![]() "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Luke 16:10-13). Trust with riches & relationships are earned. It's amazing how many people misinterpret this passage for Jesus' teaching here isn't rocket science.
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![]() “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1Corinthians 6:19-20) Paul outlined that God not only created us, but bought us back from the life of sin we chose over Him. While Paul is explicitly speaking of our physical bodies, it would seem natural to extend such a philosophy of indebtedness to every aspect of our lives, for if our own bodies are not our own, how much more so the skills and knowledge He gave us? The families and friends that bless us? The jobs and wealth that He has granted us? Should we not see ourselves as nothing more than stewards when it comes to every aspect of our lives? In this regard, we need to act more like the shrewd manager, that is thinking of my future, my eternal future. Each day we should be waking up and asking, how can we use these possessions and qualities that we've been granted authority over to impact my true home, the eternal Kingdom. Whether it be money, time, or talents, investing them back into the Kingdom from which they came, and to which we will live in for eternity, is the most logical approach. In the parable of the prodigal son whom does the father, the lost son, and the eldest son represent?2/22/2012 ![]() Rembrandt, The Lost Son “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'" (Luke 15:32) The key to understanding the story of the prodigal sons is the context in which Jesus told the parable, which was a crowd of tax-collectors & sinners who “were gathering to hear him” and Pharisees & teachers of the Law who were muttering about why he'd hang around such shameful people. ![]() “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27) If anyone does not prioritize their calendar around loving Christ, they are not worthy to call themselves His disciple. Whoever is unwilling to be buried in unmarked grave as a traitor to their country for the name of Christ, is not worthy to be called Christ's disciple. ![]() “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11) At a dinner where Pharisees were scrambling for the “places of honor at the table” Jesus told a parable instructing them to take humble seats, for if the host asks them to move to a higher seat they will be exalted and if the host asks them to move to a lower seat they will be shamed before everyone. While this may come across as a sly way to get ahead by practicing a false humility in order for the host to publicly “indicate your intrinsic superiority” (Elwell, 825), v11 shows that Jesus was clearly illustrating the Kingdom law of “humility before honor,” which demands “self-humbling” and the elevation of others (Howell, 237). ![]() “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'" (Luke 13:34-35). As Jesus marched to Jerusalem to face the cross, He lamented over the spiritual hardness of Jerusalem despite His mission to reach them and draw them into His arms like a mother hen cares for her chicks, summarizing His reaction to their track record of killing God's prophets. Then Jesus speaks a harsh word “Your house is left to you desolate,” which rings of judgment. Several interpretations have been offered for the meaning of 'house,' such as Bultmannn's interpretation as 'the world,' but “a better possibility is that the word refers to the temple” (Marshall, 576), which happened literally with the destruction of the temple in 70AD. Hindsight raises the question as to whether Jesus' words were prophetic in this regard. ![]() When Jesus was confronted with the evil and suffering of this world He took a radically different approach than other religions of the world. The prevailing notion since the time of Job (Job 22:5) was that “calamity visited upon people for their personal wickedness” (Howell, 231), in a system that for all intensive purposes probably inspired the Hindu notion of karma. Even Jesus' disciples and the Jewish Pharisees believed the blind man Jesus healed was born blind because either his parents sinned or “he was steeped in sin from birth” (John 9:1-2, 34). Jesus' forcefully dispelled this notion by claiming that the tragic events of the Galileans slaughtered by Pilate and those crushed by the fallen tower of Siloam were no guiltier than anyone else! ![]() Jesus paints a picture of His second coming in terms of servants awaiting their master, not knowing when he will return from a wedding party. Faithful stewards who are prepared at all times, being wise and fair with the master's assets and other servants, are to be rewarded. This reward is lavish, which “envisions a reversal of roles that was unheard of in Palestine” (Elwell, 823) where the master served the servants. Furthermore, those who have proven themselves faithful with what they've been given, will be entrusted with more. On the contrary, unfaithful stewards, squandering their master's assets and abusing other servants will be punished. This punishment is severe, for they are even to be assigned with unbelievers! In fact, their punishment will be worse than unbelievers, for punishment will be according to the degree of one's knowledge. Whatever they have will be taken from them. The rewards and punishments will be intensified for those who have been given great gifts, since expectations of productivity are high because of those gifts. For those of us who know God's word, and know it to the extent that a seminary education has to offer, the stakes are high, which is why James warns against becoming teachers (James 3:1). ![]() And [Jesus] he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). How Jesus might have told a modern crowd this parable: “The company of certain rich businessman produced large profits. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I've made it to the top.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will sell my firm and retire, and there I will build a house 'spare-no-expense' and join a country club. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of money invested for many years. Take life easy; eat at 5-star restaurants, drink imported wine and enjoy all that life has to offer.' Bud God said to Him, 'You fool! This very night you will have a stroke and die. Then who will inherit your stocks, annuities, and properties?'” ![]() Jan Vermeer van Delft, 1654 “But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42) While caricatures of Martha and Mary are not provided in scripture, they seem to fit personality types of people in our own lives. In this, drawing conclusions is merely speculation, but the implications of the parallels these sisters have on our own lives, we might just gain a glimpse as to what Jesus' might say to us. ![]() Good Samaritan, Rembrandt 1630 How does Jesus reframe the original question of the lawyer? Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" (Luke 10:36) The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most highly quoted sections of the bible, since even secular thinkers can appreciate Jesus answer to the lawyer's question, “and who is my neighbor?” However, what seems to be unfortunately left out is the purpose and thus main thrust of the parable itself. For the the original question had nothing to do with being a good neighbor, the question that prompted the entire conversation was “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Jesus probed the man's understanding, to which Christ affirmed his answer: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה During the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, Jesus continued alluding to the fact that He and the God of the Jews, were one and the same, a fact that the religious leaders of the day didn't take too kindly too. John describes a scene in the temple court of women where the Pharisee's are denouncing Christ's testimony that “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Jesus had already been recorded typologically inserting Himself into God's role during the foundational historical story of the Israelites' exodus through the desert. Jesus had already claimed: “I am” the bread of life (John 6:32), which was previewed by the desert manna, that He offered living water (John 7:37), which was previewed by water from the rock, and now “I am” the light “...who illumines the walk of the believer through a dark world...,” which was previewed by the “pillar of fire illumining Israel's path at night” (Howell, 211).
![]() John 6:35 I am the bread of life John 8:12 I am the light of the world. John 10:7, 9 I am the door of the sheep John 10:11, 14 I am the good shepherd John 11:25: I am the resurrection and the life. John 14:6: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. John 15:1, 5 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser ![]() Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1481 Christ's words to His disciples as He appointed them for their Galilean ministry clearly contain temporal elements that only applied at that time in a Kingdom “sneak preview.” For Christ's Great Commission to the same disciples 18 chapters later in Matthew (minus Judas Iscariot) expands the scope from “the lost sheep of Israel” to “the ends of the earth.” Even Paul said the gospel was “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16). Other elements of haste in Christ's words clearly indicate their mission is to now remain in the narrow Jewish “stream of salvation history...before eventually overflow[ing] its banks” to water the Gentile world (Howell, 161). However, there are principles in which these temporal commands were based which still apply to us today including, but not limited to: ![]() The miraculous healing of the Gerasenes demoniac is an amazing encounter when the Kingdom of God triumphantly conquers a legion of demons from the Dominion of the Devil to liberate a tortured image-bearer of God with a single word, “Go!” Yet, the primary thing that captures the minds of commentators is the pigs. Plummer alone counts nine different interpretations to the question why Jesus would allow for the malicious destruction of innocent creatures and/or personal belongings, ranging from questioning the existence of demons, to questioning Christ's morality, to allegorical representations of Rome occupying Israel (Plummer, 228). ![]() Calming a storm, Ludolf Backhuysen 1695 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" (Mark 4:37-40) Exhausted from ministry, Jesus falls asleep as His experienced fisherman disciples ferry Him across the