Section 92, The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

Section 92
SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES
(Probably in Peræa)
Subdivision E
PARABLE OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS STEWARD
LUKE 16:1-18

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

Jesus directs this parable to a broad group of disciples. Others are present, including his opposition.  This parable is unique to Luke.

"The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.  And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings."  Luke 16:8-9

This translation from The Message is helpful:

"Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits.  I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior." Luke 16:8-9

This is an awkward parable that leaves me conflicted-- "So the manager is irresponsible, and he's compounding that by being further underhanded, but wait...Jesus uses him as an example of  how we should be?"  I can do all of the mental cartwheels necessary to understand his point here, but if I'm honest, I still wonder why he used such a backward illustration.

A straightforward explanation of this parable from the BKC:

"The dishonest manager had not done a good thing. But he had been careful to plan ahead, using material things to insure a secure future. Jesus was not teaching that His disciples should be dishonest. He was teaching that they should use material things for future spiritual benefit. This was a good lesson from a bad example." -BKC

Another clarification of the message:

"The lord does not absolve the steward from guilt and he was apparently dismissed from his service. His shrewdness consisted in finding a place to go by his shrewdness." -RWP

The lord does not absolve the steward from guilt and he was apparently dismissed from his service. His shrewdness consisted in finding a place to go by his shrewdness. -F.B. Meyer


“This is the moral of the whole parable. Men of the world in their dealings with men like themselves are more prudent than the children of light in their intercourse with one another” (Plummer). We all know how stupid Christians can be in their co-operative work in the kingdom of God, to go no further.-RWP

The Pulpit Commentary elaborates further:

"There is underlying the Lord’s deep and sorrowful reflection here, a mournful regret over one feature that is, alas! characteristic of well-nigh all religious life—the unkindness which religious professors so often show to one another. One great division of Christianity despises, almost hates, the other; sect detests sect; a very slight difference in religious opinion bars the way to all friendship, often to even kindly feeling. With truth Godet remarks here "that the children of this world use every means for their own interest to strengthen the bonds which unite them to their contemporaries of the same stamp, but, on the other hand, the children of light neglect this natural measure of prudence." -Pulpit Commentary

It's sad but comforting to think that Christ was aware of our religious pettiness.

Other interesting bits:

"quickly. It was a secret and hurried transaction."  -E.W. Bullinger

"ashamed. Ashamed to beg, but not ashamed to embezzle."  -E.W. Bullinger

So yes, this person's character was poor.

"I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ " Luke 16:4

may receive me, etc. — Observe his one object - when cast out of one home to secure another. This is the key to the parable, on which there have been many differing views. -JFB

This commentary points out the parallel imagery; the dishonest manager wants to cut deals so he will be welcome in human homes, but Jesus re-purposes the imagery to point to ultimate acceptance in eternal "homes."

"...so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings."  Luke 16:9

habitations = tents. Answering to the "houses" of Luke 16:4.

"And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?" Luke 16:12

Another good point:

"In worldly goods, which are called other men's because they are not ours, but rather entrusted to our care." -Geneva Bible

Although not bearing on this parable directly, I like this commentator's framing perspective:

"It is true that Jesus Himself did not originate much in this department of Christian ethics, and probably for most of His sayings we can find a synonym struck from the pages of earlier, and perhaps heathen moralists; but in the wide realm of Right there can be no new law. Principles may be evolved, interpreted; they cannot be created." -Expositor's Bible

"In the mind of Jesus conduct was the outward and visible expression of some inner invisible force. As our earth moves round its elliptic in obedience to the subtle attractions of other outlying worlds, so the orbits of human lives, whether symmetrical or eccentric, are determined mainly by the two forces, Character and Circumstance. Conduct is character in motion; for men do what they themselves are, i.e. as far as circumstances will allow. And it is just at this point the ethical teaching of Jesus begins. He recognizes the imperium in imperio, that hidden world of thought, feeling, sentiment, and desire which, itself invisible, is the mould in which things visible are cast. And so Jesus, in His influence upon men, worked outward from within. He sought, not reform, but regeneration, molding the life by changing the character, for, to use His own figure, how could the thorn produce grapes, or the thistle figs?" -Expositor's Bible

"Fidelity depends not on the amount entrusted, but on the sense of responsibility. He that feels this in little will feel it in much, and conversely." -JFB

Section 92, The Prodigal Son

Section 92
SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES
Probably in Peræa
Subdivision D
PARABLE OF THE LOST SON
LUKE 15:11-32

Luk 15:11  And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 

A man… had two sons; the contrast between his sons is the point of the parable. BKC

"And he divided unto them his living." -Luke 15:12

"Abraham so divided his estate in his lifetime (Gen. 25:1- 6); but the custom does not appear to have been general among the Jews. God, however, gives gifts and talents to us all, so the parable fits the facts of life--Ps. 145:9; Matt. 161 5:45; Acts 10:34." -Fourfold Gospel

"The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works." Psalm 145:9

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45

"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34

The contrast between the younger brother's brokenness and the older brother's self-righteousness is at the core of this teaching:

"The son shows a manly spirit in adhering to his purpose to make a confession, notwithstanding the warmth of his father's welcome; in grieving for what he had done, and not for what he had lost; and in blaming no one but himself." -Fourfold Gospel

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1661–1669

"But he was angry, and would not go in..." Luke 15:28

" [he refused to be a party to such a proceeding] and his father came out, and entreated him. [In the entreating father Jesus pictures the desire and effort of God then and long afterwards put forth to win the proud, exclusive, self righteous spirits which filled the Pharisees and other Jews."-- Luke 13:34; Acts 13:44-46; 28:22-28.] -Fourfold Gospel

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" -Luke 13:24

"And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." Acts 13:44-46

"The older brother was angry because he had never been honored with a feast even though, as he said, All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders (Luk_15:29). Those words betrayed the fact that the older brother thought he had a relationship with his father because of his work. He served his father not out of love but out of a desire for reward. He even thought of himself as being in bondage to his father."

Luk 15:31  And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

"The father pointed out that the older son had had the joy of being in the house all the time, and now he should rejoice with the father in his brother’s return. The words, You are always with me and everything I have is yours, suggest the religious leaders’ privileged position as members of God’s Chosen People. They were the recipients and guardians of the covenants and the Law (Rom_3:1-2; Rom_9:4). Rather than feeling angry, they should rejoice that others were joining them and would be a part of the kingdom."-BKC

"That he seeks a portion of his father’s goods, but not his father’s favour and blessing, represents to us the earthly minds of naturalists, who prefer the gifts of God to God Himself." -Bishop Cowper

From the Wikipedia entry on Rembrandt's painting comes this story:

"Dutch priest Henri Nouwen (1932–1996) was so taken by the painting that he eventually wrote a short book, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming (1992), using the parable and Rembrandt's painting as frameworks. He begins by describing his visit to the State Hermitage Museum in 1986, where he was able to contemplate the painting alone for hours. Considering the role of the father and sons in the parable in relation to Rembrandt's biography, he wrote:

Rembrandt is as much the elder son of the parable as he is the younger. When, during the last years of his life, he painted both sons in Return of the Prodigal Son, he had lived a life in which neither the lostness of the younger son nor the lostness of the elder son was alien to him. Both needed healing and forgiveness. Both needed to come home. Both needed the embrace of a forgiving father. But from the story itself, as well as from Rembrandt's painting, it is clear that the hardest conversion to go through is the conversion of the one who stayed home." '

So all at once, it is the story of God's great mercy to all---to the societal outcast and the self-righteous.  It is also the story of the self-righteous shunning self-reflection and mercy.

All three of these parables are addressed to the grumbling Jews and seem to teach different facets of the same theme: God is passionate about those outside the camp seeking him in brokenness, AND He seeks after the religious legalist bound up in his own works too.

The problem is that the legalist does not see himself as in need to God apart from a desire to have God praise him too.  He focused on his own merit particularly with regard to others.  The evil intent of his heart is revealed in his petty refusal to attend the banquet, in him not being happy for his restored brother, in his self absorption.  He can't get beyond the context of himself.

The occasion is great, and great is to be the exultation. “Let us eat and rejoice.” The father does not ask his household to be glad and he himself remain only a spectator of the universal delight. It is, “Let us eat and rejoice.” It is God’s own joy that He would have His creatures share and proclaim. (Bishop Alexander.)

THE MEETING. He was yet a great way off when the father saw him. Love is quicker than youth, loftier than pride, mightier than Satan. The love of God is compassion. It suffers with the penitent. It would even spare the recital of the sad history. (A. E. Dunning.)

III. THE SINNER’S APPREHENSIVE RECEPTION.
1. The father’s affection to his returning child.
2. Eyes of mercy: he saw him as from a mountain.
3. Bowels of mercy: he feels compassion.
4. Feet of mercy: “he ran,” while his son “came” only.
5. Arms of mercy: “he fell on his neck.”
6. Lips of mercy: “he kissed him.”  -T.B. Baker, BI

"And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me [a privilege which the elder brother had counted as naught, or rather as slavery], and all that is mine is thine." Luke 15:31

"The younger brother had the shoes, etc., but the elder still had the inheritance."  Fourfold Gospel

Section 92, 2nd great group of parables--division A

Section 92
SECOND GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES.
(Probably in Peræa)
Subdivisions A, B, & C
INTRODUCTION
LUKE 15:1-10

Setting--Luke 14: 25 relates that "great crowds were accompanying him."  Luke 15 begins with the observation that "the tax collectors and sinners" were following him and that the Pharisees and scribes complained about this. Then he tells them the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son:

"The Lord speaks his three parable-stories of the "lost," in which he explains his reason for loving and receiving the sinful." -Pulpit Commentary

"Those who have always lived an outwardly correct life and who do not think themselves in need of repentance are the ninety and nine." F.B. Meyer

Although Meyer's observation may seem obvious, it's significant to nail the context to fully understand the story.  This story was directed to the self-righteous Jewish community who had no room for and openly criticized the outsider seeking God.I had imagined the 99 as "regular Christians" and the lone as someone outside the faith who had become lost.  The context is a bit more specific than this.

