel shame. But the whole world could cry “Shame on you!” and it will make no impression on him at all. He feels no shame before anyone. Consequently, the picture we have of the unjust judge is a very difficult man. He has no fear of God; the cry, “For God’s sake,” will do no good. He also has no inner sense of what is right and what is shameful to which one could appeal. Therefore, the cry, “For the sake of this destitute widow,” will likewise fall on deaf ears. Obviously the only way to influence such a man is through bribery. To such a one comes the widow.¹¹⁶³

The Helpless Widow: And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary” (Luke 18:3). The widow in the TaNaKh is a typical symbol of the innocent, powerless, and oppressed (Exodus 22:22-23; Deuteronomy 10:18, 24:17, 27:19; Job 22:9, 24:3 and 21; Psalm 68:5; Isaiah 10:2). Isaiah 1:17 called on the rulers and the people to learn to do right and seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow, and continuing in 1:23, Isaiah tells us that they all love bribes . . . but the widow’s case does not come before them. Therefore, the Jewish legal tradition required that on the basis of Isaiah 1:17 . . . the suit of an orphan must always be heard first and next that of the widow.¹¹⁶⁴ This woman had legal rights that were being violated. The issue here is clearly money because, according to the Talmud, a qualified scholar could decide money cases sitting alone (B. T. Sanhedrin 4b, Soncino 15). She had neither a protector to compel the judge to give her justice, nor money to bribe him. Her cry, however, was a call for justice and protection – not vengeance.

Yet there is another important element. The Near East was, and is, a man’s world and women are generally powerless. But at the same time, they are respected and honored. For example, men can be mistreated in public, but not women. Women can scream at a public figure and nothing will happen to them. The men could not say the same things and stay alive. This same background is reflected in the rest of the parable.¹¹⁶⁵

The Reluctant Judge: For some time he refused to respond. But finally he said to himself, “Despite the fact that I don’t fear God or care what people think” (Luke 18:4), I’m going to have to do something about this incessant woman because I can’t continue on like this.”

The Widow Receiving Justice: Yet because this woman is wearing me out, I’m going to see that she gets justice, least she give me a headache with her constant requests (Luke 18:5 NLT)! The Greek word translated wearing me out is a boxing term for a blow under the eye (First Corinthians 9:27). She obviously wasn’t going to assault him physically, but it does mean that she was shouting all kinds of insults at him. This exaggeration on the part of the unjust judge indicates the extent to which her persistence had irritated him. The Greek eis telos translated constant is in the imperfect tense, which expresses continuous action and implies her determination to go on forever. So in this war of attrition between the two of them, the unjust judge was convinced that the woman will never give up.

The parable is a clear case of the rabbinic principle of “from the light to the heavy.” The woman was apparently in a hopeless situation. She was a woman in a man’s world, a widow without money or powerful friends. The judge was unjust and could not be appealed to on the basis of duty to God, and no one could shame him into doing the right thing. Yet, this woman not only gets a hearing but has the case settled in her favor. So clearly, the thrust of the parable is persistence in prayer.

The near historical application: So as Jesus marched toward Yerushalayim and His destiny with death, He knew the situation His talmidim would face not only after His death, but also after His ascension. If this woman’s needs are met, how much more the needs of the faithful who pray not to a harsh judge but to a loving Father? However discouraged and hopeless their situation may seem, it will not be as bad as that of this widow. They can rest assured that their prayers are heard and acted upon. When fear grips the heart, believers are challenged to pray, and to pray constantly in the face of all discouragements with full confidence that ADONAI will act in their best interests.¹¹⁶⁶ Therefore, listen to what the unjust judge says about the persistence of prayer (Luke 18:6).

The far eschatological application: And after a brief pause, Jesus said: Will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, this can be translated to rescue His people, the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8), who cry out constantly to Him day and night from within the fortress of Bozrah? Will He delay any longer as the armies of the antichrist close the noose around their collective necks, or keep putting them off (Luke 18:7)?

I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and suddenly. Although the Second Coming has been delayed, when Yeshua acts He will act suddenly as He did at the Flood and at Sodom. However, when the Son of Man [returns], will He find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? So it seems the most important question we can ask is this: What will be the situation when the Son of Man returns? It will be at the very end of the Great Tribulation. The majority of the Jews will be held up in Bozrah (some will be hiding in Jerusalem). The armies of the antichrist will be closing in to kill every last Jew on the face of the earth. Clearly fearing for their very existence, with no one else to turn to, the Jewish leadership at that time will finally call upon Yeshua to save them. The spiritual scales will fall from their eyes and they will realize that He was their Messiah all along and they will cry out for Him to return (see my commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). At that moment all Isra’el, the small believing remnant still alive at the end of the Great Tribulation, will be saved (Romans 11:26a). So when the Son of Man returns (see my commentary on Isaiah Kg –The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah), He will find faith among the righteous of the TaNaKh, and the sheep Gentiles (see my commentary on Revelation Fc – The Sheep and the Goats).

In the gathering gloom of intensified opposition we need not fear. God has put His anger far away and He hears us. We must trust Him and be steadfast in prayer. We do not appeal to a disgruntled Judge, but to a loving heavenly Father who will vindicate His children and will do so quickly.¹¹⁶⁷

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

There came unto me a man, who saluted me and sat down. And he was of a sorrowful countenance.

And he said, O Safed, thou great and wise man, live forever.

And I said, Eliminate that Stuff, and say what it is that devoureth thee: for I behold that thou art in trouble.

And he said, Thy servant is a Public Spirited Citizen in the town where he doth reside, and he is chairman of many Committees for the doing of what all agree ought to be done and none desireth to do. And behold, there is a great undertaking that hath been begun, and all interest in it hath slumped and our Great Cause is now a Forlorn Hope. And only a Miracle can save it.

And I said, Then let there be a Miracle.

And he said, Thou speakest as if Miracles were Dead Easy.

And I answered, They are not easy, but they are sometimes necessary. And the most miraculous of Miracles is the resurrection of Forlorn Hopes; the Most Successful Achievements are of that sort.

And I said, Hast thou heard of the Pilgrims?

And he said, I have known of them all my life.

And I said, Six weeks before the Pilgrims left Holland their adventure was a Forlorn Hope. In the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty, and on the sixth month and the fourteenth day of the month, John Robinson, that man of God, wrote that there were none among the Pilgrims who would then put money into the Enterprise if he had back what already they had put in.

And he said, I never knew that. I suppose that all those Old Saints were sustained throughout by their Faith in God, and their visions of the Glorious Future.

And I said, It is the habit of God to get us committed to tasks greater than we can achieve and see whether we be cowardly or brave. For no one ever prayeth save when they find Something Bigger than they can do alone. But when people doth realize that they and God must see it through together, or else give up and quit, then doth that person Pray Mightily and go Forward, and the sea doth open, or the Jordan divide, or mountains are removed and become a Highway.

And I said, The statue erected some time ago to the memory of Lot’s wife, standeth in Comparative Isolation; but it every person who had faltered and thought the cause a Forlorn Hope had given it up, then were there no Salt left in the Dead Sea.

And he said, I think I understand.

And I said, Go thou home, and seek the blessing of God anew, and add one more to the long list of Forlorn Hopes that became Glorious Achievements.¹¹⁶⁸

The Parables of Luke 18

While in Perea, traveling toward Tziyon, Yeshua taught two parables on prayer. One was addressed to His apostles (to see link click Ih – the Parable of the Persistent Widow), and the other addressed to some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else (see Ii – The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector).

For the Son of Man in His Day Will Be Like Lightning
Luke 17: 22-37

For the Son of Man in His Day will be like lightening DIG: What did Jesus mean when He said that the Son of Man in His day will be like lightning? How will those days be like the days of Noah and Lot? Why will the apostles long to see the Lord’s return? What will happen at that time? Why must the Great Tribulation come before the Second Coming? What is meant by the warning about Lot’s wife (verses 32-33)? Verse 37 was a common proverb, implying that something will happen in its proper time. Why does Yeshua answer like this? What will be the difference between the sheep Gentiles and the goat Gentiles? How will unbelievers be judged during the thousand year millennial Kingdom?

REFLECT: When you think about Jesus Christ returning as the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David (Revelation 5:5), are you excited or frightened? Why? Why not? In light of the unexpected nature of His coming, how are His followers to live?

Throughout Christ’s ministry in Perea heading toward Tziyon, He sought to teach His disciples what it meant to follow Him and to allow His life to penetrate their hearts. Part of Jesus’ teaching not only centered on His approaching death, but also upon the promise that He would come again at the end of the age to establish His Kingdom. In a sense, everything Messiah said and did was meant to prepare us for the end of time. His greatest desire is to gather us all together in Him and establish us in His Father’s presence forever.¹¹⁵⁵

Having answered the question about when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus then turned to His apostles (and to us) and spoke to them (us) directly about the Second Coming (see my commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ). He said: The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man (Luke 17:22a). One would expect it to read the day of (like verses 24 and 30), but plural may be used to parallel in the days of Noah and Lot (like verses 26 and 28). This expression means in the days when the Son of Man returns and reigns.¹¹⁵⁶ The Twelve would long to see the Lord’s return because the messianic Kingdom will begin immediately afterwards. The righteous of the TaNaKh will be rewarded and the wicked will be judged.

But He told them: You will not see it because the Great Tribulation must come before the Second Coming. Each of the Feasts of Isra’el point to Messiah. The first four point to His First Coming and the Second three point to His Second Coming. Because Rosh ha-Shanah (pointing to the Rapture) comes before Yom Kippur (pointing to the Great Tribulation), believers are not appointed to suffer wrath (First Thessalonians 5:9a), the apostles will not be on the earth at that time.

So while the apostles were living out their lives after Messiah ascended back to the Father: If men will tell you, “There He is!” or “Here He is!” Do not go running after them. For the Son of Man in His day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. Lightning cannot be hidden, it shows itself across the sky. So whenever the Messiah returns, the whole world will see Him. This verse warns against believers’ being misled into thinking that the Son of Man’s coming will be concealed from the world or that He has already come in some secret or mysterious way, a warning all too frequently ignored in the Church’s history. But before the Second Coming would ever occur, first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation (Luke 17:22b-25).

Just as it was in the days of Noah (see my commentary on Genesis Cg –Noah and His Wife and Sons Entered the Ark to Escape the Waters of the Flood), so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People will be eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. And they knew nothing about what would happen until the Flood came and destroyed them all. That is how it will be at the Second Coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:39; Luke 17:26-27). This refers to how the antediluvian generation was unsuspecting and unprepared for the Flood, just like the unbelievers before the return of the Lord will be unsuspecting and unprepared.

Then Luke 17:28-29 tells us: It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building (see my commentary on Genesis Ez – The Two Men said to Lot: Don’t Look Back). But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all (see my commentary on Genesis Fa – The LORD Rained Down Burning Sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah). God’s judgment came swiftly, and there was no time to prepare. It was too late.

It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:30). This message was so important, that Yeshua repeated it just two days before His crucifixion (see Jr – The Day and the Hour Unknown)? Jesus taught them that when the day comes for Him to return in glory, it will come quickly and powerfully. In every age, He calls His disciples to be prepared to go to the heavens without looking back. This is true whether it happens on the day the Lord returns, or at the time of our death.

Once the Great Tribulation ends and Yeshua returns, there will be no time left to make a decision for the Lord. On that day no one who is on the roof of their house, with their goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything (Luke 17:31). Jesus warned the Twelve (and us) that we should not be attached to the material things of this world because they, like Lot’s wife, will be judged accordingly. Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32)! She was reluctant to leave and in looking back, she came under divine judgment.

When Jesus returns at the end of the Great Tribulation, He will engage in a war against the antichrist and the armies of the world (see my commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon). The first casualty in this campaign will be the antichrist (Second Thessalonians 2:8), after his death the slaughter of his army will continue. There actually is no fighting per se. It is really an execution. The Commander of the LORD’s army will continue marching through the Land in indignation, as if treading the winepress of His wrath, causing blood to be sprinkled on His garments. Zechariah 14:12-15 describes the manner in which this massive army will be destroyed. This carnage will continue all the way back to Jerusalem, coming to an end in the Valley of Jehoshaphat as Joel 3:12-13 states. The nations that have gathered against the Jews (Joel 3:9-11) will find themselves being slaughtered by the King of the Jews. The blood from this encounter with Jesus will run about one mile wide and one hundred and eighty miles long, from the Valley of Jezreel in the north of Isra’el, to Bozrah in the south and will literally reach to the horses’ bridles (Revelation 14:20). A sea of humanity will become a sea of blood. It will practically cover the length of Isra’el. So when His talmidim asked Him, “Where Lord?” Jesus said: Wherever there is a dead body, that’s where the vultures will gather (Luke 17:37 CJB).

At that time judgment will come for all unbelievers. Most will be killed during the Great Tribulation and the ensuing campaign of Armageddon. However, millions and millions of unbelievers will still be alive once the messianic Kingdom begins. Of those, whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will save it (Luke 17:33). Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.

It’s a place you won’t want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab’s rope, Paul’s bucket, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone. Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and struck the rock. Sniff the ointment that soothed Messiah’s skin and lifted His heart . . .

I don’t know if these items will be there.  But I am sure of one thing – the people who used them will. The risk takers: Rahab who sheltered the spy. The brothers who smuggled Rabbi Sha’ul. The conquerors: David, slinging a stone. Samson, swinging a bone. Moses lifting a rod. The caregivers: Mary at Christ’s feet. What she gave cost much, but somehow she knew what He would give would cost more.¹¹⁵⁷

I tell you, on that night it will be like two people in one bed; one, the sheep Gentiles (see my commentary on Revelation Fc – The Sheep and the Goats) will be taken from judgment, and the other left, the goat Gentiles will be judged (see my commentary on Isaiah Kq – The Wolf and the Lamb Will Feed Together, and the Lion Will Eat Straw Like the Ox). In the same manner, it will be like two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken from judgment and the other will be left for judgment (Luke 17:34-36).

