Sunday, September 27, 2020

Main service at Lake Marburg Baptist Church this morning; Luke 16:1- 17:10 - The parable of the steward and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus

 


Luke 16:1 ¶  And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3  Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4  I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5  So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6  And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7  Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8  And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9  And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? 13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15  And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16  The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18  Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

 

Jesus has finished talking about the joy in Heaven over repentance and return.

 

First, before I give my general thoughts on this passage, let me define a steward and a debt and what they can mean beyond the literal.

 

The elder, whether it be a pastor/teacher, a bishop, which is what we call a pastor today, a deacon or some other function in the church, is called a steward of the mysteries of God.  They must handle God’s word, not deceitfully, or for gain, to make merchandise of the church, but faithfully.

 

1Corinthians 4:1 ¶  Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

 

In literal terms, a steward is a manager of a house, what we might today call a butler or, if they had more responsibility, even an estate agent, as the one in this parable.

 

A debt cannot only refer to a financial obligation it can refer to sin debt, the debt one owes God that they can never repay and the debt one owes to a person they’ve sinned against. See the example of prayer Jesus gave on two separate occasions.

 

Matthew 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 

Luke 11:4  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

 

The steward here had wasted his master’s goods, not stolen them. He is not in prison but being terminated in his employment. The coins that Jesus used were Roman. This passage represents the non-monetary part of this society which we have seen all through the Bible where wealth was measured in goods and produce. Throughout history, from the serfs of the Medieval world to the sharecroppers of the Southern United States rents were often paid at least partly in produce and goods made.

 

A current Turbotax website makes this pertinent statement regarding taxes; Most landowners contract with farmers under a crop-share arrangement, in which ‘rent' is paid in crops or livestock produced by the farmer. Form 4835 only recognizes income to a landowner in the year that these crop or livestock shares are converted to cash.”

 

The master demands that the steward make an accounting, to see the books so to speak. He apparently is not getting the rents he expects and the steward has failed in his job. The steward, being afraid of what will become of him, knowing he’s too old to do common labor and doesn’t want to be reduced to the level of a beggar, thinks to forgive some of his master’s debt to get at least partial rents in, hoping to not only please his master but to perhaps have one of the tenants hire him out of appreciation.

 

Jesus says in verse 9 to forgive the sin debt to you and to God as this failure of a steward has done. A friend of mammon, the mammon of unrighteousness, or the unrighteous mammon knows how to handle it. Jesus’ Jewish followers under the Law have spiritual wealth to dispense, forgiveness, and to collect, the repentance of the wayward Jew who has not been forthcoming in his responsibilities to the Lord who created him. Those you have forgiven of the sin debt owed to you and to the Lord, and we all know that the person who truly forgives receives less from the debtor than he deserves to receive but is willing to accept what he gets, but those who have been forgiven by the Jew are a currency that prepared the Jew for eternal life. Forgiveness is very important to Christ. In this passage He is starting with a worldly scene and transforming it into a spiritual meaning.

 

Forgiveness was essential to salvation, as far as Jesus was concerned. How can you be faithful in great spiritual matters when you are faithless in such a basic component to obedience to Christ as forgiveness? There is also a warning here to be diligent in worldly matters. How can a Jew who is careless with worldly wealth be trusted to handle spiritual wealth? Be liberal and free with your money in dispensing it to those in need and do not be covetous. Be faithful in your obligations and handle money wisely. Do not worship mammon but use it rather in the way God would approve.

 

The insertion of the verse on putting away one’s wife is not the context of the same thought in Matthew, chapters 5 and 19 and Mark 10 as they are about marriage and divorce specifically. God doesn’t value the things we do in the way we do. But He does value forgiveness and unjustly divorcing one’s spouse is included in this passage to give us a personal reference. Let us remember Paul’s admonition.

 

Colossians 3:19  Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

 

There was a school of the Pharisees, according to some sources, that believed you could divorce your wife for any reason as the Romans did. Our representation of Christ, our expression of faith, begins at home. If we cannot be trusted to show Christ in our most intimate relationships we cannot be trusted with His spiritual riches in public. For instance, a man who is cruel at home, unyielding, implacable, unmerciful in speech or deed at home, is a roaring hypocrite when he smiles and shakes hands at church with a pious grin on his face in the love of the brethren.