Things to glean:

God is passionately concerned about those who walk apart from Him:

"Now, there are two leading ideas in the three stories—one on the side of the Speaker; one on the side of those to whom the parable-stories were spoken...

(1) On the side of the speaker. God’s anxiety for sinners is shown; he pities with a great pity their wretchedness; he sets, besides, a high value on their souls, as part of a treasure belonging to him." -Pulpit Commentary

Rejoicing (chairōn). “There is no upbraiding of the wandering sheep, nor murmuring at the trouble” -Plummer, Roberson's Word Pictures

And to think of the angels as "neighbors of God"--interesting to put them in such a geographical partnership:

"In the presence of the angels of God-- That is to say, the joy of God himself. The angels are in a sense the neighbours of God."  -BB?

Section 91 continued

Section 91
COST OF DISCIPLESHIP MUST BE COUNTED, continued
Probably Peræa
LUKE 14:28-35

"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple." -Luke 14:33

"You must be always ready for the cross, always preparing for it, whether it seem near, or whether it seem further off. One paraphrase the words thus, “Whosoever doth not come to Me with a preparation of mind to suffer anything rather than part with Me, he is not for My turn.” This is to bear the cross daily, as Christ requires Luk_9:1-62. Though every day do not afford a cross, yet every day we bear the cross by daily preparing for it 1Co_15:31:

"And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? 1 Corinthians 15:30-31, The Message

"...Even when the cross seems far off, much more when it is in view, you must be preparing for it, if you be Christians indeed; and the Lord will take your readiness to bear it for a bearing of it, when He sees good to prevent it....

It speaks actual undergoing it when it is laid on us. But when the Lord brings it to us, we must actually take it up. He is no disciple for Christ that will not do it...

...To bear the cross as a disciple of Christ, is to bring forth more fruit in bearing of it." -BI, D. Clarkson, B. D.

"Nelaton, the great French surgeon, once said that if he had four minutes in which to perform an operation on which a life depended, he would take one minute to consider how best to do it." (Baxendale’s Anecdotes.)

Section 91

Section 91
COST OF DISCIPLESHIP MUST BE COUNTED
Probably Peræa
LUKE 14:25-27

"And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:25-26

"To emphasize that discipleship is difficult, Jesus said that one must hate his own family and even his own life in order to be His disciple. Literally hating one’s family would have been a violation of the Law. Since Jesus on several occasions admonished others to fulfill the Law, He must not have meant here that one should literally hate his family. The stress here is on the priority of love (cf. Mat_10:37). One’s loyalty to Jesus must come before his loyalty to his family or even to life itself. Indeed, those who did follow Jesus against their families’ desires were probably thought of as hating their families."-BKC

"So, too, just as there is a difference between attending lectures and being a student, there is a difference between being a Christian and being a disciple. "Disciple" means "disciplined one"—one who is committed to the cause of the kingdom. Thus, Jesus is saying, "You can't be My disciple if other affections have priority in your life." Jon Courson

"Actually, the most difficult part of this first term of discipleship is found in the words “and his own life also.” It is not only that we must love our relatives less; we must hate our own lives also! Instead of living self-centered lives, we must live Christ-centered lives." -Believer's Bible

"While discussing this passage one day, I noticed that a beam of sunlight had fallen upon the mass of glowing coal in the grate, and where the sunlight fell the bright redness was turned into absolute blackness. “Ah!” thought I, “there is the meaning of this passage.” As the glowing coal appears black beneath the far more intense light of the sun, so Christ asks that the light of our love for Him should be so intense as to render our earthly loves even as hatreds in comparison. In reality, although the red coal appears black under the sunlight, it is still as hot as before, yea, hotter than before, because of the added heat from the sun; so our love for friends and relatives, though it should appear as hatred beneath our love for Christ, will not be quenched by it, but added to, and rendered deeper and purer."
-H. Stanley

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:27

"There is a great deal of misunderstanding concerning what it means to bear one's cross. A noisy neighbor is not a cross. Arthritis is not a cross. Financial pressure is not a cross. Neighbors, illness, finances are just the stuff of life, common to Christian and heathen alike. Jesus showed us what the cross is when He laid down His life in order that we could be lifted up. The cross is the way by which we die to self in order that others can be saved, helped, redeemed, restored. And Jesus says we can't be disciples unless we are willing to lay aside our rights and preferences in order to see others do well." -Jon Courson

"When the Roman Empire crucified a criminal or captive, the victim was often forced to carry his cross part of the way to the crucifixion site. Carrying his cross through the heart of the city was supposed to be a tacit admission that the Roman Empire was correct in the sentence of death imposed on him, an admission that Rome was right and he was wrong. So when Jesus enjoined His followers to carry their crosses and follow Him, He was referring to a public display before others that Jesus was right and that the disciples were following Him even to their deaths. This is exactly what the religious leaders refused to do."  -BKC

"More correctly, his own. An important charge. All must bear the cross, but not all the same cross: each one his own." -Vincent's Word Studies

My thoughts....

