Luke 18, Persistent Beggars

Here Luke records a collection of various teachings by Jesus, presumably on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Luke 18: 1-5, On pestering prayer 
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, `Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, `Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"

The verb "to pray" used to mean "to beseech, to request."  The object need not be God, but could be another person.  This ancient word has now come to mean, in everyday language, "to beseech God." (It now has a religious connotation.)  Here the widow prays (begs) to the judge for relief.  She is so persistent in her begging that he eventually answers.

God is compared in this passage to an unjust judge! The point is one of contrast -- if even an unjust judge answers one's request, how much more God who is not unjust!

Luke 18: 6-8, Even an unjust judge answers prayer

And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

When the Son of Man returns, presumably those times will be times of poor or dying faith?

Luke 18: 9-14, Self-righteousness
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Pharisee is merely boasting before God.  The tax collector weeps and begs for help.  

Luke 18: 15-17, Children, kingdom representatives
People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

There is a simplicity and humility (and joy) to the kingdom that adults may have grown out of!

Luke 18: 18-23, Good and wealthy

A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. You know the commandments: `Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"

"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

Note that Jesus begins by saying, "Why do you call me good?  No one is good..." And then "All these I have kept..."  Such confidence, such arrogance!

The quotes in verse 20 are from the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:12-16, Deuteronomy 5:16-20.

Luke 18: 24-27, Impossible 

Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Two things -- sadness that this "righteous" man does not respond ... and a general statement that people need God's supernatural intervention to enter the kingdom.

Luke 18: 28-30, Leaving home, leaving all
Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!"

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

Jesus reassures Peter.  Peter has made the right choice.

Luke 18: 31-34, To kill the Son of Man

Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again."

The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

Jesus repeats earlier teachings about the upcoming events. The disciples, somewhat naturally, are unprepared for this.  Luke is foreshadowing the events of the next few chapters.

Luke 18: 35-43, A pestering beggar

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,"What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord, I want to see," he replied.

Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Here we have one like the pestering widow at the beginning of the chapter.  Just like the widow before the judge, so to this beggar is persistent in his requests.  And he gets an answer!

Some have pointed out that the beggar's original calls were probably not for healing, but in hopes of receiving money.  But when Jesus singles him out, the beggar recognizes that it is time to ask for something much more important.

In the next chapter, Jesus enters Jerusalem for one last time.

Luke 17, The Coming of the Kingdom of God

We are getting to the end of Jesus's teachings before arriving in Jerusalem.  Luke seems to collect here a bunch of sayings, not clearly related (at least to me.)

Luke 17:1-4, Be serious about kingdom living!

Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,' forgive him."

Citizens of the new kingdom need to be caring and unselfish; in that compassion, they forgive those who are not a caring.

Luke 17:5-6, The faith of a mustard seed
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.

A strange answer!  The mustard seed was very small (imagine a sesame seed on a hamburger bun) and yet supposedly we can do great things with just a little bit of faith. Yet I'm not sure how that allows us to uproot mulberry trees! The emphasis may be on our belief being genuine; it is not an issue of "size" of faith.

Luke 17:7-10, Servanthood
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, `Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, `Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

"So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"

Don't do your duty so that people can thank-you!  Do it simply because it is your duty!

Luke 17:11-19
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

Those healed from leprosy were to go to the priests for verification.  Jesus does not seem to tell the ten that they have been healed but instead tells them to go to the priests, as if they were.

Luke emphasizes that the grateful man is foreigner, not a Jew. The sick Samaritan went to a Jewish priest for confirmation that he had been healed (by the Jewish Messiah.)  God is clearly at work among the Gentiles and foreigners!

Luke 17: 20-25, Rejected by this generation
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.  Men will tell you, `There he is!' or `Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.

But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

The kingdom of God is growing among the Jewish people, spreading out from their Messiah (the "Son of Man".)  Sometime soon, the Son of Man will suffer and be rejected by "this generation" and after that he will leave.

Luke 17: 26-37, The days of Noah are coming
"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

"It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

"It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.

"Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it  I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left."

"Where, Lord?" they asked. 

He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."

In Noah's day (or Lot's day) life went on, with people engaged in the trivialities of life.  No one was prepared for the catastrophe's that suddenly occurred.  When the Son of Man is revealed, in the catastrophes that occur there, people will similarly be unprepared.  At that time they should focus on the Son of Man, not irrelevant things like their possessions or goods.

This passages parallels that of Matthew 24. Some early Greek manuscripts of Luke add a verse 36, "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left."  Apparently this doesn't appear in the earliest manuscripts and was most likely added by a copier who was aware of the parallel passage in Matthew 24.  (See Matthew 24: 40.)

