Bible In One Year Day 318 (Luke 13 - 16, Proverbs 26: 10-11)

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Day 318: The Narrow Gate, The Lost Sheep, The Prodigal Son  

Agape Bible Study 
Luke 13 -16 

Luke 13:1-5 ~ A call to repentance

There is no historical record of the two incidents mentioned in verses 1 and 4 outside of the Gospel of St. Luke. The "Pilate" mentioned in verse 1 is Pontus Pilate the Roman governor of Samaria and Judea (26-36 AD). That he was the cause of the massacre suggests the Galileans had come to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices at the Temple and were perhaps involved in some protest against Roman rule. The second tragedy also took place in Jerusalem at a tower near the ritual purification pool of Siloam. However, Jesus' teaching is clear: the personal sins of the victims were not the immediate cause of either of the tragedies (also see Jesus' teaching in John 9:3). Jesus asks the crowd to view such tragedies as providential invitations for continual conversion by examining one's own life and relationship to God and responding with humble repentance for one's own sins. One never knows when a similar tragedy can claim one's life. In that case, there is no longer the opportunity to repent and make one's life right with God before one has to face God's divine judgment and give a final accounting for one's sins.

Luke 13:6-9 ~ The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Jesus continues with His message on the importance of repentance in verses 1-5 with a story about God's patience with those who have not yet given evidence of repentance (verses 3 and 8) together with a warning about the inevitability of divine judgment in His parable about the barren fig tree. The vine or fig tree was one of the reoccurring symbolic images of the prophets and represented God's covenant people Israel.

Question: What is the symbolism in this parable? 
Answer: In the symbolic images of the Old Testament prophets, a fruitful fig tree represents Israel in covenant unity and fidelity with God, but an unfruitful fig tree represents Israel's covenant failure in her mission to serve God and to produce the "good fruit" of her service.

The fig tree	God's Old Covenant people "the Jews
the orchard	The holy land of Israel
The owner of the orchard	God
The vinedresser	Jesus

Luke 13:10-17 ~ The cure of a crippled woman

Jesus again gives His authoritative teaching on the interpretation of the Law in which mercy and compassion take precedence over a rigid interpretation that was never part of the Law. Jesus sees a woman crippled by a demon, and in His compassion He heals her on the Sabbath. Apparently demons can affect a person spiritually, mentally and physically, and the Bible presents affliction and disease as evidence of Satan's hold on humanity. Jesus' act of mercy is condemned by the president of the Synagogue as an act that breaks the commandment to "rest" from all labor on the Sabbath. He forbids the people to seek out healing on the Sabbath.

Question: What example does Jesus give to show that the statement of the president of the Synagogue is ridiculous?
Answer: It was the common practice to untie domesticated animals and to water them on the Sabbath. Animals can quickly become ill if deprived of water for too long a time. Jesus condemns men like the leader of the Synagogue as hypocrites for saying is it allowable under the Law to show mercy to animals and not to humans.

Luke 13:18-19 ~ The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Jesus compares the tiny mustard seed with its plant in full growth. A mustard tree could only grow as high as 8-12 feet.

Question: What contrast is Jesus making between the mustard seed and the Kingdom He has come to establish?
Answer: The contrast is between the small beginnings of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and its future expansion when it will encompass the whole earth.

Luke 13:20-21 ~ The Parable of the Yeast

This is one of the two times Jesus uses leaven as a positive symbol. In Luke 12:1 He used it as a negative image as leaven is often used in Scripture to represent sin (i.e., Ex 12:15, 19; 13:7; Mt 16:6; 1 Cor 5:6-8). As mentioned previously, leaven is a fermenting agent that, when mixed with flour into a dough, causes the dough to rise and expand.

Question: What is the comparison Jesus is making in the parable?
Answer: Just as a little bit of leaven can cause an amount to dough to expand to a much greater size, so will the teaching of the Gospel of salvation cause the kingdom to expand from its small beginning to become much greater in size.

Luke 13:22-30 ~ Jesus' teaching on following the narrow gate/door

From the beginning of God's relationship with man, through the gift of free will, man has always had the choice between two paths or two gates/doors: to travel the way of obedience to God or to go one's own way. Moses spoke of the two ways in his last homily to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 in choosing the path of life in obedience to the commandments of the Lord or the path that leads to death, and the Psalmist wrote: The LORD watches over the Way of the Just, but the Way of the wicked leads to ruin (Ps 1:6). In fact, in the early Church, before the name "Christian" was applied to believers at the Church of Antioch in Syria, the followers of Jesus were referred to as the followers of "The Way" (Acts 9:2) and the same name was applied to Christians in the Church's early Catechism, called the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, also known as the Didache (see articles 1-6).

