Bible in one year 1/27/2022 Luke 15-16
By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce
Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts
& Gospel music; pastoral ministry & counseling
Chapter 15 God’s love for sinner
Jesus used Parable of a Shepherd seeking a sheep and a parable of a father receiving His son (Luke15:1-32)
Chapter 16 Jesus' teaching concerning wealth
Jesus told his
disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his
possessions. So he called him in and asked him, “What is this I hear about you?
Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.”
“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. I know what I’ll do
so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their
houses.”(Luke16:1-4).
Verse 1
indicating continuation. In the preceding chapter the Lord spoke three parables
concerning a sinner’s salvation. In this chapter He continued with one more parables,
this one concerning the believer’s service. After a sinner becomes a believer,
he needs to serve the Lord as a prudent. In verse 4, signifying being received
into the eternal tabernacles (v.9).
So he called in
each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, “How much do you owe my
master? “ Eight
hundred gallons of olive oil,” He replied. The manager told him, “Take your bill, sit
down quickly, and
make it four hundred.” Then he asked the second, “ And how much do you owe?”
“A thousand bushels of wheat,” he replied. He
told him, “take your bill and make
it eight hundred.” (Luke16:5-8)
The master
commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people
of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the
people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends
for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal
dwellings. (Luke16:9)
Verse 9
to use money to do things to help others according to God’s leading. Money is
of the satanic world. It is unrighteous in its position and existence. The
steward in the parable exercised his prudence by his unrighteous act. The Lord
teaches us, His believers, to exercise our prudence in the use of unrighteous
mammon. After the satanic world is over, mammon will be of no use in the
kingdom of God. The prudent believers will be received into the eternal
dwelling by those who shared the benefit of their prudence. This will be
fulfilled in the coming kingdom age.
Whoever can be trusted with very little
can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will
also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handing
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? (vv.10-12)
Verse
12 In His New Testament economy God does not intend that the New Testament
believers care for material possessions. Though the material things of this
world were created by God and belong to Him (1Chron.29:14, 16), they have been
corrupted by man’s fall (Rom.8:20-21) and usurped by Satan, the evil one
(1John5:19); therefore, they belong to fallen man and are unrighteous (v.9).
While God does supply the believers with their daily necessities from the
material things of this age (Matt.6:31-33) and commits to them as His stewards
a portion of these material goods for their exercise and learning that He might
prove them in this age, none of these goods should be considered theirs until
the restitution of all things in the next age (Acts3:21). Not until then will
the believers inherit the world (Rom.4:13) and have an abiding possession
(Heb.10:34) for themselves. In this age they should exercise to be faithful in
the temporary material things God has given them that they may learn to be
faithful toward their eternal possession in the coming age.
No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and money. (Luke16:13)
Verse
13 serve in Greek, hold to one means cleave to the one as against the other.
This indicates that to serve the Lord requires us to love Him, giving out heart
to Him, and cleave to Him, giving our entire being to Him. Thus we are released
from being occupied and usurped by mammon that we may serve the Lord wholly and
fully. The Lord emphasizes here that to serve Him we must overcome the enticing
deceitful mammon of unrighteousness.
The Pharisees, who
loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in
the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is
detestable in God’s sight.” (Luke16:14-15)
Verse
15 the self-justifying of the Pharisees was a prideful exalting of self; hence,
it was an abomination in the sight of God.
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed
until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being
preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for heaven and
earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the
Law.(vv.16-17) Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits
adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(vv.18)
Verse 16 indicating the change of dispensation from the law to the
gospel; To the Pharisees, the money lovers, the Savior preached the kingdom of
God as the gospel (v.14). Money and sexual lust, which is incited by money,
help them back from entering into the kingdom of God. Hence, the Savior’s
preaching hit these two things purposely and strongly in vv.18-31. For the
Pharisees to force their way into the kingdom of God, they needed to humble
themselves (v.15) and to divorce their money (v.14) not their wives (v.18),
that is, to overcome money and lust, which is incited by money.
There was a rich man who was dressed in
purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a
beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the
rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. (vv.19-21)
Verse
19 this is not a parable, because it mentions names such as Abraham, Lazarus
and Hades. It is a story used by the Savior as an illustrative answer to the
money –loving and self-justifying Pharisees (vv.14-15); it is a warning to
them, unveiling that their future will be miserable, like that of the rich man,
as a result of their rejection of the Savior’s gospel because of their love for
money.
The time came when the beggar died and the
angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In
hell, where he was in torment he looked up and saw Abraham faraway, with
Lazarus by his side. 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.”(vv.22- 24).
But Abraham 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. And besides all
this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want
to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”
(vv.25-26)
Verse
26 A gulf that divides Hades into two sections: the pleasant section, where
Abraham, Lazarus, and all the saved saints are (v.22), and the section of
torment, where the rich man and all the perished sinners are (vv.23a,28). The
two sections are cut off from each other and have no bridge between them for
passage. Yet those in the two sections can see and even talk to one another
(vv.23-25),
He answered, “Then I beg you, father, send
Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brothers. Let him warm them, so
that they will not also come to this place of torment.” “Abraham replied, “They
have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.” (vv.27-29)
Verse
29 Referring to the Law of Moses and the books of the prophets, which are the
word of God (Matt.4:4). Whether one hears the word of God or not determines
whether one is saved or perishes. The poor man was saved not because he was
poor but because he heard the word of God (John5:24; Eph.1:13). The rich man
perished not because he was rich but because he rejected the word of
God.(Acts.13:46).
“No, father Abraham,” he said, “But if
someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they
do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.” (vv.30-31)
Verse
31 if people do not hear what the word of God says, they will not be persuaded
even if someone miraculously rises from the dead. The Savior’s word here
implied that is the Jews, represented by the Pharisees, did not hear the word
of God spoken through Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament, they would
not be persuaded even though He would rise from the dead. This very tragedy occurred
after His resurrection. (Matt.28:11-15;Acts13:30-40,44-45)
Lee,
Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry,
1985.
Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible (NIV).Chicago,
IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.
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