It is not clear (to me) which parts of this passage in Luke 17 (or Matthew 24) apply to the first appearance of the Son of Man as Messiah (culminating in his crucifixion and resurrection and later destruction of Jerusalem) and which parts apply to a later return, still to come.

Luke 16, Confronting the Self-righteous

Jesus continues to confront the religious leaders on their confidence in their religious deeds.

Luke 16: 1-8, The shrewd manager

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.'

"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.'

"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.

The phrase translated "800 gallons of olive oils" was literally "one hundred batous". The "1000 bushels of wheat" was literally "one hundred korous" (say the NIV footnotes.)

This is a strange story, for the devious man is being rewarded for finding a way to land on his feet. The master does not commend the man's morality but his cunning in finding a way to recover money, even at a loss.  

Luke 16: 9-13, Consistency in big and small

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

"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 handling 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?

"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."

hmm... use worldly wealth to gain friends? That doesn't seem Christian?!  Might the main idea revolve around doing eternal things with worldly wealth?

The theme of the rest of this teaching is consistency in character.  One who is dishonest in little things will not suddenly become honest when a lot is at stake!

The final sentence, regarding two masters, elaborates on the first statement, on gaining friends.  If one serves God, not money, then even money will be used for godly purposes.

Luke 16: 14-18, Self-illusions and the Pharisees

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. 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."

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

Jesus confronts, again, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, in which they rationalize their actions with religious arguments.  Now there is a new kingdom coming, Jesus says.

One example of the self-justification of the religious leaders, elaborated on in other gospels, is the religious teaching on divorce, in which men justified leaving their wives with a variety of inventive rulings.  (Luke gives only a brief version of this teaching. An expanded version of the teaching on marriage appears in Matthew 19:1-12.)

Luke 16: 19-31, Rich man and a beggar

"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.

"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 far away, 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.'

"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.'

"He answered, `Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn 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.'

"`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.'"

The word translated "hell" in verse 23 is the Greek word Hades.

What a strange story!  The rich man has repeatedly ignored the poor suffering beggar. Then suddenly in the afterlife, the tables are turned and the rich man asks that the beggar be sent to relieve his own suffering. One commentator (Leon Morris) points out that even in Hades the rich man seems to arrogantly assume that the poor man might be sent to serve him.

This story, with a lot of color, is intended to show the dramatic overturning, in the afterlife, of the oppressiveness and power of the rich.  The passage begins at verse 14, where Luke points out that the Pharisees loved money!

Are the words of Abraham correct?  Would a Jew, who has ignored Moses and the Prophets, change if he saw someone rise from the dead?  A resurrection would seem to be a much more dramatic and convincing event!  Many of the Jewish listeners will indeed see someone rise from the dead ... and we will see later how the Jewish nation responds to that miracle.

I find this story disquieting.  Indeed, the whole chapter makes me a bit uncomfortable.  We will go on to more uncomfortable teachings tomorrow.

Luke 15, The Lost and the Kingdom

Jesus gives a series of teachings on those who are "lost".

Luke 15: 1 - 10, Lost sheep, lost coin
Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Then Jesus told them this parable:

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, `Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

The "silver coin" in verse 8 is the drachma.  A single drachma, in those days (says the NIV footnotes) was about a day's wages.

Jesus tells two short simple parables about things there are lost and the joy that occurs when they have been recovered.  This is a strong message, at the heart of the gospel.  In modern terms, Jesus is trying to great a "paradigm shift" in the theology of the Pharisees and religious experts.

What stimulates this parable? What paradigm shift is Jesus trying to create here?

Years ago, I was in a church where someone's purse was stolen on a Sunday morning. I overheard a member grumble, "What type of church is it, if our purses aren't safe?" My thoughts were, "What type of church are we, if only 'good' people come through our doors?"  I don't want to downplay the significant loss of a purse, with wallet, credit cards, drivers license and personal photos. But in this country our churches spend too much time trying to feel safe instead of reaching out to lost people who might make us uncomfortable.

Luke 15: 11-24, The lost son

Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

"When he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father. 

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

"The son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

"But the father said to his servants, `Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

This famous story, the parable of "The Prodigal Son", has touched hearts across two thousand years. It is so embedded in the gospel that it is probably the most famous parable of the New Testament.  A street mission in Chicago has, on their podium, instructions to NOT speak on this parable since the addicts and homeless in the crowd have heard it too often!

Yet the parable is also very natural and believable.  Any of us who are parents can feel the father's joy.  Wouldn't you, too, react like the father does?

Luke 15: 25-32, There are other ways to be Lost

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.

`Your brother has come,' he replied, `and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  

But he answered his father, `Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

"`My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

Some are lost and know it.  Some are lost but not yet aware.  In this parable there is one who thinks he is not "lost".  This other brother is consumed by jealousy and self-righteousness and so is blind to the free gifts that his father offers him.  This story, vibrant and colorful, is also rather natural (to me.) I can agree with the son's frustration.  (How often I have been very good? Yet no one cheered!)  But I also hear the father's consternation.  It is not about "being good".  There is here something much deeper than just doing right.  In this family, all this son needed was to ask....