In this teaching there are 2 definite, inescapable choices each of us must make. The choice between:

• To enter the narrow door or the wide door : The narrow door/gate is only for the spiritually strong to enter, and the unnamed choice is the wider and evidently most often used door.
• Two destinations: Eternal damnation or eternal life.

Question: Who or what is the narrow gate/door/way? See John 10:7-9 and John 14:6.
Answer: Jesus the Messiah.

Luke 13:31-33 ~ Herod's animosity

Question: What two territories did Herod Antipas control?
Answer: The Galilee in the north and Perea on the east side of the Jordan River.

Apparently Jesus is now teaching on the east side of the Jordan River in the territory of Perea. The Gospel of John records that Jesus attended the Jewish national feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) in the winter of the last year of His ministry (Jn 10:22). After the festival, He crossed over into Perea (Jn 10:40). He returning to the western side of the river (to Bethany in Judea) to raise Lazarus from the dead (Jn chapter 11), and then He withdrew to a region near the Judean desert, a town called Ephraim, and remained there until the time of Passover in the early spring (11:54).

Luke 13:34-35 ~ Jesus' lament over Jerusalem

Jesus is speaking of God's relationship to the holy city in which He dwells as the God of Israel. Jesus speaks tenderly of how He has longed for Jerusalem's repentance and restored communion with Him but the city has resisted. The image of a mother hen gathering her young under her wings is reminiscing of those passages that refer to God in Psalms 36:8/7 (also see Dt 32:11; Ruth 2:12; Ps 57:2/1 and 61:5/4).

Question: What "house" in the "holy city" will be abandoned?
Answer: Jesus prophesies that God's house, the Jerusalem Temple, will no longer be the dwelling place of God among His people.

Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD and never rebuilt.

Chapter 14

Jesus at the Banquet of a Pharisee and Jesus Continues to Teach the Crowds

Jesus scandalized the Pharisees when He ate with tax collectors and sinners as readily as He dined with them (Lk 5:50; 7:36; 11:37; 14:1). The Pharisees believed that they were righteous and despised those they judged to be "sinners" who were not worthy of God's love. To them Jesus declared: "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Lk 5:32; 18:9), and angered the Pharisees further when He proclaimed that, since sin is universal, those who pretended not to need salvation were blind to their own sins (Jn 8:33-36; 9:40-41). He also went so far as to suggest that while sharing the table with sinners that He was preparing to admit them to the great feast of the Messianic banquet (Lk 15:1-2, 22-23).

The repeated mention of "food" in Jesus' teachings from Luke 12:36 - 14:24
#1: Luke 12:19	The Parable of the Rich Fool who thought happiness was in eating the stored abundance of his harvest
#2: Luke 12:36	The Parable of the Vigilant and Faithful Servants who are rewarded by their master who serves his servants a banquet at his table
#3: Luke 12:42	The food allowance the faithful steward is responsible for distributing
#4: Luke 12:45	The unfaithful servants who abuse the Master's table by eating and getting drunk*
#5: Luke 13:20-21	The Parable of the Leaven in which a little bit of leaven makes an abundance of bread
#6: Luke 13:26	The unrighteous who will claim they ate and drank in the Lord's presence
#7: Luke 13:29	The multitude who will come from the four corners of the earth to eat at the table in the Kingdom of God
#8: Luke 14:7-9	The Parable on Proper Conduct at a Banquet
#9: Luke 14:12-14	Those who invite the poor to a banquet will be blessed
#10: Luke 14:15-24	The Parable of the Great Feast
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

*drunkenness is one of the signs of the O.T. prophets symbolizing rebellion against God and the abuse of His blessings.

Luke 14:1-6 ~ A Sabbath healing at the banquet of a Pharisee

This is the third banquet with the Pharisees and scribes that St. Luke has recorded and the fifth Sabbath healing.