sea when a tempest threatens to sink the boat. Jesus is so exhausted that the storm hasn't awoken Him by the time the boat is sinking, so His disciples do with a perplexing oxymoron of a question: “Teacher, don't you care if we drown?” After rebuking the nature He created, Jesus rightly rebukes His disciples. If they had faith enough to know that He could actually do something about the storm, then why didn't they have enough faith to trust that He wouldn't prevent them from drowning? ![]() But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Matthew 12:48-50 As the traditional roles and relationships within Western culture fade, Christ's question “Who is my mother and brothers?” probably doesn't strike us in the way that it flabbergasted the Eastern culture, where familial roles and traditions are nonnegotiable, where He uttered it. What does Jesus mean by eternally unforgiveable sin? Can this sin be committed today? By a believer?1/4/2012 ![]() And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12 :32) Some have read these words of Christ and surmised that “blaspheming the Holy Spirit” is either a sin the God cannot forgive, or one that God will not forgive. In both of these instances, God is left either unable to forgive and thus not omnipotent, or unwilling to forgive and thus not all loving. Jesus's words to the crowds have created quite a debate among scholars since the Greek can be readily read both ways. Before analyzing the grammar and theology, here are few of the modern renderings:
![]() As a military commander, the centurion understood authority as a man who had it and was also under it, and thus he knew it when he saw it in Jesus. Thus, he “perceives that Jesus likewise both receives and exercises authority” (Elwell, 731), but unlike Roman imperial authority, Jesus “ministered under God's authority and as such was vested with the ability to heal diseases” (Howell, 118). In this we see that the centurion understood the relationship between obedience and authority, that is, those under authority obey those with authority, which is a principle that transcends human governance to the very subordination of the Trinity. However, the centurion also understood the limitations of authority, by means of who he was to obey and who was to obey him. For we certainly don't see the centurion commanding or ordering Jesus to heal his servant, though he could have tried as a Roman occupier of Palestine of which Jesus was a resident. Instead, he recognized that even nature itself was under Christ's authority (Matthew 28:18) and subsequently obedient to him (he may have heard about the healing of the Capernaum official's son) and thus his servant would be healed if Christ would but exercise His authority. ![]() Faith is not complicated. Unlike every other religion (faith) in the world, only Christianity sets the requirements as simple as faith alone. No rituals, sacrifices, practices, or works are required, just faith. This is what we see in the centurion. He is a man who recognized that there was nothing he could do to merit the grace of Christ, for he considered himself to be so unworthy that he could not even stand in Christ's presence. Even though he recognized this divide, or because he recognized this divide, he had complete trust and commitment, faith, in Christ. The fact that a gentile centurion understood this, as evidenced by his simple request free from manipulation and coercion, yet expressed forthright with confidence, while his trained Jewish counterparts did not astonished Jesus (Howell, 118). Jesus found the “qualities celebrated in the Beatitudes” in the Centurion as his faith is both intellectually and practically applied in his unquestioning request for a miraculous healing of his servant from afar (Elwell, 731-32). For his faith, the centurion's servant was healed “that very hour,” but not before Jesus capitalized on it as a teachable moment. “Jesus' healing of the servant anticipates the mission to the Gentiles,” which He foretells in the metaphor of the feast where the seats of Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah are taken by Gentiles due to their faith (Elwell, 732). ![]() Fran Angelico, Sermon on the Mount Sermon on the Mount: After Jesus chose His disciples, He immediately set about the task of deprogramming them of all the layers of the Mishnah and manmade laws that had encrusted the word of God, and His Kingdom. So He took them up on a mountainside to a level place by the Sea of Galilee. Crowds begain to gather and listen in as well (many came from far away for healing and his teachigns) as Jesus then delivered the greatest sermon ever preached. The central theme of His sermon was delivered within the context of the Kingdom of Heaven/God beginning with the beatitudes and the heart of a disciple. Here He delivered the programmatic passage in Matthew 5:17-20 to unlock the entire sermon. ![]() Copenhagen, Sermon on the Mount Sermon on the Mount: Are Cultural Christians really Christians? Are self-proclaimed believers, prayed the prayer when I was in third grade but haven't done anything about it since, truly saved? Are these Christian Atheists who say they believe God exists, but live like He doesn't, guaranteed to inherit the kingdom or eternal judgment? |
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