How, then, can we prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return? Through living faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. As we turn to Him with all [our] heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), He gives us the grace to live for Him and to be willing to let go of this life on earth. The Ruach ha-Kodesh gives us the power to lose our lives in Him so that we might be saved from the wrath to come (First Thessalonians 1:10). Consequently, we need to keep a light touch on the things of this world. It should not have a claim on our hearts. We belong to Yeshua, and we can trust that He will come for us and bring us into eternal life (see Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer) with Him.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of faith through which we know You and are saved. Help us to let go of anything that binds us to the world so that we can live for You more each day.¹¹⁵⁸

The Coming of the Kingdom of God
Luke 17: 20-21

The Coming of the Kingdom of God DIG: In answering the Pharisees’ question, what does Yeshua say about the coming Kingdom of God, as to when, how, or where it is? Does Messiah view the Kingdom as an inward, spiritual reality “within” people? Or an outward, social manifestation “among” them? Is this Kingdom present in everyone? How does it dwell among some but not in others?

REFLECT: In what ways is the kingdom of God within you today? How is it a present reality? Are there times when the present reality of the Kingdom is more difficult to feel? What should we be basing our belief about the Kingdom on? Titus calls the return of our Lord the blessed hope, which is the appearing of the Sh’khinah of our great God and the appearing of our Deliverer, Yeshua the Messiah (Titus 2:13 CJB). How does the reality of that affect your life in any way?

The Pharisees in Perea, near the village where Jesus cleansed the ten lepers (to see link click Id – Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy), were chagrined by the Lord’s commendation of the grateful Samaritan and His indirect but effective thrust at the ingratitude of the other nine Jews. With a contemptuous sneer, they approached Him with a question of when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus replied: The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say “Here it is,” or “There it is,” because the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:20-21). The Pharisees expected a physical Kingdom whose beginning could be dated. Christ, however, replies first by noting that He brings a spiritual Kingdom, a spiritual rulership consisting of a new kind of relationship among believers. But to His talmidim, He expands on the subject of the Kingdom and points to the far eschatological time when He will indeed return and rule (see Jp – The Earth Will Mourn When They See the Son of Man Coming on the Clouds). Clearly the phrase must be translated in your midst, or among you. The implication is that the kingdom of God is coming in the person of Yeshua the Messiah. The King has arrived; thus, the Kingdom is present.

But Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees at this point. There is no way that Jesus thought that the Kingdom was within them. In fact, He thought just the opposite. He said: Woe to you, teachers of the Torah and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Matt 23:27-28).

But in addition to a far eschatological time, Jesus claimed that the kingdom of God was being revealed during His lifetime on earth. As Isaiah had prophesied: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy (Isaiah 35:5-6a). After being accused of being demon possessed (see Ek – It is only by Beelzebub, the Prince of Demons, that This Fellow Drives out Demons), He responded by saying: If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28). The clear emphasis’ on the ministry in His preaching and in His Isaiah 35 miracles was that the kingdom of God was breaking into this world.

So is the kingdom of God spiritual and figurative, or physical and literal? Is the kingdom of God present? Or is the kingdom of Heaven future? The answer to all of these questions is yes. There is a sense that the kingdom of God is here already, and there is a sense that it is not yet here. There are two stages of the Kingdom. It was inaugurated in Jesus’ person and ministry, yet the kingdom of God will be consummated when Messiah returns in glory (see my commentary on Revelation Ew – He is Dressed in a Robe Dipped in Blood, And His Name is the Word of God). Then Christ, as King, will rule throughout all eternity (Luke 1:31-33). Therefore, as a result, we now live in the between time.

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy
Luke 17: 11-19

Jesus Heals ten men with leprosy DIG: What was it like to be a leper? What would their healing mean to them? Why do you think the nine didn’t go back to thank Yeshua? What is significant about the one who came back being a Samaritan?

REFLECT: How has Messiah healed you spiritually? Physically? Emotionally? Afterwards, how do you show your gratitude to the Lord? Do you throw yourself at Jesus’ feet and thank Him like the Samaritan? Or take His healing for granted?

In Messiah’s time, those suffering from leprosy were isolated in special camps outside the cities in an effort to contain the disease. According to the Torah, the only way a leper could be allowed to return to society was if he or she were declared clean by a priest (Leviticus 14:1-32).

During His ministry in Perea as He waited for His final appearance in Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee (Luke 17:11). Thus, He stayed away from Galilee, where Herod sought to kill Him, and from Judea, where the Sanhedrin was plotting to kill Him. Christ made several trips to Jerusalem, but Luke telescoped them to make his point that the Lord had to get to Zion to present Himself as the Messiah.¹¹⁵¹

On one occasion, as He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. In the Jewish culture of that time, leprosy was not merely the symbol of sin, but of death, to which it stood related to our state of sin and death before God. The rabbis taught that lepers were regarded as dead, along with the blind, the poor, and those who had no children. They were excluded from the camp of Isra’el, which in later times the Talmudists understood to be all the cities walled since the days of Joshua, who was supposed to have sanctified them. Everywhere a leper entered was considered defiled. They were, however, admitted to the synagogue, where a place was railed off for them, ten handbreadths high (a handbreadth being the measure of four fingers, equal to four inches) and four cubits wide, on condition of their entering the house of worship before the rest of the congregation, and leaving them before the service was over (Tractate Negaim 13.12).¹¹⁵² So it was natural that they would band together.

At first Christ did not see them, for they stood at a distance. But then He heard their cry as they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us” (Luke 17:12-13)! They knew His name because they had heard of the remarkable cure of one of the worst lepers in Galilee (see Cn – The First Messianic Miracle: The Healing of a Jewish Leper), not far from their village. Nine of them were Jews, but fellow-sympathy in misery had broken down the barriers of racial prejudice. Miserably afflicted with this disease, which was itself a living death, they spent their days in hopelessness, waiting for the end to come. The Torah requires people with serious skin diseases to separate themselves from the rest of the camp of Isra’el (Leviticus 13:45-46; Num 5:2-4). One Samaritan stood up with the others and joined with them in a heart-rending plea for pity.

When Yeshua saw them, He confirmed that He was Torah observant, by saying: Go show yourselves to the priests (Leviticus 14:2). At that time in the Temple, there were four chambers inside the Court of the Women. There was the Chamber of the Woodshed, which stored wood for the Bronze Altar; the Chamber of the Nazirites, where those who have made their vows would fulfill them, and make their offerings (Numbers 6:1-21); the Chamber of the Oil, where oil needed for the lighting of the seven-branched Lampstand, for lighting the four large lamps in the Court of the Women during Sukkot (see Gr – I Am the Light of the Word), and the Chamber of the Lepers! There, the leper was supposed present his sacrifices, shave off all his hair, and undergo a ritual bath for cleansing (Leviticus 14:1-9). But the Chamber of the Lepers had never been used. Ever. Miriam had rebelled against Moshe and had been stricken with leprosy (Numbers 12), but that was before the giving of the Torah. And Naaman was cleansed after following Elisha’s instructions (Second Kings 5:14), but he was a Gentile, a Syrian. Therefore, it is very telling that Moses had written two long chapters (Leviticus 13 and 14) on cleansing a leper, but year after year, decade after decade, century after century, it stood empty. It was waiting for Yeshua to send the priests a cleansed Jewish leper to prove that He was, indeed, the Messiah (see Cn – The Healing of a Jewish Leper: The First Messianic Miracle).

The lepers went in faith even before they had actually experienced the healing. As they limped along the road, the dry scales fell from them, the white spots disappeared, a healthy color returned to their flesh, their disfigured limbs were restored, and the thrill of new life flowed through their veins. They were cleansed (Luke 17:14). Joseph Caiaphas, the high priest of the Sanhedrin, the Temple and the priesthood, led the rejection of the Messiah. Now he would have to see the results of this messianic miracle first hand.

All ten had enough faith in Yeshua to be healed. But only one of them had enough gratitude that when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He understood the significance of what had been done for him. Therefore, he threw himself at Jesus’ feet, worshiped Him and thanked Him – and he was a Samaritan (Luke 17:15-16). To demand an action in keeping with the Torah from him would in itself be a challenge and could have offended him. So the Samaritan who returned had to overcome considerable obstacles in order to be obedient to the Great Physician’s request. How his obedience to the Lord, and his worship and gratitude for his healing, must have pleased the Savior of sinners. His faith had not only healed him, but also saved him.

Jesus asked: Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine (Luke 17:17)? They had received God’s spoken word and believed enough to be healed of their leprosy, but they fell short of the ultimate healing of salvation. They had once been enlightened . . . [and] tasted the heavenly gift (Hebrews 6:4) in their physical healing, but they had not stepped across the line from knowledge to faith. The lack of gratitude by the other nine was typical of the rejection of Christ’s ministry by the Jewish people. He alone had the power to cleanse the nation and make her ceremonially clean. However, Isra’el did not respond properly to Him. She accepted the healings and feedings, but she did not accept Him as the Meshiach. But those outside the nation, such as this Samaritan leper (a person doubly repulsive to the Jews) and many of those in Perea were responding.¹¹⁵³

Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner (Luke 17:18)? Several questions come to mind. Did these nine Jews separate from the one Samaritan when they realized they were healed? Or was it Jewish pride, which felt it had a right to blessings, and attributed them, not to the mercy of the Galilean Rabbi, but to God; or rather, to the relation of Isra’el to God. Or what seems the most likely it was simply ingratitude. A state of mind all too characteristic of those far from ADONAI, and which led to the neglect and rejection of Christ. It was certainly a terrible contrast between the sons of the Covenant and this foreigner.

Then He said to him: Rise up and go, your faith has made you well (Luke 17:19). The phrase made you well is literally saved you. And in truth, faith saves us. Certainly the grateful Samaritan received a healing that far surpassed the physical cleansing of his skin. The wholeness he received in his flesh pointed to the wholeness he was receiving in his soul as he lay before the Lord in worship. Like this Samaritan, let us lay our hearts bare before Jesus Christ and allow Him to bring us deeper healing and wholeness.

Lord Jesus, we believe that Your desire to work in us far exceeds our expectations We come to You today asking You to transform us. Yeshua, we bow before you in praise and thanksgiving.¹¹⁵⁴

Instruction In Light of the Rejection of
the First Sign of Jonah

In this section Luke brought together a series of events in the life of Christ while He was in Perea on His way to Jerusalem. The events teach the kind of attitude His talmidim should have in view of the coming Kingdom.

Id – Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy (Luke 17:11-19)

Ie – The Coming of the Kingdom of God (Luke 17:20-21)

If – For the Son of Man in His Day Will Be Like Lightning (Luke 17:22-37)

The Plot to Kill Jesus
John 11: 45-54

There was a plot to kill Jesus DIG: What responses does the miracle with Lazarus produce, and why? What does it show about their view of Messiah? What are the main concerns of the Jewish leaders? What do they fail to see in this text-message? How does Caiaphas’ murderous threat unwittingly convey prophetic truth regarding the effect of Yeshua’s death? What did this prophecy have to do with the Gentiles? How does Christ respond to this new situation? What do you think the crowds would be expecting as Pesach approached?

REFLECT: When in your life have you used the, “My mind’s made up, don’t confuse me with the facts” approach? How did that work out for you? What have you learned since then? To whom can you pass your wisdom on to? How old were you when you realized you’d better think before speaking? Who do you know that hasn’t figured that out yet? Who can you disciple and help with these important life lessons?

As we read about the events leading to Messiah’s death in Yerushalayim, it might appear as though the Jewish leaders and Roman authorities had the upper hand and were in control of the events that were about to unfold. In reality, however, ADONAI was behind everything that happened as He firmly guided His plan to completion. He even used Caiaphas, Israel’s high priest that year, to prophesy that Yeshua would die for the nation. Caiaphas meant to say nothing more than that killing the trouble-making Rabbi was the politically expedient thing to do – but God had other plans.

The miraculous sign of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead was a resounding and convincing proof that Yeshua was indeed the Messiah. Even though the miracle was not designed as a public display, news of the miracle spread very quickly and many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and comfort her, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him (John 11:45). It is interesting that Martha isn’t mentioned. Evidently Mary seemed to be the most sorrowful and disconsolate of the two. But Martha, who always took the role of a hostess, seems to have used her ministry of hospitality to mask her grief. Both sisters were equally devastated, but displayed their sorrow in their own way.

But some of them who were not believers went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done (John 11:46). This is a predictable result for people who have hard hearts. You can show them the complete truth of God, but they still won’t respond to it. There is no capacity for an unbelieving person to perceive the truth. As long as a person refuses to accept new information, you will be unable to communicate. People like that cannot understand because they don’t want to understand. Someone with a predetermined unbelief doesn’t even bother to rationalize, let alone investigate the evidence. The unbelieving Jews who collaborated with the Sanhedrin didn’t even concern themselves with the miracle. Anyone who could stand by a tomb and watch a man who had been dead for four days walk out, and not believe, is a hopeless case. That’s why no one can come to Messiah unless the Father . . . draws them (John 6:44a). No one can come to Christ until the Holy Spirit reaches into his or her heart and melts away the unbelief. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, before you witness to someone, pray that God will till the soil so the Word can take root in that person’s heart.¹¹⁴⁸

Then the Sadducees and the Pharisees, who normally opposed each other, cooperated on this occasion and called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. This development upset the Sanhedrin (see Lg – The Great Sanhedrin) so much that they felt forced to call together a special session in order to deal with this renegade Rabbi once and for all. It is amazing that even though they knew Jesus resurrected Lazarus, they continued to plot against Christ. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this Man performing many signs” (John 11:47). Notice there was no denial of the miracles or any talk of Lazarus.