Banquets with the Pharisees and scribes:

1. When Jesus pardoned the sinful woman (Lk 7:36-50)
2. When Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes (Lk 11:37-53)
3. When Jesus was invited to a Sabbath meal at the home of a leading Pharisee (Lk 14:1-6)

Healing on the Sabbath:

1. Healing a demon possessed man at the Capernaum Synagogue (Lk 4:31-35)
2. Healing Simon-Peter's mother-in-law (Lk 4:38-39)
3. Healing a man with a withered hand (Lk 6:6-10)
4. Healing the crippled woman (Lk 13:10-17)
5. Healing the man with dropsy (Lk 14:1-4)

After Jesus' condemnation of the Pharisees and scribes at the second dinner, they began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say (Lk 11:53-54). They had also accused Jesus of breaking the Law of Moses by working and healing on the Sabbath and were furious that He defied their correction (Lk 6:2, 11; 13:14-15, 17).

Luke 14:7-14 ~ A Parable on Proper Conduct at a Banquet

Diners at a formal banquet in this period adopted the Greek customs of a symposium, a formal meal where guests recline on couches that are placed around a table. The placement of the guests was according to the guest's rank or social status. Jesus noticed that some of the guests were discerning for themselves their idea of their status within the company by choosing the best seats at the banquet table. You will recall Jesus has already condemned the Pharisees for their arrogant practice of expecting the best seats in the Synagogues (Lk 11:43).

Luke 14:12-14 ~ Jesus' advice to the banquet guests

Question: What point is Jesus making for His host who is a leader among the Pharisees?
Answer: It is another teaching on storing up treasure in heaven. The works of righteousness that God rewards are those in which there is no earthly reward. Hidden acts of mercy reap eternal rewards. If His host, who considers himself to be righteous, really wants to be judged as righteous by God and to receive God's blessings, he will invite those who cannot repay him.

Luke 14:15-24 ~ The Parable of the Great Feast

This is the tenth meal/food teaching. A member at the dinner party, perhaps feeling that Jesus has just insulted the host and wishing to defend him may be suggesting that the host is blessed because surely he is among those who are destined to "eat bread" (literal translation) in the kingdom of God.

Question: For what reason might a Pharisee believe that his destiny is secure in that regard?
Answer: They judged themselves as "righteous" because of their strict adherence to the Law of Moses, and as descendants of Abraham they judged themselves as the heirs of God's covenant promises.

The Parable of the Great Feast
The host of the banquet	God
His home	The heavenly Kingdom
The banquet	The banquet of the righteous at the end of time
The servants	God's prophets
The first invited guests	The people of the Old Covenant (Jews)
The second group of invited guests	The disadvantaged Jews who were the outcasts
The third group of invited guests	The Gentiles who have been outside the covenant but are now included
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

The banquet episode is concluded and Jesus is again teaching the crowds. The next two teachings are about one's commitment to discipleship.

Luke 14:25-33 ~ Sayings on the commitment of discipleship

Verse 26 has to be read in light of Jesus' other teachings in which a commitment to love "even our enemies (Lk 6:27) "is a requirement of discipleship. In this teaching Jesus uses exaggeration ("hating") to stress the total commitment required of the men and women who take up the path of discipleship. Jesus is asking for a complete detachment from the old life that might in any way compromise the priority of one's commitment to Jesus and His Kingdom, the Church; and that includes attachments to personal relationships and material possessions. It is similar to the teachings He gave in Luke 9:23-24 and 57-62. This teaching also recalls His warning concerning the division He is bringing to families where some will reject His Gospel and others will embrace His promise of new life and eternal gifts (Lk 12:49-53).

Luke 14:34-35 ~ The commitment of a disciple compared to salt

This teaching illustrates the condition of the person who is not able to demonstrate total commitment and dedication to discipleship that Jesus called for in the previous teaching. Salt for daily use came from the Dead Sea region and contained many minerals in addition to the valuable salt. Over time the salt could lose its flavor and was no longer valuable as a seasoning or preservative.

Question: How is salt that lost it flavor like a disciple whose dedication is only half-hearted?
Answer: A half-hearted disciple is like salt that has lost its flavor in that he cannot fulfill the purpose for which he was intended.