This is an intentionally difficult passage to consider. I particularly like the Believer Bible's observation that the most offensive part of the statement is that we must prioritize Christ over ourselves--even above family is the lesser of the two demands. I am incredibly thankful that I don't have any sense of this division or need to differentiate in our immediate family at this point.  We walk together in our allegiance.

The carrying of one's cross is another obstacle--such an offensive image.  We are quick to be offended by the need to own our shortcomings or difficulties.  I like the following part, but the following is described here as a humiliating and vulnerable walk.  The BKC's comments on the historical nature of such an act reinforce that idea.

Section 90

Section 90
DINING WITH A PHARISEE
SABBATH HEALING AND THREE LESSONS SUGGESTED BY THE EVENT
Probably Peræa
LUKE 14:1-24

The Fourfold Gospel provides a bit of historical background on the customs of banquets:

And he sent forth his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.  Luke 14:17

"The custom of sending a second invitation at the supper hour is a very old one (Esth. 5:8; 6:14), and is still observed."-Fourfold

"The triclinia, or Grecian table, then in use had three sections which were placed together so as to form a flatbottomed letter U. The space enclosed by the table was not occupied. It was left vacant that the servants might enter it and attend to the wants of the guests who reclined around the outer margin of the table. The central seat of each of these three sections were deemed a place of honor. This struggle for precedence was a small ambition, but many of the ambitions of our day are equally small." -Fourfold

"Thus the things of the earth seem new and sweet in comparison with the gospel invitation. Again, all the excuses are trifling, for the parable is intended to teach that men forego their rights to heaven for trifles."-Fourfold

"What I'm saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face. But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."
-Luke 14:11  The Message

"Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You'll be—and experience—a blessing. They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God's people." -Luke 14:13-14 The Message


"And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Luke 14:23 

I think that in reading this interaction, it's easy to interpret it woodenly and conclude that we should be inviting the homeless and hungry to our parties.  Truthfully, the though makes me wince but not because I don't have mercy for that community. Instead, it causes me to pull back because I have some knowledge of the complexity of that community and their needs. These needs are not as simple as food and clothing.  Although they need these basic things, from my experience with a local Christian charity, I know that they have many food resources funded and provided by both Christian and secular groups.  Food is not the problem.

Another thought is that I have no relational connection with this community and would have to pour myself into a focused ministry to create one.  Again, it's not that I don't think that people and the Church should take pains to connect to this community, but more that I don't think I am the one particularly effective at making this connection.  I have a specific skill gifting and energy level that makes me able to best minister to a particular group or groups of people.  I think this is the case for all Christians.

Also, I suspect our current culture is structured differently than Jesus' culture.  This seems a reasonable conclusion based on other difference in politics, social structure, and community that I do have some knowledge about.  I wish I had a better understanding of the social welfare system in this culture and how they provided for the poor and needy.  The context might help me understand better precisely what Jesus is urging here.

As he's using a parable, I think it's fair to conclude that we are not just talking about social circles and food, but about spiritual poverty and alienation from community.  This angle gives me a much broader circle to think about in my own life. Who feels alienated in my circle of friends?  Who struggles with spiritual emptiness?

And, who might "come to dinner" if invited?  This is a part of the teaching as well.  The self-satisfied had excuses. I believe some of the people who would quality as "officially" poor or homeless that are in a sense self-satisfied with their decisions and life.   It is our job to invite those who are NOT self-satisfied, the seekers, the misfits, the ones open to something different...

Do not think too highly of yourself, that you are superior to others who struggle:

"With regard to our inferiors, humility consists in assuming to ourselves no more than the difference of men’s circumstances, and the performance of their respective duties, for preserving the regularity and good order of the world, necessarily requires." -BI

If the advantages of our civil stations in the world tempt us to proud and haughty behaviour, we may do well to consider that argument of Job 31:13 : “If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant when they contended with me, what then shall I do when God riseth up?” And Job 34:19 : “He accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor; for they are all the work of His hands.” Which same argument is urged also by the wise man: “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker” (Pro_14:31). (S. Clarke, D. D.)

The humble soul is like the violet, which grows low, hangs the head downwards, and hides itself with its own leaves; and were it not that the fragrant smell of his many graces discovered him to the world, he would choose to live and die in secrecy. (Sunday Teachers’ Treasury.)

Our status and position in life is not because we are special or better; it is a gift of God:

"God the true disposer of men

If God is really the King of the earth, there can be no use in any one setting up himself. If God is really the King of the earth, those who set up themselves must be certain to be brought down from their high thoughts and high assumptions sooner or later. For if God is really the King of the earth, He must be the one to set people up, and not they themselves. There is no blinding God, no hiding from God, no cheating God, just as there is no flattering God. He knows what each and every one of us is fit for. He knows what each and every one of us is worth; and what is more, He knows what we ought to know, that each and every one of us is worth nothing without Him. Therefore there is no use pretending to be better than we are. -C. Kingsley

We have a distinct responsibility to help the different and needy:

"THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE POOR. There is a strange mingling of terror and tenderness in God’s language in relation to the poor; terror towards their oppressors tenderness towards themselves. Take the former Pro_17:5;Isa_10:2; Jer_22:13; Amo_5:11; etc.).

"Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished." -Proverbs 17:5

"Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!"-Isaiah 10:1-2

“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages, who says, ‘I will build myself a great house with spacious upper rooms,’ who cuts out windows for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion. Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to know me? declares the LORD."  -Jeremiah 22:13-16

"Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine." Amos 5:11

"Such are some of the sentences of fire in which God speaks of the oppressor of the poor. We now turn from terror to tenderness. We shall hear how God speaks of the poor themselves. The lips that spoke in fire now quiver with messages set to music (Isa_58:6-7). There is an extract which I must give from God’s ancient legislation, and as I read you will be able to say whether ever Act of Parliament was so beautiful Deu_24:19-21). And why this beneficial arrangement? A memorial act; to keep the doers in grateful remembrance of God’s mighty interposition on their behalf. When men draw their gratitude from their memory, their hand will be opened in perpetual benefaction." J. Parker, Biblical Illustrator

It's not bad that it's bad to invite people you enjoy:

"The prohibition is not directed against the natural custom of inviting one’s associates and equals, but against inviting them only, and against doing so with a sharp eye to the advantages to be derived from it." -Alexander MacLaren

God's compensation is so much better than any man's:

"...and it is much better to have God to recompense us than to rely upon a poor dying creature." J. Parker

 "It is a question, you see, not at all of social fellowship, but of expenditure, and of the objects to which our great expenditures should be devoted. When you would lavish trouble and money, says Christ, let the lavishing be, not for your own personal gratification, not with the view of securing some enjoyment or obtaining some benefit for yourself, but for the blessing of others." J. Parker

God's Kingdom and purposes will be accomplished regardless of man's individual and corporate response:

"GOD’S PURPOSES ARE NOT FRUSTRATED BY THE DISOBEDIENCE AND UNTHANKFULNESS OF MAN. The house is filled. If one guest refuses to come, another is brought in to occupy his place. Drop your crown, and another man will lift it and place it on his brow." -Biblical Illustrator, Anon.

"Incidentally the parable shows the roominess of heaven and the largeness of divine hospitality, so that Bengel aptly observes, "Grace, no less than nature, abhors a vacuum." -BI

Section 89, The Narrow Door

Section 89
THE STRAIT GATE, WARNED AGAINST HEROD
(Peræa)
LUKE 13:22-35

"And one said unto him, Lord, are they few that are saved?
Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’" -Luke 13:23-27

Illustration from Kingsway Bible School

This parable reads like a nightmare to me.  It brings out the worst of my works based fears-the thought that I would miss the main point, arrive too late, be left out and excluded from the best.  How am I to interpret this warning?  To whom was it addressed?

From Robertson's Word Pictures: Strive (agōnizesthe). Jesus makes short shrift of the question. He includes others (present middle plural of agōnizomai, common verb, our agonize). Originally it was to contend for a prize in the games. The kindred word agōnia occurs of Christ’s struggle in Gethsemane (Luk_22:44). The narrow gate appears also in Mat_7:13, only there it is an outside gate (pulēs) while here it is the entrance to the house, “the narrow door” (thuras).

Matthew Henry points out that Jesus made the question particular to the individual who asked, "Our Saviour did not give a direct answer to this enquiry, for he came to guide men's consciences, not to gratify their curiosity. Ask not, “How many shall be saved?” But, be they more or fewer, “Shall I be one of them?” Not, “What shall become of such and such, and what shall this man do?” But, “What shall I do, and what will become of me?” -Matthew Henry

The abstract, the other, the "not me" is always easier, but Christ is consistent in directing our gaze and focus back to ourselves.

The BKC views it as speaking specifically about Israel and most of Israel missing the gate.

"It is likely that this question was asked by a Jew, and that the two parables illustrating the smallness of the kingdom's beginning suggested it to him. The Jews extended their exclusive spirit even to their ideals of a world to come, so that they believed none but the chosen race would behold its glories. The circumstances attending to the conversion of Cornelius, recorded in Acts, show how this exclusiveness survived even among Jewish Christians. The questioner wished Jesus to commit himself to this narrow Jewish spirit, or else to take a position which would subject him to the charge of being unpatriotic."
-Fourfold Gospel

Regarding the reference to Cornelius:

In Acts 10, we learn that Cornelius was a centurion stationed in Caesarea who was known for his godly acts and morals.  He prayed often.  Cornelius receives a vision from an angel who tells him to send his servant to Joppa to talk with Peter.  Meanwhile, Peter has a separate vision of animals being lowered in a cloth and a voice from Heaven telling him to eat.  He realizes that this is a message that he is to extend his preaching to the Gentiles.  Peter follows the servant back to Caesarea and Cornelius where the Holy Spirit descends on all there.  Cornelius and his followers are baptized and the issue of Gentiles being converted is eventually raised at a Jerusalem council.