At this juncture all turned to the high priest Caiaphas. Surely, they thought, he should be able to offer some solution to the difficult problem that faced the nation. For some twelve years already he had been their leader. He was the successor of his father-in-law Annas, having been appointed by the Romans. The discussion suddenly stopped as the long-robed high priest of the Sanhedrin rose from his chair to announce his decision. All were breathless with anticipation to hear what the sentence would be. He reasoned: “If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our Temple and our nation” (John 11:48-49). Ironically, this is exactly what happened in 70 AD. Their institution became more important than God; they clung to their institution and lost the chance to follow the Messiah.

The Ruach Ha’Kodesh also came upon Balaam (Numbers 23:5 and 15). In that case the Spirit of God came upon (or, over) him. The same expression is used of the messengers of Sha’ul (First Samuel 19:20), and King Sha’ul himself (First Samuel 10:9-12). The prophecy of Caiaphas here (John 11:46-52) affords another instance of the sovereign power of the Spirit as displayed through the medium of wicked men. From this we can conclude that the Ruach Ha’Kodesh can use anyone whom He wants to use for His purposes.

The high priest continued and announced confidently: “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it’s better for you if one man dies on behalf of the people, so that the whole nation won’t be destroyed. Now he didn’t speak this way on his own initiative; rather, since he was high priest that year, he unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was about to die on behalf of the nation” (John 11:49-51 CJB). Caiaphas had unwittingly uttered a prophecy, a deeper truth than he knew. He meant to be selfish and mean and he expressed his bloodthirsty decision to the Sanhedrin, but didn’t realize that all he was prophesying was the downfall of the priesthood, the Temple and the nation whom he professed to be saving by his decision to kill Messiah. This was the last prophecy of the high priesthood in Isra’el, pronouncing sentence against itself. Yeshua would indeed die for the nation in a sense far deeper than Caiaphas ever intended. Caiaphas, in virtue of his office of high priest, unconsciously announced the eternal plan of ADONAI – that His Son should die instead of the nation, and on behalf of not only the Jewish people but also all Gentiles who would be gathered from among the tribes and nations of the world.¹¹⁴⁹

He died not only for that nation but also for the Gentiles, the other scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one (John 11:52). That is the great mystery of the Church. Ephesians 2:14 says Messiah’s death has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. All those who place their faith in the Living Word become one in Him. So there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

So from that day on they plotted to take his life (John 11:53). The Great Sanhedrin concluded that the Giver of Life deserved death and began to plot how to do it. The Jewish people, however, weren’t part of the plot until the very end, when they cried: Crucify him! His blood is on us and on our children (Matthew 27:22b and 25). Yeshua Ha-Mashiach made no attempt to thwart the plot of the Sanhedrin.

In some way, perhaps through His friend Nicodemus, Yeshua came to know the dark decision of the Sanhedrin. Therefore, Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead He withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, a city in northern Judea, where He stayed with His talmidim for a time of reflection and prayer (John 11:54). He was driven out of the Holy City of Yerushalayim for the very last time. The next time He returned, it would be for the purpose of dying.

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

There came a heavy fall of Snow, and the daughter of the daughter of Keturah ran in at noontime on her way home from school, and she was in Sorrow. And she wept and said: Those boys are just as mean as they can be. They threw snowballs at me, and they got snow all over my Coat, and over my Cap and in my Hair, and some of it went down my neck. And look, I am covered with snow, and the boys wait just around the Corner to throw more snowballs at me.

And I took off her Coat, and shook it. And I took off her Cap, and placed it where it would dry. And I picked out snow from her Golden Hair and from her neck. And Keturah came also and took the little girl to wash her face and wipe away her tears.

And I called up the daughter of Keturah and said, your daughter is here, and we desire that she should eat lunch with us, and go back to school from here. And the daughter of Keturah answered, It is well. So let her do as you wish.

Now Keturah had a Corking Good Lunch ready, and she set out another plate. And we sat down, and gave God thanks. And there was a bouquet upon the table, and Keturah turned it around so that the brightest flowers were toward the daughter of the daughter of Keturah. And Keturah said, The flowers desire to look across the table and welcome our Little Girl. And we had a Happy Luncheon together. And when it was over, I said, Now let me hear what Music you have learned lately.

And she said, I still can play Holy Night, that I learned at Christmas; and I have a piece that is called The Butterfly, where one hand crosses the other, and the Butterfly moves up and down in pretty curves among the flowers which the other hand plays. And I said, Let us hear that. And she said, I will do it. And, Grandpa, when I cross my hands, look and see how many Rings are on my fingers.

And I smiled at her little vanity concerning the Rings; neither did I scold her: for she will outgrow all that if grown folk have sense enough to leave her alone. And we had Fifteen Happy minutes at the Piano. And I remembered with what joy my father heard his Daughter and afterward his Granddaughter at the Piano, even as I do.

And the time came for the daughter of the daughter of Keturah to go back to school. And she said, What a happy time I have had, and this would not have come to me if those Naughty Boys had not thrown snow at me.

And I said, Thus does the Good Lord God bring possibilities of good out of evil, and I hope it will be like this forever more.

And she said, I am glad I came.

And I said, If I find those boys, I will thank them; but I will ask them not to do it Again.¹¹⁵⁰

The Resurrection of Lazarus: The First Sign of Jonah
John 11: 1-44

The resurrection of Lazarus was the first sign of Jonah DIG: How did Mary and Martha feel about Jesus’ late arrival? How did Mary and Martha differ in the way they expressed their feelings? Do you think Messiah’s words to Martha were reassuring to her? Why or why not? How did Martha communicate her belief to Yeshua? How did Christ respond to Mary, Martha, and the others mourning? Since the Lord knew He was going to raise Lazarus (John 11:11), why did He weep in verse 35? How did Martha’s response demonstrate both faith and a lack of faith?

REFLECT: Have you ever felt like God was not listening when you prayed? How did you deal with it? How does the way in which Messiah postponed His response to the sister’s request help you in understanding your own prayer life? When have you been faced with a tough situation recently that ended up stretching your faith? What would have been different for you if that struggle had simply been avoided? How do the words and actions in this passage comfort you? How has God helped you during a disappointing time?

Jesus had previously said that He would perform no more public miracles to convince Isra’el that He was the Son of God. Now the only sign left to them would be the sign of Jonah (to see link click Eo – The Sign of the Prophet Jonah).

The resurrection has a purpose. The primary purpose was to build the faith of Christ’s talmidim because in a short time He was about to die. He was building their faith. His first miracle at the wedding in Cana in Galilee was not in public view, but the purpose of building the disciples’ faith in Him before he began His ministry; this miracle is likewise not in public view and was performed to build the faith of His apostles in Him before His impending death and crucifixion on the cross. But the secondary reason was a sign to the nation of Isra’el. This was the sign He promised to give them: the first sign of Jonah.

In this context, John described the prelude to the raising of Lazarus. Yeshua had left Jerusalem because His life was in danger there, but it was not time for Him to die. So Jesus went back across the Jordan to Perea, the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed. Great crowds of people came out to hear Jesus preach. And in that place many believed in Him (Yochanan 10:40-42). This may have been the most fruitful time of ministry the Twelve had witnessed in all the time since they began to follow the miracle-working Rabbi. People were responsive. Souls were being saved. And Yeshua was able to minister freely without the opposition of the religious rulers of Yerushalayim. But something happened to interrupt their time together in the wilderness.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany on the outskirts of Yerushalayim, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Christ had formed a close and loving relationship with this little family. He loved them with a special affection. He stayed with them and they provided for His needs. John informs us that this Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:1-3). They knew that if Yeshua came to see Lazarus, He would be able to heal him. This was one day’s walk. The Great Physician could have gotten there in plenty of time. However, He delayed going for He had a special purpose.

When he heard this, Jesus said: This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days after the day He had received word that His friend was sick. Then He said to His apostles: Let us go back to Judea (Yochanan 11:4-7). So this was a one-day journey that took four days (John 11:17 and 39).

This presented a problem. If Messiah went that close to Tzion, He would be walking into the lion’s den of the worst kind of hostility. His Jewish opponents were trying to seize Him (John 10:39). They were already determined to kill Him. Yeshua had eluded their grasp once already, but if He returned to Bethany, which is only two miles from the City of David, they were almost certain to find out, and possibly fulfill their bloodthirsty desire.

The Twelve thought Jesus was crazy. “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Honestly, they didn’t want to go back either. The ministry in Perea was phenomenal and in Zion they all risked being stoned. Yeshua’s answer was interesting. He gave them an illustration, saying: Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light (Yochanan 11:8-10). In other words, there was no need for Christ to sneak around like a common criminal. He was determined to do His work in the bright light of day, because that’s what you do in order not to stumble. The apostate religious leaders were the ones who were walking in darkness and they were the ones in danger of stumbling.

Jesus said that to His talmidim to calm them down. He obviously wasn’t going back to die right then. It wasn’t His time yet. Besides, He knew the exact time of His death and the death of His friend Lazarus. After Jesus had said this, He went on to tell them: Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I AM going there to wake him up (John 11:11).

But Christ’s apostles missed His meaning and replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better (Yochanan 11:12).” They thought, “If he’s only asleep, why not let him rest? After all, Messiah already said he wasn’t going to die.” The Twelve couldn’t see the urgency of the situation. It sounded like he was already on the way to recovery.

Jesus had been speaking of His death, but His apostles thought He meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly: Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I AM glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. Consequently, Jesus performed this miracle to support the faith of the apostles in His person and in His power. They would need faith in the face of the opposition of the nation that would soon put Him to death. But, Jesus concluded, let us go to him (John 11:13-15). Now they understood. The Master Teacher had to go back. There would be no talking Him out of it. But it seemed like a suicide mission to them. They were convinced that if Yeshua returned to Bethany, they would all be killed in short order. Nevertheless, He had made up His mind.

Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the talmidim, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (Jn 11:16). Some have unfairly criticized Thomas’ gloomy outlook. But he merely acknowledged the truth of the situation. The Pharisees wanted little more than to see Jesus dead, and they were willing to do anything to kill Him. But Thomas grimly stood beside Him in the face of what appeared to be certain death.

For the most part, losses are not an enjoyable part of life. And losing friends is particularly sad. God’s presence in our lives ought to cast a slightly different light on the loss – especially those that are caused by death. Why? Because death does not limit God’s power. If we can trust Him to bring good out of even matters of life and death, can we not learn to trust Him in smaller losses? Think of a time in your life when a bad experience turned into good? How did that affect you?¹¹⁴¹

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. The rabbis taught that the spirit hovered over the body for three days and during that time there was always the possibility of resuscitation. But at the end of the third day, the spirit descended down to sh’ol. At that point the rabbis taught that there was no hope of resurrection.¹¹⁴²  So by delaying His arrival for four days, no one would be able to claim his spirit was merely the spirit hovering over the body.

Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran out to meet Him, but Miryam continued sitting [shiv’ah] in the house (Yochanan 11:17-20).

The word shiv’ah means seven and the phrase sitting [shiv’ah] refers to the Jewish custom of sitting in mourning for seven days following the death of a deceased parent, spouse, sibling or child. The Greek here says only sitting, which is the usual word if all that is meant is that Mary stayed in the house when Martha went out. In his Jewish New Testament Commentary, David Stern comments, “Because it is so clear from the context that Miryam was morning her brother I have added shiv’ah in the text to show that her sitting was in fact specifically mourning and not pouting or sulking. The Jewish mourner sits barefoot on the floor or on a low stool in the home of the deceased or near relative and abstains from all ordinary work and diversions and even from required synagogue prayers, while friends visit him or her for comfort and prayer. Both sisters observed the practice, which was not significantly different then and now; but Martha, who evidently had digested Yeshua’s earlier counsel (see Gx – Jesus in the Home of Martha and Mary), was now the one willing to set custom aside and leave the house and she ran out to meet Him.¹¹⁴³

Mary and Martha responded to the death of their brother with the same kind of disillusionment and anger any one of us would. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Basically, she scolds Christ for not coming when He was first called.“But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (John 11:21). She did not recognize His power over death and He basically had to coax a confession of faith out of Martha. And even that was pretty shaky (John 11:39b). Yet Messiah dealt tenderly with her, offering no rebuke and expressing no disappointment. And on her part, His delay and apparent decision not to act didn’t lessen her confidence in Him.

Jesus reassured Martha with a statement having a double meaning, saying to her: Your brother will rise again. Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (Yochanan 11:22-24). Martha did not immediately understand that Christ would raise Lazarus from the dead. She assumed that Jesus is talking about the last resurrection of the faithful (see my commentary on Revelation Fd – The Resurrection of the Righteous of the TaNaKh), that is, the Meshiach would raise the dead when He came to set up His Messianic Kingdom at the end of the age. Yet, she did not understand the Lord’s full meaning. She would before sunset.

Christ clarified the teaching for her, by declaring: I AM the resurrection and the life. This is the fifth of Jesus’ seven I AM’s (John 6:35, 8:12, 10:7, 10:11, 14:6, 15:1). Hope was not to be found in a program, but rather in a person; resurrection and life were in Him! He further instructed Martha by saying: The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die (John 11:25-26a). The one who believes in Messiah receives His eternal life as a present possession. The one who possesses eternal life can never die (see Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Physical death cannot interrupt the continuation of eternal life. The one who possesses eternal life may experience the separation of the soul from the body, but will never experience the separation of the soul from God.