 

Think about this when you absentmindedly purchase a pack of gum at the convenience store. Are you as free with God’s spiritual wealth such as forgiveness as you are in how you use money? You think nothing of making an impulse purchase, some doo-dad you want, but how miserly you are with forgiveness and mercy to those closest to you.

 

Of course, there are many sermons to be made out of this regarding faithfulness with money as all of what you own is God’s etc. etc.

 

Luke 16:19 ¶  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21  And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

 

Jumping right from the story of the steward and the link to putting away one’s wife Jesus goes into the effects of a hard heart. Also though, Jesus, continuing with the sin of covetousness and greed the Pharisees were apparently known for, describes the end destination for those who would depend on and worship their wealth. It is a warning to those who would listen. In this passage it is clear that Hell is a real place of suffering. Hell is spoken of as a place of fire early on.

 

Deuteronomy 32:22  For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 

It is commonly understood among conservative Christians that before Christ’s resurrection that Hell, the place of suffering, was next to Paradise, the place of joy and peace. Here, it is said that there was an unbridgeable gap between them. The Greeks, who were represented as traders and mercenaries throughout the Ancient Near East from the earliest times and even fought on the side of Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish as mentioned in Jeremiah 46:2, were often the hired men of Jeremiah 46:21. They took many slaves as spoils of war including many Jews.

 

Joel 3:6  The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

 

It is very possible that Greek versions of Hades, their word for Hell, were formed by what they heard from their Hebrew captives just as later Greek writers would say, during the Christian era, that Greek mythical heroes were amalgamations of Bible characters. For example, Hercules may be a combination of Samson and Jonah due to the experiences he supposedly endured some have thought. Even Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian who lived hundreds of years before Christ supposed that the Greeks lifted their mythologies from Egypt. Archaeologists, linguists, and mythographers have concluded that the Greeks got their mythologies from the Ancient Near East, which the Bible confirms in part.  The Greek view of Hades as a place that contained not only suffering but a place of joy and rest confirms this view.

 

Hel, in Norse mythology, is not a good point to start with as virtually all we know about the Norse gods was written by Christian writers during the 13th century and beyond, presumably from older sources but who can say for certain. It has been noted that early writers said even their mythology came from the Near East.

 

We have the Bible, given by inspiration of God to its writers and copyists and translators which is wisdom and understanding rather than word-for-word dictation as I have explained and referenced previously from Job 32:8; 2Peter 3:15; and 2Timothy 3:16 with the original autographs not ranked as high as the words we have to read. See Jeremiah 36:32. It is the doctrine of preservation from Psalm 12:6, 7 and Psalm 119:89 that works alongside of the doctrine of inspiration to give us the Bible we have today.

 

Hell is in the heart of the earth but Paradise, like the ark of God, has been removed to the New Jerusalem after Christ preached to the spirits there.

 

Matthew 12:40  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 

Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

 

1Peter 3:18 ¶  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19  By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20  Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

 

2Corinthians 12:4  How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

 

Revelation 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

 

Revelation 11:19  And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

 

Here, in this passage, just as the rich man wants to enforce the social status he enjoyed over Lazarus during life in Hell, so Abraham foretells that the wicked will not be influenced by Christ’s resurrection and even His preaching to them in their deplorable and abhorrent state will not impact their evil-focused minds. This is the result of a hard heart.

 

I want to address another issue having to do with words in the Bible. In Hebrew the word Sheol is translated as either the grave or Hell, based on the context. In the New Testament, the suffering of Hell can be expressed by the Greek word Hades. With a million words in English we can be very specific in our naming of things. And yet, words like love and hate are often used with many different definitions understood by the context as in, “I love my mother,” versus, “I love pizza.” In Hebrew and Greek the meaning of a word, too, is dependent upon the context. Do not be deluded by skeptics who criticize the word Hell from Sheol or Hades. It would make no sense for God to start a fire in the lowest grave as per the verse quoted above from Deuteronomy or to mix Hades, where torment or joy could be experienced, with Hell, a place of only torment until the final Lake of Fire consumes those who have rejected God’s mercy. The words those people had were used to describe things God put on their minds.