Taking these two pieces together helps me to understand how the Jews viewed their faith as very exclusive and elitist.

At that time there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew frequently mentioned this reaction to judgment (Mat_8:12; Mat_13:42, Mat_13:50; Mat_22:13; Mat_24:51; Mat_25:30), and Luke mentioned it once (Luk_13:28). Each time it is used, it refers to judgment on sinners before the Millennium is established. “Weeping” suggests sorrow and grief (emotional agony of the lost in hell), and grinding of one’s teeth speaks of pain (physical agony in hell) -BKC

These remarks were revolutionary to Jesus’ hearers. Most of them assumed that because they were physically related to Abraham they would naturally enter into the promised kingdom.However, His next words were even more revolutionary - in fact devastating - to those who assumed that only the Jewish nation would be involved in the kingdom. Jesus explained that Gentiles would be added to the kingdom in place of Jewish people (Luk_13:29-30). People coming from the four corners of the world represent various population groups. Those listening to Jesus’ words should not have been surprised by this teaching because the prophets had often said the same thing.-BKC

I leave this parable with many questions still lingering:

*How exactly did the Jews view salvation?  As the Christian concept is fully hammered into my mind and the Jewish history far away, I'm not precise on their beliefs on this.

*Why is it that the Lord is so definitive in shutting the door?  Another commentary referenced the story of  the flood when Noah shut the door.  There is a sense of long suffering about the Lord but also a time when He acts definitively.  His actions with regard to time and timing are mysterious.

Matthew Henry asserts that its for the benefit of the holy:

"As to those that are filthy, shut the door upon them, and let them be filthy still; that those who are within may be kept within, that those who are holy may be holy still. The door is shut to separate between the precious and the vile, that sinners may no longer stand in the congregation of the righteous."

It helps me to understand God's perspective when I consider that the people on the outside of the door were those who were familiar to Him, just noncommittal.  They wanted both heaven and the world on their terms:

"What grounds they had for this confidence. Let us see what their plea is, Luk_13:26. First, They had been Christ's guests, had had an intimate converse with him, and had shared in his favours: We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, at thy table. Judas ate bread with Christ, dipped with him in the dish. Hypocrites, under the disguise of their external profession, receive the Lord's supper, and in it partake of the children's bread, as if they were children. Secondly, They had been Christ's hearers, had received instruction from him, and were well acquainted with his doctrine and law....Thou hast taught in our streets - a distinguishing favour, which few had," -Matthew Henry

They were familiar enough with Christ to be able to make the correct decision but chose not to.

More from Matthew Henry to consider: "New Testament sinners will be thrust out of the kingdom of God. It intimates that they will be thrusting in, and will presume upon admission, but in vain; they shall be thrust out with shame, as having no part or lot in the matter. Thirdly, That the sight of the saint's glory will be a great aggravation of sinner's misery; they shall thus far see the kingdom of God that they shall see the prophets in it, whom they hated and despised, and themselves, though they thought themselves sure of it, thrust out."

"Let us be provoked, as Paul desires the Jews might be, to a holy emulation, by the zest an forwardness of the Gentiles, Rom_11:14. Shall I be outstripped by my juniors? Shall I, who started first, and stood nearest, miss of heaven, when others, less likely, enter into it? If it be got by striving, why should not I strive?" -Matthew Henry

This comment by Alexander MacLaren takes me in another line of questioning:

"We are not saved by effort, but we shall not believe without effort. The main struggle of our whole lives should be to cultivate self-humbling trust in Jesus Christ, and to ‘fight the good fight of faith.’"
-Alexander MacLaren

"It puts stress on two things-the absence of any vital relationship between Him and them, and their moral character....Let us learn that, while faith is the door, without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The worker of iniquity has only an outward relation to Jesus. Inwardly he is separated from Him, and, at last, the outward relation will be adjusted to the inward, and departure from Him will be inevitable, and that is ruin." -Andrew MacLaren

The warning in our current culture is to professing Christians who have an outward show of godliness but not with inward examination or change. A person who knows the Lord will be changed over time.

Strive--

Strive---a concept study  (from the TSK cross reference)
agōnizomai
ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee

From G73; to struggle, literally (to compete for a prize), figuratively (to contend with an adversary), or generally (to endeavor to accomplish something): - fight, labor fervently, strive. -Strong's

Although entrance into the Kingdom is not a works-based act, life in the Kingdom clearly involves hard work:

Luk 13:24  “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able

Luk 21:36  But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Gen 32:25  When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 

Mat 11:12  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

Joh 6:27  Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

 1Co 9:24  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 
1Co 9:25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
1Co 9:26  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
1Co 9:27  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Php 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 
Php 2:13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Col 1:29  For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

1Co 15:10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 

Rom 15:30  I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 

Php 1:27  Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Php 1:29  For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 
Php 1:30  engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Heb 4:11  Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

2Pe 1:10  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

**************************

The Pulpit Commentary anticipates some of my thoughts about striving and the modern church:

The entrance into the strait gate is the first of all interests, is the most pressing of all concerns. Instead of scattering energy over secondary issues, energy is to be concentrated on this. Put your whole strength into the accomplishment of the one end. Christ insists, "Strive [or ’agonize’] to enter." "Faith is a very simple thing." Yet there is a discipline which is not a very simple thing. Evangelical, especially the phase which is called evangelistic, preaching too often overlooks the discipline. It is frequently an exclusive repetition of the cry, "Believe, and you receive; believe, and you shall live." It forgets that the beginning of the gospel of Christ was "Repent!" It has not a distinct enough place for repentance. It is so occupied with the endeavour to make the way easy, that it fails to urge, with the intensity of Jesus’ preaching, the necessity of a thorough self-repression, of a real taking of the cross, of the fighting of the good fight of faith. Let none overlook the agonistic side of the Christian life. Let the preacher echo and illustrate the sharp, stern, "Agonize to enter in"—not, indeed, a joyless and weary, but always, to flesh and blood, a real agony. "

Section 88

Section 88 
FEAST OF THE DEDICATION
THE JEWS ATTEMPT TO STONE JESUS AND HE RETIRES TO PERÆA
(Jerusalem and beyond Jordan)
JOHN 10: 22-42

Setting:  feast of dedication (winter) = Hanukkah

More on Hanukkah:

"Hanukkah. It is generally believed that this feast was instituted by Judas Maccabeus when the temple was rededicated after being defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes, 165 b.c. It was a yearly feast, instituted by the Jewish people, and not one of the feasts of the Lord." -Believer's Bible

Lots of commentary on this passage where Christ points out that their law calls them "sons of God."

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” -John 10:34-38

"The Psalm was addressed to the judges of Israel. They were called “gods” not because they were actually divine, but because they represented God when they judged the people. The Hebrew word for “gods” (elohim) is literally “mighty ones” and may be applied to important figures such as judges. (It is clear from the rest of the Psalm that they were only men and not deities because they judged unjustly, showed respect of persons, and otherwise perverted justice.)" -Believers's Bible

"The Lord was arguing from the lesser to the greater. If unjust judges were called “gods” in the OT, how much more right did He have to say He was the Son of God. The word of God came to them; He was and is the Word of God. They were called gods; He was and is God." -Believers's Bible

"Since the civil rulers of a land are ordained of God (Rom. 13:1-7,  I. Sam. 24:6, 7), they were regarded as God's delegates or ministers, and as such the inspired Psalmist addresses them, calling them gods. Compare also Ex. 22:28. If it was not blasphemy to call those gods who so remotely represented the Deity, how much less did Christ blaspheme in taking unto himself a title to which he had a better right than they, even in the subordinate sense of being a mere messenger. The expression "word of God" is equivalent to "commission from God." Compare Luke 3:2, where John was commissioned. The Jews regarded the Scripture as final authority. Jesus asserted this view by stating that the Scripture could not be broken; that is, could not be undone or set aside. We may regard Jesus as here ratifying their view, since he elsewhere concurred in it--see Matt. 5:19. -Fourfold Gospel

We can not be taken from God against our will; but our will being free, we may choose to leave him. We can not be protected against ourselves in spite of ourselves.If that were so, no one could be lost.
-Fourfold Gospel

But you do not believe because you are not My sheep is a simple statement of fact about their conduct. It also reminds one of the ultimate mystery of God’s election (cf. Joh_6:37).  -BKC

When Jesus said, I and the Father are One, He was not affirming that He and the Father are the same Person. The Son and the Father are two Persons in the Trinity. This is confirmed here by the fact that the word “One” is neuter. Instead, He was saying They have the closest possible unity of purpose. Jesus’ will is identical to the Father’s regarding the salvation of His sheep. And yet absolute identity of wills involves identity of nature. Jesus and the Father are One in will (and also in nature for both are God; cf. Joh_20:28; Php_2:6; Col_2:9).bkc

"Quoting Psa_82:6, Jesus refers to the Old Testament, wherein judges were called gods because they held the power of life and death in their hands. "Doesn't Scripture say you are gods?" asked Jesus. "Why, then, are you so upset when I say I am the Son of God?"" -Jon Courson

v. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
v. 39 They sought again to take him: and he went forth out of their hand.
v. 42 And many believed on him there. 

"The word "there" stands in contrast to Jerusalem, which rejected Jesus." -Fourfold Gospel

Jesus escaped the city and went back to the wilderness before he encountered "many" who believed on him.  The simple are spiritually wiser than the educated and worldly.

Section 87

Section 87 

SABBATH HEALING 
MUSTARD SEED AND LEAVEN 
(Probably Peræa) 
LUKE 13:10-21 

Overview:  When Jesus is teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath, he heals a hunched-over woman suffering from a "disabling spirit" for 18 years.  She immediately praises God, but the ruler of the synagogue is "indignant" because Jesus healed her on the Sabbath.

When individuals organize into religious organizations, the result is that some are attracted to the prestige and power at the expense of the mission. Here, the synagogue leader gets hung up on the technicalities of the healing (and probably his own ego issues) instead of praising God himself and rejoicing for this poor woman. Our highest mission is never "the church" but THE Church, and the mission of THE Church is healing, liberation, and love.