Therefore, the good Shepherd was speaking words of comfort to Martha, whose brother had died physically. Because Lazarus had believed in Christ, he was not dead but alive, for he had eternal life. This was true even though he might enjoy that life in another sphere. Jesus had directed Martha’s faith to Himself, and now He asked: Do you believe this? “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:26b-27). Her declaration was almost identical to that of Peter (see Fx – On The Rock I Will Build My Church). She confessed her faith in His person, calling Him the Son of God, and confessed faith in His work, referring to Him as Messiah who was to redeem and reign. Martha’s fears were now at rest because of her faith in Jesus.¹¹⁴⁴

After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. The Rabbi is here, she said, and is asking for you. When Miryam heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him (Yochanan 11:28-29). Yeshua evidently wanted a private conversation with Mary. This may be the reason that Jesus remained outside the village for a while.

Now the Supreme Commander of Life and Death had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. When the Jews who had been with Miryam in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there (John 11:30-31).

The sound of footsteps interrupted Jesus’ thoughts. Miryam and a group of mourners were heading toward Him. From a distance Christ could probably see Mary’s dark and swollen eyes. More than likely, her cheeks were covered with muddy streaks from her tears. Without hesitating, Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Her remarks reflected those of her sister, but apparently Miryam was not gripped by the same fears that held Martha. It was not necessary for Christ to instruct her in order to lift her burden. Her body shook with anger and grief. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Seeing Mary’s sorrow and tears, the good Shepherd also trembled with emotion. He asked: Where have you laid him? “Come and see, Lord,” they replied (John 11:32-34).

Jesus wept (John 11:35). The shortest verse in the Bible is also one of the most telling. As Miryam walked away, Jesus knew Lazarus’ resurrection was only moments away. But that didn’t eliminate His pain and sorrow. And it is the same for you and I. He understood that while the knowledge of Lazarus’ resurrection could bring comfort, it didn’t eliminate His sorrow any more than it will eliminate your anguish. He understands. You are not alone in your pain and sorrow. The same Messiah who wept with Mary then, weeps with you today.

As was and is the case, these Jews failed to enter the mind of Christ. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” They mistook His tears as no more than a sign of His love. But some of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying” (Yochanan 11:36-37)? These words were not spoken in mockery. They were sincere, but they mistook Yeshua’s tears for frustration.¹¹⁴⁵

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. In an act forbidden by rabbinic tradition, He said: Take away the stone from the entrance.The men who acted upon His command risked ritual defilement; nevertheless, they obeyed. But it was Martha, not Mary, who once again objected and sought to prevent the opening of the tomb. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Yeshua had to remind her of what He had told her just shortly before: Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God (John 11:38-40)?

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up. Yeshua prayed with his eyes open, as Jewish people do today. Christians usually pray with eyes closed. The reason most often given is in order to screen out visual distractions and concentrate on God. Which to do so is a matter of individual choice. The Bible does not require either.¹¹⁴⁶ This prayer was designed to show His talmidim and the other people present that all He did was in complete dependence of His Father. And He said: Father, I thank You that you have heard Me. I knew that you always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me (John 11:41-42).

When he had said this, the Great Physician called in a loud voice so His apostles could hear: Lazarus, come out! It’s a good thing Jesus called Lazarus by name. If He would have just said: come out, the resurrection of the righteous of the TaNaKh might have happened a little early. In the New Covenant, when a voice speaks in regards to the resurrection it is always the voice of the Meshiach. The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face (John 11:43-44a). Lazarus emerged from the tomb still wrapped in the spice-soaked linen strips of cloth, perhaps even struggling to move. Corpses were typically encased in 75 to 100 pounds of perfumed resins (John 19:39-40). It must have been a strange sight indeed. The witnesses to the miracle had to help Lazarus out of the burial wrappings. Jesus said to them: Take off the grave clothes and let him go (John 11:44b). Lazarus did not come by his own power, but by the power of the One who had commanded him to come out. Yeshua is the Red Heifer, without fault or defect, who delivers us from death through the water of purification (see the commentary on Numbers Df – The Red Heifer).

Jesus had also raised a widow’s son (see Eb – Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son), and Jairus’ daughter (see Fh – Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman), from the dead. The TaNaKh also reports that Elijah and Elisha had raised people from the dead (First Kings 17:17-24; Second Kings 4:17-37). The incident is reported in such a way that no one could miss its significance. Christ had physically brought back to life a four-days-old dead, cold, stinking corpse. This miracle crowns Yeshua’s career prior to His own death and resurrection. This is the last of Jesus’ seven miracles in John’s book (Yochanan 2:1-11; 4:43-54; 5:1-15; 6:1-15; 6:16-24; 9:1-34).

Isra’el was to receive no more signs but the sign of Jonah, which was the sign of resurrection (see my commentary on Jonah As – The Sign of Jonah). This sign would occur three different times. The first sign of Jonah was the resurrection of Lazarus, which was rejected when the Sanhedrin plotted to kill Jesus. The second sign of Jonah was the resurrection of Messiah (see Mc – The Resurrection of Jesus: The Second Sign of Jonah), which was rejected when the Sanhedrin rejected the truth of the Gospel and stoned Stephen in Acts 7:1-60. The third sign of Jonah will be the resurrection of the Two Witnesses (see my commentary on Revelation Dm – The Resurrection of the Two Witnesses: The Third Sign of Jonah), which will be accepted and all of Isra’el will be saved (see my commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

The daughter of the daughter of Keturah came unto our habitation, and she sought the Cookie Jar of Keturah. And thus did Keturah’s own children in their day. And thus have I done often. Save that I never eat one Cookie. I can eat none and I can eat four or five, but I cannot eat one of the Cookies of Keturah and stop. And the little maiden ate of the Cookies of Keturah. And I think that there will always be Cookies in her Cookie Jar.

Now as the damsel ate, she cried out in terror.

And I wondered what had happened unto her, for that is not the way the Cookies of Keturah affect people. And she cried not in pain, but in terror. And she said, Oh, Grandpa, my tooth has come out. And she held up a tiny front tooth in her little hand.

Now the loss of a Tooth is a matter of some importance to me; for I fear lest the time come when the grinders cease because they are few. But I knew that for her it was not a serious matter.

And I comforted her, and I said, Fear not. It is of no consequence.

And she said, Oh, Grandpa, canst thou put it back?

And I told her that I could not, and that I would not if I could.

And she understood it not, but she was comforted when she saw that I did not share her fear.

And I said, Have no fear, my little girl. The teeth that God gave to thee when teeth first came unto thee, were baby teeth, and they will leave thee one by one, and fall out. Trouble not thyself, for there shall grow others in their place that will be stronger and better and last longer.

And she was comforted.

Then I considered the losses of life, and the pain and the fear of them, and how they are even as the fear that was in the heart of the little maiden when she lost the Tooth. Yea, I went where people suffered by reason of losses that I could not explain so easily, and my words of comfort had behind them no knowledge of what blessing God should provide instead of the thing that had been taken away.

But I remembered that it is written in the Word of God how God hath provided Some Better Thing.

And I took the little pearly tooth from the hand of the little maiden, and she sat upon my knee and ate the residue of her Cookie, and I stroked her Golden Hair, and I prayed unto God for all those who have losses in life and who know not how God shall provide any better thing in place of them.

For their sorrow is like unto the sorrow of the daughter of the daughter of Keturah, and there are times when my wisdom stoppeth short of their need.¹¹⁴⁷

The Parable of the Obedient Servant
Luke 17: 7-10

The parable of the obedient servant DIG: How might the apostles plea relate to Jesus’ statement in Luke 17:3-4? What does Messiah’s response really mean? What attitudes should we have in serving Him?

REFLECT: Yeshua wants your full obedience. Are you holding anything back from the Master? Your finances? Your love life? Your job? Your kids? Is He Lord of your life, or do you tend to give Him a little help now and then? How’s that working for you?

The one main point to the parable of the obedient servant is just as a servant is subject to the master’s will, so are we subject to our Master’s will.

Christ now spoke to the Twelve regarding the obligation resting on them as humble servants of God. He said to His apostles: Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, “Come along now and sit down to eat?” Won’t he rather say, “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?” Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do (Luke 17:7-9)? A Servant does not get special praise for doing what they are expected to do. The servant was subject to the master’s will, and the servant gave proof of being a good and faithful servant by doing what the master commanded.

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants, not deserving of thanks or reward. It is not that ADONAI wants the groveling common to servants, but the absence of pride expected of those who know that obeying Him is a matter of duty, saying: We have only done our duty” (Luke 17:10). The Pharisees served God for reward; His talmidim were to avoid the leaven of pride. There was no room for boasting and the apostles needed to remember who was to serve whom. The Hebrew uses several different names for YHVH or “the name” (to see link click Ac – Introduction to the Life of Christ: The Use of ADONAI). Ha’Shem is more formal, like “sir,” or “father,” while ADONAI is less formal, like “daddy,” or “papa.” While we love to climb up in ADONAI’s lap, we must never confuse kindness for weakness. Ha’Shem is supreme (see  Revelation Al – I Turned Around and Saw Someone like a Son of Man).

Yes, the Lord washed the feet of His talmidim (see Kh – Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet) as an example for what they should do for others. But on the night He was betrayed, Jesus reminded them of the lesson of this parable saying: Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Yes, the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). But, other than that, He does not serve us . . . we serve Him. There will always be a need to emphasize this, for at times believers tend to reverse these roles and see God as their servant. Kind of like, “we ask and He gives” thinking. This is nothing more than trying to play God. Whereas the sovereign God delights in blessing His servants (Luke 12:35-37), we must always remember that He is the Lord of all creation and that we are, at the very best, forgiven sinners.¹¹⁴⁰

Things That Cause People to Sin are Bound to Come
Luke 17: 1-6

Things that cause people to sin are bound to come DIG: What might be an example of what Jesus means in the first saying? In the second saying, what does watch yourself mean? How could you practice forgiveness without reinforcing someone’s bad behavior? In the third saying, what kind of faith is necessary to establish God’s Kingdom? Is Messiah being realistic, idealistic, or what?

REFLECT: If you have ever caused someone to stumble, what is the biblical solution as far as our relationship with ADONAI is concerned (First John 1:8-10)? As far as the offended person is concerned? How hard is it for you to confront a brother or sister who has sinned against you? What attitude should you have? How is your faith barometer?

The parable of the obedient servant is prefaced by three sayings of Jesus. These sayings about the wickedness of causing others to sin in verses 1-2, the duty of forgiveness in verses 3-4, and the power of faith in verses 5-6 (followed by the parable in the next file), are a fit conclusion to the teaching on stewardship.

As Yeshua continued His journey toward Yerushalayim, He taught His apostles what it meant to follow Him. It was inevitable, He told them, that there would be stumbling blocks to faith, both because of the devil’s interference, and because of the all-too-human tendency to abuse our freedom. But the inevitability of such temptations and abuses doesn’t excuse our need to be vigilant against sin and to continue to uphold one another in dignity and love.

To be a disciple of Messiah means to pay close attention to the forces that move our hearts, to determine whether they are coming from the Spirit or from our fallen nature. We must be on guard against temptations from other people, all the while holding out love and mercy for everyone. We are called to love even those who hurt us emotionally and provoke improper reactions from us.¹¹³⁸

First: Jesus said to His talmidim, “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.” Using the graphic image of the millstone, Christ told the Twelve that it would be better for them to die than to be the source of another person’s sin. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone (a heavy stone for grinding grain) tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones, the weak and vulnerable for whom Messiah had so much concern, to stumble (Luke 17:1-2).

Secondly, He said: So watch yourselves (be careful). If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them. This goes against the grain . . . This implies no remorse or wanting to make things right. And if they repent, forgive them. Forgiveness is a command (Matthew 6:14-15, 18:21-35); one is to forgive from one’s heart, overruling one’s feelings if necessary – since this too goes against the grain of our sensibilities. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying “I repent,” you must forgive them over and over (Luke 17:3-4). Jesus had taught the Twelve earlier in His ministry the lesson of unlimited forgiveness for a repentant believer in Christ (to see link click Gi – If a Brother or Sister Sins, Go and Point Out Their Fault). Now He repeats this teaching to the whole group of disciples in a slightly different form.

Thirdly, reeling under the impact of these demands, the apostles asked Yeshua to increase their faith! He assured them that their faith would prove to be adequate to the demands because ADONAI’s great desire to establish the kingdom of God among His people. This has been His purpose from the beginning of time and He is committed to bringing it about. Even the smallest amount of faith can achieve what is humanly impossible. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can do amazingly miraculous things, such as say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it will obey you (Luke 17:5-6). What the Prophet from Galilee meant by that is that no obstacle, no matter the size, can stand before faith in God. No obstacle can prevent the humble from living in mercy and love, just as Christ did.

Lord Jesus, we believe that You came to establish Your Kingdom among us. Through the gift of faith You have bestowed on us, we happily embrace the opportunities You give us to love Your people. Lord, increase our faith so that we may build Your Kingdom.¹¹³⁹

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16: 19-31

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus DIG: How do the lives of the rich man and Lazarus compare on earth in verses 19-21? After death in verses 22-24? From verses 30-31, what is the determining factor for entry into heaven? Why do you think Jesus used a beggar to illustrate this and a rich man to represent those qualities that prevent one from entering heaven? What does verse 31 show us about human nature? Is sh’ol the same as purgatory? Why is it so difficult for people to be convinced that God’s ways are best?