Chapter 15: Three Parables about God's Mercy

In chapter 15 Jesus gives three parable teachings to the crowds concerning God's patience and mercy in calling sinners to salvation by using common examples of daily life. In each of the parables He also answers the criticism of the Pharisees who accuse Him of associating with sinners. The parable are: the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Lk 15:3-8), the Parable of the Lost Coin (Lk 15:8-10), and the Parable of the Lost Son (Lk 15:11-32). Of these three parables St. Ambrose writes: By the parables of the sheep that strayed and was found, the coin which was lost and was found, and the son who was dead and came to life, we may cure our wounds, being encouraged by a threefold remedy. "A threefold cord will not be broken." Who are the father, the shepherd and the woman? They are God the Father, Christ and the Church. Christ carries you on his body, he who took your sins on himself. The Church seeks and the Father receives. The shepherd carries. The mother searches, the father clothes. First mercy comes, then intercession, and third reconciliation. Each complements the other. The Savior rescues, the Church intercedes, and the Creator reconciles (Ambrose, Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 7.207-8).

Luke 15:1-7 ~ The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Verses 1-3 set the stage: Jesus is teaching the crowds of Jews who have come to hear Him preach and to see Him work miracles. Tax collectors (who served the Roman authorities and were despised by the common people) and other sinners were drawing near to hear Jesus teach. The Pharisees (the most influential religious party in Judea) and the scribes (the teachers of the Law) were high status members of Jewish society who considered themselves to be among the "righteous" and interpreted the Scriptures and the Law very rigidly, often neglecting to follow the example of God's mercy and justice (Lk 11:39-52). They criticized Jesus for His interaction with what they considered to be the ritually unclean dregs of society. Jews were expected to keep themselves ritually clean and fit for worship by avoiding anything that might transmit ritual uncleanness. They saw themselves as "separated" (meaning of the word "Pharisee") and unlike those they saw as "unclean" sinners not fit to enter the Temple and offer God sacrifice and worship. The tax collectors and sinners who were drawing near to hear Jesus and the Pharisees who began to complain are representative of groups one and two in the Parable of the Great Feast (the previous parable in Luke 14:15-24), and they are at the center of this teaching. The Pharisees complaint in verse 2:"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them," is a repeat of their challenge to Jesus in Luke 5:30 when they said Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

Question: Who is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Ezekiel of the Davidic prince who God will send to shepherd His people? What did Jesus say was His mission in Matthew 10:6 and 15:24? Symbolically who is the shepherd in this parable? Also see Mt 1:1 and Jn 10:11-16.
Answer: It is the same answer to all three questions "Jesus son of David, Son of God. Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophecy to gather back the lost sheep of Israel " He is the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11-16) who lays down His life for His sheep.

Symbolic Imagery of the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Lk 15:1-7)
The lost sheep	Sinners
The sheep fold	The covenant community of the Church
The shepherd	Jesus Christ who went in search of the "lost sheep" of the house of Israel
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

Question: In this teaching, what comparison does Jesus make between God the Son and a shepherd and between the lost sheep and sinners?
Answer: God cares about all the sheep in His flock and when one becomes lost, like a lost sinner, God, like any good shepherd, makes every effort to return that one to the fold. And when that one sinner is restored to the covenant community, God rejoices in his restoration.

Luke 15:8-10 ~ The Parable of the Lost Coin

A drachma was Greek silver coin. The message of the teaching is the same as the Parable of the Lost Sheep "God's concern for the lost sinner and His desire that none should perish: This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:3-4; also see 1 Pt 3:9).
Question: How does this parable define the mission of Mother Church?
Answer: It is the mission of Mother Church to cherish her children and to keep them within the fold of the covenant family "not willing that any should be lost to sin.

The Symbolic Imagery of the Parable of the Lost Coin (Lk 15:8-10)
The woman	Mother Church
The collection of coins	The community of the faithful
The lost coin	The lost sinner
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

Luke 15:11-32 ~ The Parable of the Lost Son

This is the third parable in the series of teachings on the mercy and patience of God. The Parable of the Lost Son is only found in the Gospel of St. Luke. It is also called the Parable of the Two Sons and the Parable of the Prodigal (wasteful) Son. However, a better title is probably the "Parable of the Merciful Father" since the father's mercy is the focus of the story and he is the pivotal figure. This parable is an answer to the Pharisees' criticism of Jesus' interest in sinners and is an insightful commentary on human conduct, illustrating the conflict between free-will and responsibility, estrangement and family love, and the theme of forgiveness and reconciliation. But above all, the parable teaches the gift of divine forgiveness to a lost sinner "the kind of people who were seeking Jesus and the restoration He promised to those who repented and accepted the coming of His Kingdom.