"But the words hold a wider truth, applicable to our conduct. The relief of human sorrow is always in season. It is a sacred duty which hallows any hour. ‘Is not this the fast [and the feast too] that I have chosen . . . to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ The spirit of the words is to put the exercise of beneficence high above the formalities of worship."  -MacLaren

And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame: and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.  Luke 13:17

"The people rejoiced not only in the miracle, but in that wisdom which silenced the narrow-minded rulers. The triumph which they rejoiced in was but a slight foretaste of the victories to come, and to point out the nature of those victories the Lord spoke the two parables which follow." -Fourfold Gospel

Parable of the Leaven
Sir John Everett Millais (British, Southampton 1829-1896)

"Jesus pointed out that a person is much more important than an animal, and His enemies saw nothing wrong in helping their animals on the Sabbath (cf. Luk_14:5)."-BKC?

This healing is followed by two parables---that of the mustard seed and yeast. In another context, the mustard seed equates to small but significant amounts of faith.  Here, commentators debate whether these two (the tree that grows and the yeast) symbolize evil or good.

Jon Courson views both in this context as symbols of evil, which to me makes sense if the conversation and context is linked to this Sabbath Day healing.  This seems the case, with this "therefore" connecting the two:

"He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?" Luke 13:18

"Because mustard seeds don't grow into trees large enough to support birds, and because flocks of birds in Scripture are often symbols of evil (e.g., Gen_40:19; Mat_13:4), in this parable, through this analogy, Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God will grow in an unnatural way that will allow strange people to hide out therein. All you have to do is watch religious TV to see that this is so, for there are indeed some strange birds roosting in the name of the kingdom of God."-Courson

I've met plenty of odd birds--the Kingdom attracts both the spectacularly evil and the spectacularly goofy but not evil.  Sometimes it's a challenge to sort between the two, and again, our goal is to keep our eye on Him and His reconciliation.  God is always for people---for the best in people, for the best for people. This is modeled in Christ, as he heals some and confronts the sin in others.

Other scholars believe these parables point to the slow, subtle, but ultimately profound growth of true faith in Christ:

"Be this, however, as it may, the drift of both these parables of the kingdom distinctly points to a slow yet a progressive development of true religion. Very different, indeed, was the Jewish conception of Messiah’s kingdom. They expected a rapid and brilliant metamorphosis of the then unhappy state of things. They never dreamed of the slow and quiet movement Messiah’s coming was to inaugurate. One thing is perfectly clear—the Speaker of these two parable-stories never contemplated a speedy return to earth. With strange exactness the last eighteen hundred and fifty years have been fulfilling the conditions of the two similes, and as yet, as far as man can see, they are not nearly complete." -Pulpit Commentator

Either way, it's clearly teaches the Kingdom is growing in strangely wonderful and/or dangerous ways---it can manifests itself in both true and false regards in this season on earth. That we can legitimately disagree about the meaning of the parable in itself points to the mysterious nature of this Kingdom.

I find this interpretation (though less definitive) also compelling:

"And this is quite consistent with the fact that the gospel grows by a life of its own—that though man’s labour is needed to apply and diffuse it, he neither makes it nor puts life and fruitfulness into it—that he receives it with these in itself, so that if he cast it into the ground it will spring and grow up of its own Divine energy, and according to its own Divine laws...

The Parable of the Mustard Seed, Kevin Christman 

Growth implies increasing divergence and definiteness of parts and functions. It is a separation of the one into the many, a change from the simple to the complex, from the vague to the distinct...

Wherever growth takes place, this is the process traceable. It is what we see in every herb, in every animal, in civilization, in government, language, science, and art. Different as all these are in themselves, there is only the one way in which they can grow, in which they can truly progress. The kingdom of God conforms to the same conditions. Its history has consisted throughout in the evolution of doctrines, institutions, and modes of life, out of a very simple germ...

Those who say, “Let us cast to the winds our creeds, our systems, our definite dogmas, and return to the primitive simplicity of apostolic men,” forget that God has not left it to the world’s own will to return of a sudden, or to return at all, to the point from which it has taken eighteen centuries for it to advance. They might as well counsel us to throw off all the laws and institutions, all the countless arrangements of the elaborated civilization in which we live, and retrograde to the rude and simple life of the earliest dwellers in Asia and Europe. We are where we are, where long ages of thought and toil have placed us, and, even if ungrateful enough to desire it, there is no going back for us now...

There is still another truth involved, and it is one which we must not despise because it is simple. Growth requires time. God has everywhere placed that as an inevitable separation between germination and maturity, between the seed and the perfect tree. Let us conform, then, to the condition. When we are despondent or angry because our labours in a Christian cause are not crowned with immediate success, we are no wiser than the little child who deposits a seed in the ground and is grieved not to see it springing up on the very day it has done so." -R. Flint, Biblical Illustrator

There is no way to put the Genie back in the bottle.  God designed the process this way.  So often, like the religious community of Jesus' day, we quibble and contend over the particulars instead of rejoicing in the act as it unfolds.