REFLECT: The description of eternal damnation is quite vivid in this parable. After reading it, can you think of someone you need to witness to? Who did the rich man symbolize? What frightens you about this parable? What gives you comfort? Why?

The one main point to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is that riches do not guarantee one’s entrance into the kingdom of God.

God had promised that He would bless His people if they obeyed Him (Deuteronomy 28:1-4). And the Pharisees, through a perversion of the principle, taught that material possessions guaranteed the favor of ADONAI. They taught, “Whom the LORD loves He makes rich.” Therefore, they sought material possessions to prove that they were accepted and approved by God. In order to correct this perverted attitude toward material things, Yeshua gave this parable to the Twelve and also to the Pharisees to teach the proper attitude toward material things and the right stewardship of one’s possessions.¹¹³⁴ The context of this parable is connected to the previous instruction (to see link click Hw – The Parable of the Shrewd Manager) where Messiah taught His apostles along with the Pharisees, who loved money, and they heard all this and were sneering at Him.

There was a certain rich man who had everything he wanted. He was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day (Luke 16:19). He was accustomed to wearing the finest and most costly clothing, his outer garment being made of the most costly Egyptian cotton dyed purple, something only worn by princes, and the under garment of fine linen made from Egyptian flax. Every day he entertained friends with tables full of the best food and the most expensive silverware. But his money was spent entirely to satisfy his own desires. He showed no concern for the needs of others.

The poor diseased beggar of the parable, to whom Christ gave the name Lazarus, was a picture of the wretched that was always seen in Judea. He had been brought, helpless as he was, and was laid down at the gate of the rich man’s luxurious home. A beggar named Lazarus was covered with sores (probably ulcers) and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. No doubt Lazarus sat at the rich man’s gate in hopes that as he passed by he would be moved with compassion and out of his wealth would feed him. But the dogs showed more compassion than the rich man did. Even the dogs came and licked his sores (Luke 16:20-21). The Greek indicates this was the culmination of Lazarus’ misery. In Jewish thinking at the time, dogs were not romanticized as household pets, but were seen as impure, disgusting scavengers. There could be no greater contrast in material possessions of the two men than in the first scene of this parabolic-drama.

Then the scene changes. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side, a place of blessing (Luke 16:22a). Abraham’s side is a rare phrase in early Jewish writing, but not unknown. John, the talmid whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Christ’s side at the Last Passover (John 13:23-25). A Jewish historical document dating from around the time of Christ says, “After His suffering of ours, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya’akov will receive us, and all our ancestors will praise us” (4 Maccabees 13:17). Thus, being at Abraham’s side suggests both being in paradise and being present at the wedding feast of the Lamb (see my commentary on Revelation Fg – Blessed Are Those Invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb).¹¹³⁵ Contrary to the Pharisaic concept that God hated the poor and loved the wealthy, Jesus said that Lazarus was carried to Abraham’s side.

Next, the scene unfolds from sh’ol. The rabbis taught that paradise, or Abraham’s side, was in sight of Gehenna, the place of torment, both being in sh’ol, the place of departed spirits. Jesus couched this parable in the language of the day to refute the lie that wealth was a sign of divine favor. We should not press this detail of the parable and believe this is a great divide spoken of below is biblical doctrine. This is symbolic language.

The rich man also died and was buried. Even in death he was treated differently from Lazarus, who was not buried. In sh’ol he was in torment. The parable does not see the wicked as being annihilated, but continuing in a terrible conscious and irreversible condition for eternity. He looked up and saw Avraham far away, with Lazarus by his side (Luke 16:22b-23). The parable pictures a great divide, symbolizing the eternal gulf that exists between heaven and hell. The rich man was conscious of this great divide and fully perceived the blessings that he was being deprived of. To facilitate Yeshua’s point, the parable allows the rich man to speak with Avraham. Here is another good example of not pressing the details of a parable. Obviously, people in hell cannot talk to people in heaven.

So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire” (Luke 16:24). We see in this parable, then, that the wicked remember the opportunities for salvation they had rejected. They are fully conscious of their separation from God and the consequences of their actions (or lack of actions) before death. They are in torment.

Avraham’s response contrasted the state of the two men when they were on the earth. But he replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony” (Luke 16:25). Although the rich man was a descendant, or son of Avraham physically, apart from repentance, Abraham’s offspring, like the rest of humanity, will experience God’s judgment. Blessing is only for the righteous, and the rich man’s actions had proved that he was more interested in his lush lifestyle than placing his faith in the Son of Righteousness. All his former wealth was of no use for him now. He was no longer a rich man, but merely a tortured man. He had based his whole life on a pharisaic lie and his wealth had no bearing on his relationship with God. Now it was too late, he would be in agony for all eternity.

“And besides all this, between us and you a great divide has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26). Both the Talmud (Pes. 54a; Ned. 39b) and the Targum teach that paradise or Abraham’s side, and sh’ol were created before this world. So the rabbis taught that paradise and sh’ol were supposedly to be adjacent to each other, only separated – it was said, perhaps allegorically – by a couple of centimeters as seen symbolically in this parable.¹¹³⁶

It is important that we understand that sh’ol is not purgatory.The Roman Catholic Church has developed a doctrine which contends that all who die at peace with the church, but who are not perfect, must undergo penal and purifying suffering in an intermediate realm known as purgatory. Pope Gregory the Great established this doctrine in 593. It was proclaimed an article of faith in 1493 by the Council of Florence, and was later confirmed by the Council of Trent in 1548. The basis for purgatory comes from one of the apocryphal books (Second Maccabees 12:39-46). Once again tradition rears its ugly head.

The Roman Church teaches that only believers who have attained a state of Christian perfection go immediately to heaven (I have always maintained that if you want to find out if a man has attained sinless perfection in this life, just ask his wife and she could probably answer all your questions, or vice versa). Official Catholic doctrine teaches that all unbaptized adults and those who after baptism have committed mortal sin go immediately to hell. All the rest of the Catholics dying in fellowship with the church, but who nevertheless are loaded down with some degree of sin, go to purgatory, for a longer or shorter time, they suffer until all sin is purged away, after which they are transferred to heaven.

The doctrine of purgatory is not based on the Bible, and ignores Christ’s declaration from the cross when He said: It is finished (John 19:30a). What was finished? The full payment for sin, that is what was finished. Jesus had paid for every sin, past, present and future. The cross eliminated the need for any such doctrine of purgatory. In addition, the Bible teaches us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (Second Corinthians 5:8). Undaunted, the Roman Church teaches that while God forgives sin, His justice nevertheless demands that the sinner must suffer the full punishment due to him or her before being allowed to enter heaven. So, in reality, the Roman Church says that Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross was insufficient to atone for our sin. She says purgatory is needed!

Roman Catholicism is often described as a religion of fear. According to the Holy Fathers of the Catholic Church, the fire of purgatory does not differ from the fire of hell, except for duration. But one might ask, “How can spirits suffer the pains of real physical fire in purgatory before they have resurrection bodies (First Corinthians 15:22)?” In answer to this question the Roman theologians have invented a theory that in purgatory the soul takes on a different kind of body – the nature of which they do not define – in which the suffering can be felt. But that is like the doctrine of purgatory itself, a purely fictitious assumption without any Scripture proof whatsoever, and in fact contrary to Scripture.¹¹³⁷

The rich man answered, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him witness to them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment” (Luke 16:27-28). This request expresses the rich man’s desire to warn his brothers of their need to act prudently like the shrewd manager, prepare for the future and escape the agony in which he found himself. In short, they needed to repent.

Abraham replied: They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. No, father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. This indicates that the rich man’s fate was not due to his being rich but his lack of repentance. Abraham said to the rich man, “If they do not listen to Moses, that is the Torah, and the Prophets, which means the entire TaNaKh (Luke 24:44-45; Matthew 5:17) then they will not be convinced even if someone raises from the dead” (Luke 16:29-31). Just a short time later Yeshua did raise a man from the dead, another man named Lazarus (see Ia – The Resurrection of Lazarus: The First Sign of Jonah). The result was that the Pharisees began to plot more earnestly to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (see Ib – The Plot to Kill Jesus: The Rejection of the First Sign). There is never enough proof for unbelief.

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Luke 16: 1-15

The parable of the shrewd manager DIG: Why would it be important for Jesus’ talmidim to hear this parable? In what crisis does the manager find himself? What plan does he make up? In light of this deceit, why does the rich man commend the manager? How does Yeshua apply this parable to His apostles? What do you think the Lord is commending here? How do verses 10-12 help you understand Christ’s point? What’s the problem with trying to serve two masters? What describes the attitude of the Pharisees who are listening in? How does Messiah use the parable to speak to them?

REFLECT: How do you view your money: (a) it’s mine, keep your hands off? (b) It’s my creditors’? (c) It’s God’s – I just manage it? Why? How could you use it for the sake of the Kingdom? Who, or what, are some of the “masters” you have served in the past? What “masters”scream at you for allegiance right now? How do you deal with these voices in light of your commitment to Christ?

The one main point of the parable of the shrewd manager is the need to make ready for the great Day in which an account must be given in the coming kingdom of God.

Jesus told His apostles: There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions by not handling his finances wisely. In Jesus’ day managers were often hired by wealthy people to care for the finances of their estate. Such a manager would be comparable to a modern-day financial manager or trustee who controls the finances of an estate for the purpose of making more money for that estate.¹¹²⁷  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 my manager any longer” (Luke 16:1-2).

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.” In the last hours of his managerial role, he will do something to insure his future after he is fired from his job. I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses” (Luke 16:3-4). Notice that the manager’s actions don’t seem to benefit his rich master, but are purely for his own selfish ends.

The manager had almost lost his livelihood and is a fitting picture of someone who faces death and starts thinking about his future after death. He recognizes that he faces an impossible task since he is not strong enough to dig, and ashamed to beg. He is unable to work out his salvation and often too proud to depend on another for it. But he was smart and resourceful, so he reasoned within himself, soon deciding on a shrewd plan.¹¹²⁸

So he quietly called in each one of his master’s debtors for a private conference. He asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” “Nine hundred gallons (or 3,000 liters) of olive oil,” he replied. The manager told him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.” Then he asked the second, “And how much do you owe?” “A thousand bushels (or thirty tons) of wheat,” he replied. He told him, “Take your bill and make it eight hundred” (Luke 16:5-7).

The rich man commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly (Luke 16:8a). The reader expects the rich master to rebuke, judge, condemn or punish the manager for his dishonesty. But the parable takes an unexpected twist, and the master not only doesn’t condemn him, but he commended the scoundrel. The Lord’s skill as a master storyteller is clearly shown here. But how can Jesus commend such a person in this parable? Doesn’t this reward and encourage dishonesty?

This isn’t the only parable in which people of questionable character and morality are commended. In the parable of the hidden treasure (to see link click Fb – The Parable of the Hidden Treasure), the man, whose behavior serves as an example, obtains the treasure by less than exemplary means (the owner should have taken the time to examine his own property more closely). He may not have swindled or defrauded to obtain the field with its treasure, but it is impossible to hold him up as an example of one who practices the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12). Likewise, in the parable of the ten virgins (see Jw – The Parable of the Ten Virgins) the believer is taught to emulate the wise virgins who did not share their oil with those who had need. Are we to follow this example or are we to give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you (Mattityahu 5:42)?

The problem these parables raise is due to confusion about the purpose and function of parables themselves. In the history of the Church parables have frequently been understood as allegories in which each detail has meaning and significance. This was especially true of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

But today, there is a general consensus among biblical scholars that parables are not allegories. Parables contain one basic point. The details are generally unimportant and should not be pressed (or not explained in detail) for meaning. The very nature of any analogy guarantees that the analogy will eventually break down if pressed beyond the basic point of comparison. For example, the kingdom of God is only similar to the kingdom of God, and no analogy can correspond to YHVH in all its details for no one or nothing is infinite, omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent but ADONAI. Therefore, if the details are not pressed in this parable, the supposed problem will disappear.¹¹²⁹

This account follows Luke 15, which emphasizes that God is seeking to save the lost. The parable of the shrewd, or prudent, manager is designed to show the apostles and those listening their need of responding to the graciousness of God. The manager who is being dismissed from his position masterminds a plan to guarantee a secure future for himself by introducing a plan of debt reduction to his rich master’s debtors, reducing each debt.

In the ancient world, relationships were built on the principle of reciprocity – a favor returned. By decreasing the obligations of those indebted to his rich master, the shrewd manager secured his own future. Those who had benefited from his kindness, though fraudulent, would be obligated to demonstrate an appropriate good turn to him.

The rich master commends the manager’s shrewdness in recognizing his need and seizing upon the opportunity that presented itself to him. The ministry of the Savior confronted people with the opportunity to do something about their future. Jesus’ message to: Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand encouraged His hearers to be prudent and prepare themselves. The wise person will respond to such opportunity, receiving God’s grace and commendation. God is even more gracious than the master was to the unjust manager. No matter what you have done, He will graciously forgive and receive you.¹¹³⁰

The shrewd manager had not done a good thing. But shrewdness need not refer to a moral quality. Here he had prepared himself for being fired by using material things to insure his future. Jesus was not teaching that His talmidim should be dishonest. For the worldly have more sekhel, meaning common sense, practical intelligence, or smarts in both Hebrew and Yiddish. In Greek the phrase is phronimoteroi eisin, meaning are more prudent. So this verse could be translated: For the worldly have more practical intelligence or are more prudent than those who have received the light – in dealing with their own kind of people (Luke 16:8b)! Believers are to act as prudently with regard to divine things as unbelievers do with regard to earthly things. With this the parable ends.

