On Line Bible Study - For the Week April 11-18, 2011

Lesson 488

Luke 16: ¹⁶ “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 their way into it. ¹⁷ It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

¹⁸ “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Once again we are faced with an extremely challenging text. The possible interpretations offered by various scholars are too numerous to mention. Is John the end of the age of the Law and the Prophets? Is John a transitional person, or is he the first person in the new age?

Does the age of the kingdom of God supplant the Law and the Prophets? Do the Law, the Prophets, and the kingdom of God overlap with each other? What does it mean to say: everyone is forcing their way into it...? This phrase is made all the more difficult by some uncertainty regarding the Greek word translated as "forcing".

And what does divorce have to do with any of this?

It may help us to think of these verses in light of what comes next - the "Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus." The complete text of that story can be found by clicking here, and scrolling down to verse 19.

The rich man seems to have come to the conclusion that he is a law unto himself. What is it that has made him blind to the poor man on his doorstep? As the story develops we are led to believe that this man was well versed in the Law of Moses, and that he has chosen to ignore it. The kingdom of God does not displace the Law and the Prophets, even while that kingdom message gives us a very new and different way of thinking about them.

When the rich man is suffering with thirst in Hades he imposes on 'Father Abraham' to impose on the poor man, Lazarus, to fetch him some water.

Have you ever watched someone force their way to the head of the line or assume some privilege because of their presumed entitlement? The rich man seems to think that he is entitled, and therefore he can push people around - even people in heaven though he himself is in Hades!

The kingdom of God is all about resurrection and new life; but we receive it as a gift, not as an entitlement.

Divorce was used by men to crawl out from underneath their responsibilities. Is it the same mentality that enabled the rich man to crawl over the poor man? Did he find some way to interpret the Law such that he excused himself of any obligation with regard to his wealth?

The kingdom of God is not a commodity for us to exploit at our whim. It is the gift of God given to us in the here and now. How we exercise stewardship over that gift has present day implications ... and implications for eternity, too.

On Line Bible Study - For the Week April 4-10, 2011

Lesson 487

Luke 16: ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “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. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³ “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.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

We begin this study with the concluding verse from the previous study - Luke 16:9. Recalling the difficulty in interpreting the story at the beginning of the chapter, Luke now takes us through a series of brief object lessons that are designed to open our eyes to what is truly important.

First - be generous. Whatever we might say of the conniving of the steward from the story in Luke 16:1-8, it's important to be generous with our money. It's not just a matter of giving to the poor, but of also being generous with our friends. Loving our neighbor, regardless of how we define "neighbor", is often demonstrated by our generosity with the currency in our control.

In his Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Darrell Bock reminds us of the obvious - money runs out! If your social safety net only goes as far as your current bank balance, you could be in serious trouble. Generosity to our neighbors extends and expands that net beyond what we can provide for ourselves.

The next three verses - 10-12 - have to do with integrity. Whether trusted with money, or some other responsibility, it's not the size or importance of the task that determines our character. A 'little white lie' is a powerful indicator that we are not trustworthy for any task, no matter how small or large. "Worldly wealth" in verse 11 refers to what Bock calls "unrighteous mammon". This is not to say that money in and of itself is bad; but it is to say that the pursuit of money often brings out the worst kinds of behavior in people. It is to say that if we can't be trusted with something that is morally neutral, how can we ever be trusted with something of greater importance?

How many masters are you trying to serve? The higher the number the more stressed you will be. Care has to be taken not t0 value too highly what the only Master who really counts detests.