 

A similar mistake is made by modernists who take compound words like Theopneustos in 2Timothy 3:16 and transliterate it as God-breathed rather than the correct given by inspiration which I’ve defined previously. Compound words mean more than their component parts run together. You would say you were going home to watch football on your television, not your far-off seeing, now wouldn’t you?

 

Luke, chapter 17

 

Luke 17:1 ¶  Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2  It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3  Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4  And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5  And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6  And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. 7  But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8  And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9  Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

 

Again from the importance of forgiveness to the effects of a hard heart to the victory through faith and just how little and how reasonable what God is asking that we do Jesus proceeds to illuminate.

 

An offence is something that causes someone to stumble in confusion or their faith, that harms their faith.

 

As the Jewish rejection of Christ caused their confusion;

 

1Peter 2:8  And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

 

Which is an allusion to the passage in Isaiah;

 

Isaiah 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14  And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15  And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.

 

So, see that an offence can cause one to stumble, to fall, to be broken, and snared, and captured. This is what happens with unbelief, one falls into the snare set by the king of terrors himself.

 

2Timothy 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

 

Someone who belongs to God, who is mature in His care, and loves His word should never experience such a thing.

 

Psalm 119:165  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

 

In the Early Modern English of the era of the King James translators to offend could mean, not just to displease or insult someone, but to injure one’s conscience, to deceive them, to commit a wrong, to cause damage to, and an offence was a crime, a sin, or a trespass, an injury done to someone.

 

Offences against God and humans will come, they will happen. It is the nature of things in this dispensation. But, woe to that man or woman through whom they come, who permits themselves willingly to be a vehicle for sin against God and their fellow men and women.

 

Little ones can be a reference, of course, to children.

 

Matthew 18:1 ¶  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

 

    7 ¶  Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8  Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13  And if so be

that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

 

But, in this context, in this particular sermon given by Christ, He seems to be saying that offences must come but it is a sad day for the person through whom they come. Do not give cause or reason for a new believer, a little one in the faith, to stumble and fall, and to forgive graciously and abundantly if your brother or sister repents of their deed against you. Do not feel a sense of self-righteousness by your getting out of your comfort zone and doing what Christ has commanded in the realm of forgiveness but accept it as the least you can do considering what He has endured and what He has done for you.

 

Luke 11:4  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.

 

Peter and Christ had this interaction;

 

Matthew 18:21 ¶  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a

certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that

he had, and payment to be made. 26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28  But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me,

and I will pay thee all. 30  And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31  So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32  Then his lord, after that he had called

him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

 

Next to trusting God in the painful circumstances of life for which we are given no explanation, like Job, forgiving is the hardest thing for a Christian to do. Some of the great causes of mental illness are a refusing to forgive and a refusing to be forgiven. Refusing to forgive as Christ commanded can be the source of great offence to the faith of not only another but yourself. Discouragement is a powerful tool of Satan.

 

2Corinthians 2:10  To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

I suspect there are many out there who cannot find it within themselves to forgive one who has caused offence to you or to forgive yourself; perhaps even just for failure in this life to meet the expectations of your youth. But, forgiving is a fundamental of the Christian faith, of far more importance than your political or historical beliefs. Keep in mind that it is called for when the other party is repentant and is not only sorry for their sin against you but has turned from it, the meaning of repentance. Sometimes it takes time to forgive because we need to see that repentance is real. These are the facts of living.

 

Paul gave a warning about offending weak brothers and sisters. Read Romans 14. With regard to forgiveness, there may be a person in your life; a parent, a spouse, a friend, who regrets what they did to you and, if that is so, it is incumbent upon you to forgive them. You, too, have regrets for what you’ve done. You are sorry for your sin against God. Receive His forgiveness. Do not remember what God has forgotten.

 

Another take on this passage is that it represents a few of the sayings of Christ for which we would have to cross-reference to uncover the more complete doctrine the sayings are referring to. For instance, there is verse 2 opened up by the passage in Matthew 18:1-14. There is verse 4 further explained by Matthew 18:21-35. Verses 5 and 6 are further illuminated by Matthew 17:14-21 if you take this tack on the passage.  But, I don’t think it is correct to do that particularly. I believe that this passage represents a coherent message given by Christ in its entirety to be understood by the context in which it is written, cross-referencing for contrast and understanding.

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