Christ made three applications of the parable to His apostles. In the first application, He said: I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal homes (Luke 16:9). Believers were to prepare themselves for the coming kingdom of God by the judicious use of possessions or worldly wealth. One is to use wealth for noble ends, so that their friends (God the Father and Yeshua the Son), may welcome them into their eternal home, just like the manager can expect his newly purchased “friends” to welcome him into their worldly homes. The parable, therefore, does not exhort believers to be cunning thieves, but to be at least as prudent as the scoundrel in the parable and make ready for the great Day in which an account must be rendered to God (Second Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27).¹¹³¹

Then Jesus made a second application, saying: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much (Luke 16:10). There is a common denominator in any form of greatness – reliability. It’s the bread-and-butter characteristic of achievement. It’s the shared ingredient behind retirement pens, Hall of Fame awards, and golden anniversaries. It is the quality that produces, not momentary heroics, but monumental lives.

The Bible has its share . . . Consistent and predictable, these believers were spurred by a gut-level conviction that ADONAI Himself had called them. As a result, their work wasn’t affected by moods, cloudy days, or rocky trails. Their performance graph didn’t rise and fall with roller-coaster irregularity. They weren’t addicted to accolades or applause nor deterred by grumpy bosses or empty wallets. And since their loyalty was not determined by their comfort, they were just as faithful in dark prisons as they were in spotlight pulpits.¹¹³²

And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own (Luke 16:11-12)? Our earthly wealth is given to us as a trust. We may possess it permanently only if we use it properly in the service of God. If we abuse our sacred trust, it can be taken away from us at any moment.

The third application Yeshua drew from the parable was that no one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13; Matthew 6:24). The love of money will drive one away from ADONAI (First Timothy 6:10); conversely, loving God will cause one not to make money the focus of his or her life.

Even though initially Yeshua addresses His talmidim, here, we learn that the Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus (Luke 16:14). They believed that a person’s wealth was a sure sign of God’s favor. They taught, “Whom ADONAI loves, He makes rich.” Jesus said to them: You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. In choosing David over the rebellious Saul as king of Isra’el, God commanded the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem to select the son of Jesse. When He arrived, Samuel saw Eli’av (Jesse’s older son) and thought, “This has to be ADONAI’s anointed one, here before me.” But ADONAI said to Samuel, “Don’t pay any attention to how Eli’av looks or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. I don’t see things the way humans see things – humans look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart” (First Samuel 16:6-7). What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight (Luke 16:15). Because of the way the Pharisees responded to this parable, Jesus would tell them another parable directed at them.

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse, Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

Now I had a friend, and his wife was a friend of Keturah; and he was a man who always had Misfortunes. And he came to me and said, Loan me a Hundred Dollars, and I will give thee my Note; yea, and I will pay thee Interest and the rate of Six Percent.

And I loaned him the Money, though I had need of it; and he paid me neither the Hundred Dollars nor the Interest. Yea, it was not according to his Principle to pay the Interest, neither was it his Interest to pay the Principle. But, whenever he met me, he made many Promises and many Apologies; and when his wife met Keturah, she was Embarrassed.

Now Christmas was approaching, and Keturah said, Let us Cancel that Note, and send it to them for Christmas. And I was glad to Get Rid of it.

So I brought the note, and I sat me down, and I took my Pen and my Ink Horn, and I made figures.

And Keturah said, Safed, what are you doing?

And I said, I am computing the Interest; for it hath been Seven Years since this Note was given, and the Hundred Dollars had become Two Hundred, or there about; and I would fain discern how much of a Gift we are making.

And Keturah said, Safed, I am ashamed of thee. Can’st thou not do a Generous Deed without trying to Magnify it in thine own Imagination? Art thou not willing to give without Reckoning? Then thou Knowest not the Real Joy of Giving. Yea, and thou reckon wrongly. For what if thou shalt be able by computing and compounding Interest to make a Hundred Dollars into Two Hundred, still is thy gift not increased thereby. What thou art giving is not the money thou did loan, for that is gone, and the Note is not worth money; thou art giving Peace of Mind to thine unfortunate friend. What that costeth us is not but a Scrap of Paper, but the value thereof cannot be reckoned in silver.

Now when I heard these things, I was pricked in my heart. And I said, O my beloved, daughter of all the wisest of the angels, your soul is of pure gold, and your speech is the voice of wisdom. Behold, some have called your Husband a Generous Man, but you are far more generous than I. For whoever gives and reckons has still a Smirch of Stinginess in their Generosity; but you give and reckon not; yea, and thus have you always given.

And I remembered these things, and I thought of the Good God, who gives, and not according to measure. And I prayed, and I said, O, my God, forgive the Thriftiness of our Generosity.¹¹³³

The Parables of Luke 16

The material in this chapter centers around the theme of the proper use of possessions and wealth. The first parable, the Parable of the Shrewd Manager (click link to see Hw), was spoken primarily to Jesus’ apostles. It has two sets of sayings concerning money (Luke 16:9, 11 and 13) and the Pharisaic love of money (Luke 16:14-15) have been added. The second parable, the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazaruz (Hx), was addressed to the Pharisees because of their response to the first parable. In the middle of the chapter we find sayings concerning the Torah (Luke 16:16-17) and divorce (Luke 16:18), which appear to be unrelated to the main theme of the chapter. The chapter can be divided into two parts according to the two audiences in the chapter (Luke 16:1-13 is addressed to the apostles and Luke 16:14-31 is addressed to the Pharisees) or into three parts (Luke 16:1-8, 16:9-15, 16:16-31) according to the form of the material in the chapter (parable, sayings, parable).¹¹²⁶

The Parable of the Lost Son and His Jealous Brother
Luke 15: 11-32

The parable of the lost son and his jealous brother DIG: Name some of God’s character traits highlighted in the parable of the prodigal son. What happens when the Lord gives people freedom to make their own choice? In what ways do we sometimes show disregard for YHVH’s  authority, like the younger son in the story? Why do hard times often bring people to repentance? In what way does ADONAI respond to people who confess their sins and return to Him?

REFLECT: When is it most difficult for me to trust God? Why? Why does the Lord accept and forgive my sin? Why is it important to realize that ADONAI values all people equally? How does it feel to know that Jesus sees all of my faults and still loves me anyway? Why do I tend to treat some people better than others? In what ways can I combat my tendency to withhold love from certain people? In what ways can I show God’s love to that one person in my life that is difficult to love?

The one main point of the parable of the lost son and his jealous brother is that God delights in the redemption of sinners.

Jesus summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life at the farm was too slow for his tastes. So, with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he had just about as much of the pig’s life as he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give to his father. But he never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness . . . If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in this world, look to the forgiveness found in those open arms.¹¹⁰²

As John MacArther writes in his book A Tale of Two Sons, the parable is set in a chiastic A-B-C-D-D-C-B-A structure. It’s kind of a poetic parallelism, and a normal device in Near Eastern prose to facilitate storytelling. The first half focuses entirely upon the younger brother and has eight stanzas that describe the prodigal’s progress from departure to return. Jesus said: There was a man who had two sons (Luke 15:11).

(A) Death: The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate” (Luke 15:12a). Filled with shameless disrespect for his father, the youngest son’s request was inappropriate and cut against the grain of Jewish culture’s core values. A son guilty of dishonoring his father to this degree could expect to be stripped of everything he had and then permanently banished from the family and treated as dead. In fact, when the prodigal comes back at the end of the story his father said: For this son of mine was dead (Luke 15:24). Once disowned by the father, there was almost no way for a rebellious son to come back and regain his position in the family. If he wanted back he had to make restitution for whatever dishonor he caused the family and for whatever possessions he might have taken when he went away. Even then, he might expect to forfeit many of the rights that he had previously enjoyed as a family member. He could certainly forget about receiving any further inheritance. Lacking any real love for his father, it was as if the youngest son had said, “Dad, I wish you were dead. You’re in the way of my plans. I’m not asking for your advice; I just want what’s coming to me. I don’t need accountability, and I don’t need you. Give me my inheritance now, and I’m out of here.” Like every rebellious adolescent, the prodigal was clearly miserable. But instead of the normal response to that level of disrespect (which would have been a hard, public slap across the face), the father divided his property evenly between his two sons (Luke 15:12).¹¹⁰³

(B) All Is Lost: Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had (Luke 15:13a). He sold his birthright for pennies on the dollar because he just wanted out. He wanted to get away from God, but to do so he squandered all his spiritual opportunities and every blessing ADONAI had given him. He set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living (Luke 15:13b). Any distant country would be Gentile country. The prodigal not only left his home and family but also his Jewish heritage and his God. The Pharisees and Torah-teachers must have been thinking, “Nothing could be more contemptible.” Their disdain for shameless sinners was legendary. In their minds, the prodigal was beyond redemption. They thought the father should give him a symbolic funeral and be done with him. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need (Luke 15:14). Sin always takes you further than you want to go, and costs you more than you wanted to pay. The prodigal was about to discover those truths in a very painful way. His own lusts proved to be uncontrollable and he was powerless to free himself. His bondage to sin turned out to be infinitely much worse than he ever imagined his father’s authority to be. He had made numerous horrendous decisions for himself, but now, the hand of God had made his troubles more severe than he could have ever imagined. The party was over.¹¹⁰⁴

At this point in the story the older brother is totally absent. Why didn’t he defend his father’s honor? Why didn’t he step in and try to talk some sense into his younger brother? Who don’t we hear any word of protest or a word of gratitude when the father divided up his wealth and divested himself of everything he owned? Surely he understood the public humiliation his father suffered because of his younger brother’s rebellion. Why didn’t he at least make an attempt to bring his younger brother home? Why wasn’t he hurt by the grief of his father and the ruin of his brother? It was because he didn’t have a relationship with his younger brother or his father. He had no more love for his father than his prodigal brother did. He just wanted to get his share of his father’s wealth, stay home and strengthen his reputation as the “good” son. This was a totally dysfunctional family. Although the father was loving, kind and provided generously for his two sons, both of them cared more about his wealth than they did for the father himself. One was a blatant, rebellious sinner; while the other was a religious sinner overlaid with a thin coating of respectability. Neither son had any real respect for the father, nor returned his love. Neither showed any interest in a relationship with him. As a matter of fact, both sons hated the father, and they hated each other.¹¹⁰⁵ What a mess.

(C) Rejection: The disillusioned runaway at first did what a lot of people try to do before they really hit bottom. He frantically tried to devise a plan that would allow him to weather the crisis and perhaps even avoid really having to face his sin and own up to the mistakes he had foolishly committed. His only thought all along had been to get out from under his father’s authority so he could have some fun. That obviously hadn’t worked out to well; accordingly, he went to his back-up plan: So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs (Luke 15:15). Swine herding paid next to nothing and it was extremely demeaning work. It was virtually the lowest paying job at that time and unfit for normal people. But it was especially unfit for a son of the Covenant because any contact with pigs would make him ceremonially unclean. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything (Luke 15:16). The mental picture that Messiah painted surely caused the Pharisees to recoil in disgust. As Jesus told His parable, He had attributed to the prodigal every kind of defilement, disgrace and dishonor conceivable. According to pharisaic Judaism the prodigal should have been scorned more than pitied. His reputation was so damaged that they had no doubt written him off as a lost cause.¹¹⁰⁶

(D) The Problem: When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death” (Luke 15:17)! The road the prodigal had chosen to follow turned out to be the highway to ruin. His carefree lifestyle had suddenly turned into a horrible, crushing slavery. All his dreams had become nightmares. All his pleasure had turned to pain. All his fun had given way to overwhelming grief. And this reckless young rebel who threw everything away for a few days of indulgence was forced into a lifestyle of utter poverty. The party was definitely over. The laughs had been quieted. He had no more food. All his supposed friends had vanished into thin air. He was in the gutter with nowhere to go and about to die.¹¹⁰⁷

Before we move on, a critical lesson about the nature of sin and its devastation needs to be drawn from the rubble of the prodigal’s life. His experiences give us a vivid picture of what sin is and what it does to people. This is the story of every one of us. We are all prodigal sons and daughters. Consequently, we need to pay attention to the warning Yeshua gives us in the part of the parable. When we sin we disregard God’s love as well as His holy authority. Moreover, sin always bears evil fruit (Ephesians 2:2-3). In the end, the broad road leads to nothing but destruction. There is no one there to help, and nowhere to turn. We need to face the fact that we lack the ability to repair our own broken lives. We can’t possibly pay for our sins, so we can’t make the guilt go away. Unless the Savior of Sinners can be found, nothing awaits us but death and eternal doom.¹¹⁰⁸

This parable was tailor-made for Near Eastern agrarian culture. Messiah’s audience clearly understood the imagery and knew that the prodigal son had gotten himself into a real mess from which there seemed to be no earthly way of escape. If any Pharisees in the audience believed there was even a hint of possibility that the prodigal could ever find forgiveness, they were certain that it could come only after a long, arduous time of hard work and penance for the sake of earning his father’s pardon. Actually, that would likely be the common assumption of everyone listening to Jesus as He told this parable. But the prodigal was ready. He was broken. He was alone. He was discouraged. He was repentant. And he believed in his father.¹¹⁰⁹

(D) The Solution: There was no question of whether he should go home or not. If he was going to live he had to reach out to the father that he had rejected. The question that remained was how to do it. The Prodigal rehearsed what he was going to say when he arrived back home. I will set out and go back to my father and say to him,” Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18-19). He had thought it through. He had no hopes, asked for no special rights, and made no ultimatums. He was determined to throw himself on the mercy of his father. But as far as the Pharisees were concerned that would not be enough. He still needed to earn his way back into the father’s good graces. Would he be accepted? In reality, he didn’t know – but he had to try. Of all the sins the Prodigal had committed, the most damaging was the great distance he had put between himself and his father. So he got up and went to his father (Luke 15:20a).¹¹¹⁰

Listening to Yeshua tell His parable, the Pharisees and Torah-teachers certainly expected the father to deal very harshly with his rebellious son on his return. In fact, they couldn’t wait. You could almost see the start of a smug smile on the corner of their lips as they waited for Christ to confirm everything they believed. Certainly there was no thought of grace in their theology for such a sinner. The Torah called for his death (Deuteronomy 28:18-21), so merely being disowned seemed merciful by comparison. He chose to live like a Gentile, now he would be treated like one! He would probably live on the outskirts of his father’s estate, shouldering the blame for the rest of his life.