 Each of the people in the parable represents what is greater than the story presents:

Symbolic comparisons in the Parable of the Lost Son (Lk 15:11-32)
the loving father	God the Father
the father's home	the "kingdom" of the Old Covenant Church/Temple
the distant country	the secular world
the elder son	the religiously observant Jews
the younger son	the repentant sinner and the estranged Gentile nations of the world
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

Chapter 16: Jesus Continues to Teach in Parables

Two of the teachings in this chapter deal with the use or abuse of money/wealth (16:1-13 and 16:19-31). They are separated by a condemnation of the Pharisees for their love of money and two other teachings about the Law. The focus of final teaching about wealth is the inevitable judgment of the rich for their lack of compassion for the poor. The first teaching on money/wealth is directed to His disciples.

Luke 16:1-8a ~ The Parable of the Dishonest but Crafty Steward

The interpretation of this parable looks to the figurative meaning of the whole parable and not for the individual parts. In Jesus' story the steward was a freeman who earned his living by the additional revenue he could add to the bill of the money owed his master. He was not cheating his master by dropping the sum that each of the creditors owed; he was simply reducing his commission, in some cases probably eliminating his cut completely. At this point in his life, he realized that his master's creditors' gratitude and friendship was more valuable to him than money.

Luke 16:8b-13 ~ Jesus' teaching on the parable and the right use of money

Jesus expands on His parable by encouraging the prudent use of one's wealth. He is not recommending that the disciples act as the dishonest steward did, but that they practice his foresight and ingenuity by using the temporal things of this world which are not ours and will pass away to purchase for ourselves those things which are eternal and will not pass away. Notice that Jesus uses a series of parallels/contrasts in His teaching:
Question: What are the parallels/contrasts in Luke 16:8b-13?
Answer:

Parallels/contrasts in Luke 16:8b-13

children of this world --> children of light

dishonest --> eternal dwellings

trustworthy in small matters --> trustworthy in great

dishonest in small matters --> dishonest in great

dishonest wealth --> true wealth

mammon --> God

Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

Luke 16:14-15 ~ The Pharisees and money

Question: Why do the Pharisees sneer at Jesus' teaching on wealth? How does their reaction tie into to Jesus previous teaching?
Answer: The Pharisees are an example of those who are slaves of wealth and "children of this world" because they "loved money." It is for this reason that they sneer at Jesus' teaching and consequently are not able to truly serve God; in fact Jesus says that they are "an abomination in the sight of God" because of their disordered attraction to wealth and social position.

Luke 16:16-18 ~ Teachings on the Law of Moses and divorce

John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he is the transitional figure between the Old and New Covenants. He continued where the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, left off and fulfills Malachi's last prophecies (Mal 3:1-3, 23/4:4). With John, Jesus says, what was promised by the Moses and the prophets is coming to fulfillment.

Luke 16:19-31 ~ The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man

This parable illustrates Jesus' concern for justice and is a reflection of His blessings for the poor and His judgment of the cold hearted rich in His Sermon on the Plain (Lk 6:20-26). The man Lazarus in this story is not the same Lazarus who is the brother of Martha and Mary. This man is a homeless beggar who after his death resides on the righteous side of Sheol while the brother of Martha and Mary lived in Bethany and was resurrected by Jesus. That the rich man wore purple cloth is a sign of his great wealth. Purple cloth was the most expensive textiles available in the ancient world. The dye came from a tiny sea mollusk. Only the wealthiest individuals could afford cloth dyed purple, which is why it was the color of the garments of kings and rulers.

Symbolic Significance of the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man
The rich man	The wealthy who abuse God's blessings when they ignore the plight of the poor
Poor Lazarus	The poor and disadvantaged of the world
Sheol/Hades	The condition of divine judgment and purification
Abraham	The hereditary father of the Old Covenant people and a symbol of the blessings and wisdom of the just
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

Question: Why is it the only the name of poor Lazarus is given in the parable? Why is the rich man's name not recorded? Rev 20:11-15.
Answer: It is a warning. Just as the names of the righteous are recorded and remembered in the Book of Life and the Deeds in the heavenly Sanctuary, Lazarus' name is remembered in Sacred Scripture. However, just as the rich man's name is not recorded in the Gospel parable, the names those who abuse God's material blessings and do not have mercy on the poor and disadvantaged will not be recorded or remembered.