Jesus is trying to get the attention of the Pharisees and scribes.  They, too, can enjoy all that God has to offer, if they wish. They can be part of the family! But they need to understand that they, like the second son, are also "lost".

Luke 14, Banquet in heaven

Some more teachings on the citizenship of heaven....

Luke 14: 1-6, Another Sabbath healing
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"

But they remained silent.  So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. 

Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"

And they had nothing to say.

Once again, Jesus heals a person on the Sabbath.  Then Jesus confronts the "experts" on their priorities.  Luke records the silent responses to Jesus's questions.

Luke 14: 7-14, The honored guest
When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, `Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.

But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, `Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus gives instructions to both guest and host.  In both cases he challenges convention and pride. He cautions the guest from picking a prestigious place; he suggests that hosts all seek out the less prestigious people to invite to dinner.

Luke 14: 15-24, Eating at the kingdom table
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, `Come, for everything is now ready.' 

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, `I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'  Another said, `I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, `I just got married, so I can't come.'

"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, `Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

"`Sir,' the servant said, `what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

"Then the master told his servant, `Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"

There will be (at least metaphorically) a great banquet in the new heaven and earth.  Long ago I had a college poster that represented the image I had of this feast.

Who, in this metaphor, is represented by the invited ones?  Who are the dirty poor, crippled, lame ones, those so clearly not aware of the feast? Most likely Luke records this because the ones not aware of this feast are the Gentiles, like him.

Luke 14: 25-35, Following Jesus
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus offers no "quick pitch" for conversion. He pushes away potential followers, asking, "Are you really sure you want to follow me?"

Luke 13, Kingdom citizenship offered to all

Jesus continues teaching on the approaching Kingdom of God.

Luke 13 :1-5, Evil and repentance
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.

Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

History does not record elsewhere the two events mentioned here. Apparently around this time king Herod (who beheaded John) massacred some Galilean Jews while they were performing religious sacrifices. This disaster stimulated questions along the typical line, How could God allow this? The disciples ask, Were the Galileans tainted or sinful in some way?  In response, Jesus mentions 18 killed by a natural disaster, possibly an earthquake, when a tower fell. Regardless of the event, Jesus warns of greater disasters coming and the general need for repentance. He gives no explanation for these disasters but warns of a future apocalypse.  Some say this future apocalypse is the sacking of Jerusalem which occurred in 70 CE. Others say it is a still coming Great Tribulation described in the book of Revelation.

Luke 13 :6-9, Bearing fruit
Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, `For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'

'Sir,' the man replied, `leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

Note the patience of the gardener.  In this story, the gardener represents God, who is waiting on Israel and rest of mankind to respond.

Luke 13: 10-17, A woman healed on the sabbath
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"
 

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

It is sad that the ruler of the synagogue is upset about this healing! This religious leader has lost his priorities. Jesus is not shy about confronting him.  Of course the real tragedy here is that this leader, in his focus on legalistic religious performances, has completely missed the appearance of his Messiah, standing in front of him!

Note how Jesus addresses the woman and speaks of her ("daughter of Abraham".)

Jesus suggests that the Sabbath, set aside for God, should be the day of healing!

Luke 13: 18-22, The kingdom of God
Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."

Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.

In these two parables he describes this kingdom as something small and unnoticeable, of almost no consequence, but something that slowly grows and builds until it has infiltrated the world!

The Greek phrase translated by the NIV "large amount" is literally "three satas", probably about 1/2 bushel or 22 liters (NIV footnotes.)

Luke 13: 23-30, The narrow door
Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" 

He said to them "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, `Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, `I don't know you or where you come from.'

"Then you will say, `We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'

"But he will reply, `I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'

"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.

People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

Jesus is alerts his fellow Jews to the fact that the kingdom is being opened up all those dirty unreligious Gentiles.  The kingdom will not be restricted to the Jews. Indeed, just being in the lineage of Abe, Isaac and Jake may not be enough.

As a Gentile, I am grateful that the Jewish Messiah is available for all!

Luke 13: 31-35, Looking toward Jerusalem
At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."

He replied, "Go tell that fox, `I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.'  In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day--for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

Jesus is resolved to go to his death in Jerusalem.  He makes no attempt to appease Herod.

What is the motive of the Pharisees in telling Jesus that Herod is after him? Lately the Pharisees, as a group, have been opposed to Jesus.

The mother hen picture is a poignant one. Throughout his ministry, Jesus has been reaching out to the Jews and the nation whose capitol is Jerusalem.

The Old Testament quote in verse 35 is from Psalm 118:26.