In that culture of honor, especially in a situation like this, it wouldn’t be unusual if the father simply refused to meet the boy face-to-face. In fact, even if the father were inclined to grant the contrite son an audience, it would be typical to punish him first by making a public spectacle of his shame. For example, a father in those circumstances might have the prodigal sit outside the village gate in public view for several days, letting him soak up some of the dishonor he had brought upon the family. The whole village would mock and verbally abuse him, even spit on him. Most likely, that’s exactly the kind of treatment the son expected. He had made himself an outcast; now he’d be treated as one.¹¹¹¹

(C) Acceptance: At this point, Jesus’ parable took an unexpected turn. Here the father was not only willing to grant a measure of mercy in return for the promise of a lifetime of service – but eager to forgive freely, completely, at the very first sign of repentance. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20b). It is evident that the father kept looking daily for the prodigal’s return. It was daylight when the father finally spotted his rebellious son. That meant the village market was filled with people. But the father ran to the son rather than waiting for the son to run to him. That aspect of this parable is similar to the previous two parables, where the shepherd diligently sought his lost sheep and the woman feverishly searched for her lost coin. Each of those images pictures him as the faithful Seeker. He is the architect and the initiator of our salvation. He seeks and draws sinners to Himself before they ever would think of seeking Him. He always makes the first move in the salvation process. He Himself pays the redemption-price. He calls, justifies, sanctifies and finally glorifies each and every believing sinner (to see link click Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). But neither the Pharisees, nor any listener in Yeshua’s audience was moved. As far as they were concerned it was even more offensive to them than the sins of the prodigal.¹¹¹²

(B) All Is Restored: It is significant that the father had already forgiven his son even before the prodigal said a word. After his father embraced him, the repentant son started to make a confession that he had undoubtedly been rehearsing for quite a while. Father, he said: I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son (Luke 15:21). Although the Pharisees had not run out with the father and were not present, they would have fully agreed with the prodigal’s assessment. The heart of the Pharisees doctrinal error was that all sinners needed to perform certain works to atone for their own sin, and thus earning forgiveness from God. But the lifetime of servitude the wayward son was prepared to offer was unnecessary as a means of earning the father’s favor because he had granted his son full blessing and unconditional pardon by grace alone. This would change his son forever. Why would he ever go back to a life of self-indulgence and extravagance? He had already pursued sin to its inevitable end and knew the results all to well.¹¹¹³

But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet” (Luke 15:22). Here again, as Jesus told the story, eyes in His audience would roll. Not only the Pharisees, but also anyone steeped in that culture would be completely confused by the father’s actions. This man had no shame. He had just sacrificed his last shred of dignity by running like a fool to grant free and complete forgiveness to a son who deserved nothing but the full weight of his father’s wrath. Even worse, he was now going to use the best of everything he had to honor the dishonorable boy. The prodigal son must have been stunned, hardly able to grasp what was happening. The Lord mentions three gifts the father immediately gave his son. Everyone listening to Messiah’s parable understood the implications of those gifts.

Sandals may not sound like a great gift to us, but in that culture it was very significant. Hired servants and household slaves normally went barefoot. Only masters and their sons wore sandals. So they were an important gesture that signified the former rebel’s full and immediate reinstatement as a privileged son. Everyone understood it was no small thing.

The best robe was an even higher honor. Every nobleman had a choice robe, an ornate, expensive, embroidered, one-of-a-kind, floor-length robe. He would only wear it to his children’s weddings or equivalent occasions. Everyone in the village would have been appalled at such a thought. The father was publicly honoring his returning son not only as guest of honor at the banquet, but also as a person of the utmost distinction.

The ring was the signet ring that had the family seal on it, and therefore a symbol of power (see my commentary on Esther Bh – The King Gave His Signet Ring to Mordecai). Exactly how much power and authority is a matter we shall look at in more detail shortly. In giving the three gifts to his son, he was in effect telling him, “The best of all that I have is yours. You are now fully restored to Sonship, and even elevated in our household to a position of honor. No longer are you a rebellious adolescent. Now you are a full-grown adult son, with all the privilege that comes with that position, and I want you to enjoy it fully.”

Today it is hard to conceive of any father taking forgiveness that far. But he wasn’t the least bit concerned about his own honor in the sight of his critics. Therefore, it’s important to remember that the father here is a picture of Christ (Philippians 2:6-8). Death on the cross was a far greater humiliation than any indignity the father in this parable suffered. Moreover, the parable reminds us that Jesus receives sinners who are in exactly the same situation as the prodigal son – unclean, clothed in filthy rags, lacking of any assets whatsoever, with no sacrifice to offer to the Messiah (Romans 4:5).

This, of course, was the very thing that put the Pharisees and Torah-teachers at odds with Christ. They refused to view Yeshua’s ministry of seeking and saving sinners as the activity of ADONAI. The idea that our Savior would receive filthy sinners made them want to throw up. They believed the real Meshiach wouldn’t act like that. And the fact that He would justify sinners through faith alone and instantly treat them as if they had never sinned was simply more than the Pharisees could stand. After all, most of them had spent their whole lives working to attain that status that they now held. Was that all for nothing? In their minds the Lord was defiled by the sinners He came in contact with.

As Jesus described the parable to His audience, they would have been outraged. Everything the father was doing was completely opposite of what anyone thought he should do. It was contrary to their customs. It went against everything they knew about justice. It just didn’t make sense! The thought that this prodigal son would instantly have all the rights and privileges as his older brother, who had never once overtly rebelled was repugnant to them. It was as if the wayward son had never sinned at all. We could hardly blame the prodigal for feeling like he had more reason to celebrate than anyone. He had entrusted his life to the father, and the father had absolutely amazed and overwhelmed him by entrusting all his resources to him. The son was finally home, in his father’s house, a true member of the family. He had every reason to remain faithful and devote the rest of his life to his father’s honor.

(A) Resurrection: Having crowned his repentant son with the highest honor and privilege, the Prodigal’s father was not finished. Next he called for the greatest feast that had ever occurred in that family – perhaps the greatest celebration that the village had ever seen, saying: Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate (Luke 15:23-24). In effect, then, the celebration was really in honor of the father’s goodness to his undeserving son. It was the father who gave this boy back his life and privileges. It was the father who forgave him, restored him to sonship, gave him true liberty, and showered him with tokens of love. So this father, who apparently felt no shame, threw a party so that he could share the joy of his own kindness with everyone. That kind of refreshing, exhilarating joy is what heaven is all about.¹¹¹⁴

The second half of the parable shifts focus to the elder brother. The lines of family honor were clear to everyone in their society. The father, as the family patriarch, was to be highly honored. No mother is mentioned, so the father may have been a widower, which would mean the father and two sons were the nucleus of the household. However, the younger son would be expected to honor not only the father, but the older brother as well. The story of the elder brother is once again seen through a parallel chiastic pattern. It also has eight stanzas, but it ends abruptly after the seventh.¹¹¹⁵

(A) He Stood Aloof: Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. He is the third major character in the parable, and as it turns out, is the one who embodies that parable’s main lesson. His most obvious characteristic is his resentment for his younger brother. But underneath that, and even more sinister, it is clear that he had been quietly nurturing a smoldering hatred for the father – for a long, long time. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on (Luke 15:25-26).¹¹¹⁶

(B) Anger at His Brother: “Your brother has come,” he replied, “and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.” The older brother became angry and refused to go in (Luke 15:27-28a). The servant boy told the older brother everything he needed to know. Instead of being glad that his wayward brother was alive, he was angry. He clearly had no affection for his younger brother, but the father was the one whom he most resented. The elder son is a perfect picture of the Pharisees (Luke 15:1-2). He had no appreciation of grace because he thought he didn’t need it. He figured he had earned his father’s approval. In fact, the very thought of free forgiveness was disgusting to him. The older brother was insulted. He was stunned. He was outraged. He was confused. But mostly, he was resentful. This was precisely the spiritual condition of the Pharisees. All their religious activity was really only about their self-promotion. They may have thought they were earning God’s good will. But the truth is that they were completely alienated from God. And as far as being among those who followed Messiah into His new Kingdom, they became angry and refused to go in.¹¹¹⁷

(C) The Father’s Love: So his father went out and pleaded with him (Luke 15:28b). At this point in the parable the Pharisees probably started to recognize themselves as the older brother. The lesson Jesus had been laying the groundwork for was about to become very, very clear. The father and the first-born son are an illustration of contrasts in this parable. The father is kind and merciful, and he rejoices when his younger son repents. The elder brother is self-centered and cruel, and he actually became angry over the father’s kindness to his wayward brother. Here, the father made overtures every bit as tenderhearted and gracious to the older son as the mercy he had shown to the prodigal son. The rebellion long suppressed underneath the first son’s hypocrisy had now broken into the open and could be seen in his full-blown insolence. But instead of punishing his son (or worse) the gracious father actually walked away from the celebration and went outside where the older brother was pouting and pleaded with him to come in. This is another picture of Christ as the One who always makes the first offer of peace to the sinner.¹¹¹⁸

(D) The Older Brother’s Jealousy: But the elder son’s response was much different, he answered his father saying, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving away for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet, you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends” (Luke 15:29). He tore off the veil of his deep-rooted resentment toward his father and unloaded his bitterness. With the very first word, Look! the deep hatred toward his father that he had tried to conceal from public view suddenly erupted. He was admitting that everything he had ever done for his father was like being a slave in his own mind. Then why did he stick around? He was the firstborn and stood to inherit a double portion of his father’s wealth. In the end, he was in the very same place his wayward brother had started out. He just wanted what he considered rightfully his, on his own terms, so that he could live as he pleased. And that didn’t include his father or younger brother. He had a completely different group of friends. He might still have been sleeping at home, but his heart was far away. He sought fellowship with those who shared his values. Just like the Pharisees, who strictly excluded from their circle of fellowship all who did not see eye-to-eye with them. What we see here is an angry, resentful, envious, defiant, and greedy young man. This was not just a bad response to the unexpected shock of his brother’s return. This was the elder brother’s true character coming out.¹¹¹⁹

(D) The Younger Son’s Reward: Still insinuating that his father had been grossly unjust, the older son continued his assault, saying: But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him (Luke 15:30)! He even refused to refer to him as “my brother.” Instead, he called him this son of yours. Then he brought up offenses that demanded death according to the Torah (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). It was his subtle way of saying that his stupid brother should be dead, and quite frankly the older son would have been happier if he were dead. The firstborn son should have been a role model for his younger brother. And, sadly, he had been. The prodigal son had learned his disrespect from his elder brother – but lacking the restraint that comes with maturity he didn’t learn when to quit and thus overtly took his rebellion down a path that almost led to his destruction. There is not a hint of sorrow about any of those things in the older son’s lament. Like the Pharisees, he was only concerned about himself, his desires, his status and his own narcissistic self-love.¹¹²⁰

(C) The Father’s Love: Even though it appears the father knew all along that his first son’s heart was not right, such a sudden barrage of cold-hearted rebellion must have caught him a little off guard. It was a stark departure from the normal passive-aggressive style the young man had perfected. Nevertheless, the father responded with tenderness and love, saying: “My child,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours (Luke 15:31). Previously, the father had referred to him as my son (Greek: huios), but here he says my child (Greek: teknon). Clearly the father was full of grief and agonizing pain, mixed with compassionate love and mercy. If the elder son wanted a relationship with the father, it was his for the asking. If he had any needs, the resources were already there for the taking. The first-born son had the legal right to everything on the property. The father’s inheritance – which included everything he had – was already available for him to use any way he liked. But just like the Pharisees, there was no sign the elder son responded to the gentle pleas of his father. And just like the Pharisees, his heart remained as cold as stone.¹¹²¹

(B) Joy Over the Son: The father made one final plea, and it was an echo of the main theme that dominates all of Luke 15: But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found (Luke 15:32). As far as the father was concerned, the celebration was perfectly right and natural. His lost son had returned a different person. It was like receiving someone back from the dead. They had to celebrate that! There was no alternative. In fact, it would have been wrong not to celebrate. The unspoken implication should have touched the elder son’s heart, “We’ll celebrate for you, too, if you come.”¹¹²²

(A) The Missing Ending: The end of the parable is deliberately missing, as if to put extra emphasis on the lack of resolution. It simply isn’t there. With all that pent-up expectation, Yeshua simply walked away, leaving the parable hanging, unfinished and unresolved.

Don’t forget that Jesus told this parable, including the abrupt ending, chiefly for the benefit of the Pharisees and Torah-teachers. It was really a story about them because they represented the older brother. The missing ending underscored the truth that the next move was theirs and they would indeed write the end of the parable themselves. So what did they do? They killed Him. If they had actually written it down in words, it would have ended something like this: The older son was so outraged at his father that he picked up a big piece of wood and beat him to death with it in front of everyone.¹¹²³

Prayers for a prodigal: Do you have a prodigal? These Scripture-based prayers are designed to be prayed for any loved one (a son, daughter, grandchild, the child of a close friend, or even a spouse or parent) who has strayed from ADONAI into a destructive lifestyle. For the sake of clarity, the prayers are written with a son in mind. Please adapt them to fit your situation.

1. Lord Jesus, protect my son. Build a hedge around him to guard him physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Block his paths so that he cannot move toward activities and relationships that would harm him (Job 1:10; Hosea 2:6-7).

2. Deliver my son from evil. Rescue him from a destructive lifestyle. Restore him to his senses, and bring him home from the land of the enemy (Matthew 6:13; Psalm 91:14; Luke 15:17; Jeremiah 31:16-17).

3. Guide my son into truth. Teach him to recognize deceptive ideas and thoughts. Make him alert to the lies of the enemy, and teach him how to resist the devil by faith (John 16:13; First Cor 2:16; First Peter 5:8-9).

4. Give my son the courage to be honest with himself and with You. Ruach ha-Kodesh, convict him of sin and his need for You. Don’t allow my son to blame others for troubles in his life. Show him that he alone is responsible for his own choices (Yochanan 16:8; Genesis 3:12-13; Ezeki’el 18:20).

5. ADONAI, thank You for drawing my son with love and tenderness to Yourself, even in his desert place. Show him that You are with him. You delight in him. Amid the clamor for his attention and affections, may he hear Your voice calling him and respond to Your deep, deep love (Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 2:14; Zeph 3:17).

6. Cause my son to call out to You in his distress and confusion. Cause him to seek You with abandon. Thank You for promising to answer him (Psalm 91:15; Jeremiah 29:13).

7. Remove my son’s heart of stone and replace it with a new, soft heart. Make his heart into a bed of fertile soil so that the seed of truth sown into it will grow deep roots and bring forth a rich crop of life (Ezeki’el 36:26-27; Matthew 13:23; Col. 2:5-7).

8. Messiah, reveal to my son that lasting refreshment and satisfaction can only be found in You. In You he will find an abundant life (John 4:10 and 10:10; Psalm 1:3).

9. Lead my son to friends who will graciously point him to You. Cause him to be attracted to those who are attracted to You. Scatter like chaff in the wind any and all friends who will bring him harm. Give him the courage to please You, and not man (Proverbs 13:20; Galatians 1:10).

10. Produce in my son a humble spirit that is yielded to You. Teach him how to live in You, and show him that apart from You he can do nothing (James 4:10; Romans 6:13, Jn 15:5).

11. Yeshua, reveal to my son how valuable and significant his life is. Give him a vision for his purpose in the world, and show him the possibilities for his future. Through You, he can do all things (Isaiah 43:7; Jeremiah 29:11; Philippians 4:13).

12. Help my son to see that he doesn’t need to condemn himself. Show him that he can experience complete forgiveness through the work You’ve already finished on his behalf. Give him the grace to repent of and let go of the past (Yochanan 19:30; Acts 3:19; Isaiah 43:18-19).

13. Thank You for offering hope and comfort to my son. Thank You for restoring the years the locusts have eaten and bestowing on my son a cross of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of despair (Isaiah 57:18; Joel 2:25; Isaiah 61:3).

14. Teach my son that following You is not about following rules. Show him that what You long for is a genuine relationship with him (Romans 6:14; Jeremiah 9:24; Philippians 3:3 and 10).

15. El Elyon, cause my son to grow up in You, maturing into an oak of righteousness for the display of Your splendor. Help him grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with You and with man (Eph 4:15; Isa 61:3; Luke 2:52).

16. Teach my son to live in freedom, animated and motivated by Your Spirit and in step with Him (Gal 5:16, 25).

17. Teach my son to walk by faith. Help him to see beyond his circumstances and trust You with every part of his life (2 Cor 5:7; Hebrews 11:1; Proverbs 3:5-6).

18. Impress on my son the need to protect his mind, guarding its purity through the choices he makes, about what he looks at, listens to and thinks about (Philippians 4:8; Second Corinthians 10:5).

19. El Shaddai, in this fast-paced world of instant gratification, plant in my son the perseverance he needs to succeed. Cause him to be still and wait patiently before You. Help him to rest in Your power. Establish the work of his hands (Psalm 37:7; Hebrews 12:1-3; Psalm 90:17).

20. Turn my son’s focus away from himself and onto You. May he allow Your power to flow through him to others. Teach him to love others as himself (Philippians 2:4; Second Corinthians 4:7; Matthew 22:39).

21. Cause my son to love You with all his heart, soul, and mind. May he live all his days in love with and rejoicing in You (Matthew 22:37; Psalm 27:4; Philippians 4:4).¹¹²⁴

Waiting (by Ruth Bell Graham)
She waited for the call that never came;
searched every mail for a letter, or a note, or a card that bore his name.

On her knees at night and on her feet all day, she stormed Heaven’s Gate,
on his behalf she pled for him in Heaven’s high court. “Be still and wait,”
was the word He gave; and so she knew He would
do in, and for, that which she never could.

Doubts ignored,
she went about her chores with joy; knowing though spurned, His Word was true.
The prodigal had not returned but God was God, and there was work to do.¹¹²⁵

The Parable of the Lost Coin
Luke 15: 8-10

The parable of the lost coin DIG: How is this parable, and the parable of the lost sheep the same? How are they different? How do you picture the woman searching for her lost coin? What would the attitude of the Pharisees be toward this woman? What does the Bible say?

REFLECT: How does this parable make you feel about your value to God? How might this parable affect your relationships with unbelievers you know?

The one main point to the parable of the lost coin is what touches the heart of God most deeply is the salvation of those whom He pursues and brings to repentance.

If the Pharisees wanted to give a snappy comeback to Messiah’s parable of the lost sheep (to see link click Hs – The Parable of the Lost Sheep), they didn’t respond soon enough. No sooner had Yeshua concluded His previous parable than He was on to another parable about a lost coin. He said: Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. The silver coins were denarii. One denarius equaled a good day’s wages, an example of what the landowner paid his laborers in the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it (Matthew 20:2; Luke 15:8)?

No doubt the women in the group leaned forward in anticipation. When a Jewish girl married shortly after her bat mitzvah, she began to wear a headband of ten silver coins to signify that she was now a wife. It was the Jewish version of our modern wedding ring, and it would be considered a calamity for her to lose one of those coins.¹⁰⁹⁹ Messiah told of a woman who had a band on her head with one lost coin, and asked them to consider how such a woman in this position would react. Would she sit back and hope that it turn up on its own? Certainly not.

She began an all-out search-and-rescue mission. Distraught because of the loss, she lights her lamp and thoroughly sweeps the floor of the dimly lit house, and turns it upside down until the shining coin is found. The Ruach Ha’Kodesh, fittingly symbolized as the woman in this parable, makes a diligent, and thorough search in every corner of the heart of the lost soul. Sinners are so precious in God’s sight that no effort is too great to reclaim them. There was earnestness, thoroughness, and persistence until the result was obtained.¹¹⁰⁰

My wife rarely takes off her wedding ring, but one time she did and our son young got ahold of it. There was no piece of furniture, rug, appliance or jar left unturned until it was safely back where it belonged. Sheer panic melted into sweet relief at the moment it was back on her finger.

Then she rushes over to the homes of her neighbors and breaks the wonderful news of the recovery of her lost coin, inviting them to rejoice with her. And when she finds it, her joy was as great as the shepherd’s in the previous parable. Like the shepherd, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me for I have found my lost coin” (Luke 15:9). She could not conceal the joy and gladness in her heart. This parable makes basically the same point, but with a different metaphor. It pictures the loss, search and recovery of the lost soul with the resulting joy.

Again Yeshua ends the moral of the parable with a passionate declaration: In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Notice that the rejoicing is done in the presence of the angels. It does not say the angels were joyful. Then who is rejoicing? It is the joy of the triune God, existing in the presence of the holy angels. Of course, the angels share in the celebration, but the emphasis in both parables is on God’s joy.

The Pharisees taught that there was joy in the presence of God when sinners die. Had they been careful students of the Scriptures, the Pharisees would have had a better understanding of this aspect of ADONAI’s character. The TaNaKh revealed Him as a God of compassion. Ezeki’el 33:11 says, “As I live,” swears Adonai ELOHIM, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” Isaiah 62:5 says: As a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. This is exactly the image of these two parables. It is uncontained joy, pure delight, and unrestrained celebration.¹¹⁰¹ The point would have been clear to Messiah’s listeners and should be clear to us: the sinners with whom He was associating were extremely valuable to ADONAI. Should the same also not be true for us today?

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Luke 15: 1-7

The parable of the lost sheep DIG: Who is in Jesus’ mixed audience? How do they respond to Him? How does this parable relate to the muttering of the Pharisees? What did the Pharisees teach God’s attitude was toward sinners? What is Messiah’s point?

REFLECT: When did you stray from the good Shepherd? What did He use to bring you back? How does that make you feel about your value to the LORD? How might this parable affect your relationships with unbelievers you know?

The one main point to the parable of the lost sheep is that God rejoices over the salvation of one sinner who repents.

Salvation of a soul is not the stale transaction some think it is. Redemption (see my commentary on Exodus, to see link click Bz –Redemption) is not a matter of divine accounting by which ADONAI keeps books on who is in and who is out. On the contrary, He weeps over the lost and celebrates when one is found (i.e. saved). His pain is profoundly deep over humanity’s lost condition, and His joy is full when a sinner repents.

The gospels often contain identical, or very similar sayings addressed to different audiences. This parable would be a good example. The parable in Matthew 18:12-14 ( Gh – If Anyone Causes One of These Little Ones to Stumble) appears to be identical to Luke’s parable here. Yet Matthew’s account is addressed to the apostles (Matthew 18:1). In Luke, however, the parable is addressed to the Pharisees and Torah-teachers who protest Yeshua’s practice of eating with tax collectors and sinners. It can be argued that Jesus told two similar parables on two different occasions to two different audiences.¹⁰⁹⁶

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus (Luke 15:1). The imperfect Greek tense for were all gathering signifies continual action, meaning that the tax-collectors and sinners came to Jesus as a matter of habit. Wherever He went, a crowd of social outcasts gathered around Him. There were publicans, criminals, robbers, thugs, prostitutes and other riffraff who made no effort at all to live by either the Torah or the Oral Law (see Ei – The Oral Law). As we have seen, this bothered the self-righteous Pharisees and Torah-teachers a great deal. They could not stomach a Messiah who was popular among the outcasts of Jewish society, and who at the same time, was critical of their rabbinical traditions.

But the Pharisees and the Torah-teachers muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). In despising sinners, the apostate religious leaders deemed themselves to be reflecting God’s attitude toward sinners. Pharisaic Judaism taught that there is joy before ADONAI when those who provoke Him perish from the world. Consequently, in their thinking, Ha’Shem hated sinners and withdrew Himself from them. Since Christ welcomed sinners and even ate with them, it was another indication (along with not believing in the Oral Law) that He could not possibly be the long-awaited Meshiach. So, the Master Teacher told them a parable to reveal the attitude of God toward sinners in contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees and the Torah-teachers toward sinners.¹⁰⁹⁷

Yeshua wanted everyone to relate, so He started in on the men and boys first with a tale of a beloved sheep who strayed. Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Sheep have a propensity to wander. Any shepherd worth his salt had to work overtime to keep his precious flock in check. Yet there always seemed to be one that slipped his careful watch and steered off the beaten path. What a great concern he must have had. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country, literally desert, and go after the lost sheep until he finds it (Luke 15:3-4)? No self-respecting shepherd would be satisfied with ninety-nine sheep out of a hundred. While no one sheep was worth more than al the others, they were all in his care. So, he went looking for the foolish one that didn’t even know what danger it was in. For many shepherds, this was not only a duty; it was also a matter of their love for their sheep. The shepherd would know each sheep by name (John 10:3). Every night he would count and examine them when they came back into the fold. If one was lost, he would go out into the night to find it.

This shepherd metaphor is also seen in the book of Ezeki’el, where God Himself said: I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them. ADONAI will intervene personally on Isra’el’s behalf. His actions would restore Isra’el to her Land from the nations and to pasture her like sheep in good grazing land. God will do that the false shepherds failed to do – tend, search, bring back, strengthen and shepherd with justice. After judging the individual sheep, God will appoint a new shepherd, His servant David (see my commentary on Revelation Fi – The Government of the Messianic Kingdom). God’s care and protection will result in peace for His people, “I will make a covenant of peace with them.” Ha’Shem will restore Isra’el because of her unique relationship with Him. You are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, and I am your God, declares Adonai ELOHIM (Ezeki’el 34: 11-31).

And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, with the belly of the lost sheep up against his neck and the legs snugly against his chest, and goes home. When he found the sheep he did not punish it or scold it. He only felt a sense of joy that the lost sheep had been found. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” This was not something he could celebrate alone (Luke 15:5-6). Accordingly, Christ taught that joy is the natural response to the recovery of one who is lost.

The apostate religious leaders could not imagine that God would want to pursue any sinner. They believed that Ha’Shem hated sinners and He would only rejoice in their death, not their restoration. But in truth ADONAI loves sinners and actively searches for them. He rejoices when they repent. Thus, the Pharisaic separation from sinners was, in truth, not in keeping with the heart of God.

Then Jesus spells out His point: I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7). In other words, when one sinner repents, God calls for a celebration in heaven. He is the good Shepherd whose desire is to rescue His sheep. ADONAI is not simply recording transactions on the big scoreboard in the sky. He so desperately longs for souls to be saved that He goes out of His way to pursue them. Then, when the wayward lamb is brought back into the fold, heaven itself is scarcely big enough to contain His joy.¹⁰⁹⁸