The Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus declared about Himself in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except by Me.”  What He is saying is that through Him is the way of life, real life, abundant life, spiritual life.  He said in John 10:10 “I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”  He isn’t talking about having a good life, or living the good life, receiving material blessings from God.  When He speaks about abundant life He is talking about spiritual life.  And to have spiritual life Jesus said you must be born again, in the spirit, by the Spirit.  

Now that point was made in the parable we looked at last week, the parable of the 10 virgins. Five were foolish, five were wise.  Five had oil for their lamps, five did not have oil.  And we said last week that the oil represented the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ.  Those virgins that did not have the Spirit did not enter into the marriage supper.  Those that did have the Spirit entered into the celebration of the bridegroom.  And that was illustrative of the fact that if you do not have the Spirit of Christ you are not His.  Paul said in Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”   So he makes it plain that having or not having the Spirit of Christ is the qualifying factor for entry into the fullness of life in the kingdom of heaven.

In the next section of the Olivet Discourse, directly following the parable of the 10 virgins, Jesus gave another parable. He makes this next parable contingent upon the statement at the end of the parable of the 10 virgins which is vs 13,  "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”  I say He makes the next parable contingent upon that statement, because He is emphasizing the sudden appearance of His second coming.  At the second coming it will precipitate a judgment upon the life of man, either to be found belonging to Him, or not.  

Jesus describes that event in vs 31, directly following this parable.  "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”

This parable of the talents then is given to illustrate that judgment. It is given to illustrate the fact that Christ’s second appearing will precipitate a judgement of the living and the dead; the truly spiritual life and the natural life.  Those that have spiritual life will enter into the joy of the Lord.  Those that do not have spiritual life will be cast out into outer darkness.

Now it’s important to realize at the outset that is what Jesus is talking about here.  Because the common misconception is that this parable has something to do with being judged by what we have done with whatever natural talents that we might have.  And obviously, the word talent that is used in the parable has led to that misunderstanding.  It also feeds into our own narcissistic view of Christianity.  The view that tends to equate Christianity with what we deem to be physical blessings, which we think is God giving us things such as prosperity or some special giftedness by which we can play the piano, or play guitar, or sing or any number of other things we tend to think of as talents or abilities.

Now I do believe that we are going to be judged to some degree on what we have done with our lives in regards to our stewardship of our money, time, opportunities, responsibilities and abilities. Paul said in Romans 14:12 “ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” And Jesus said the same thing in Matt. 12:36 "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”

But even though it is true that we shall give an account for every word and deed, I don’t believe that is what Jesus is referring to specifically here.  What I think He is specifically referring to here is the judgement that will determine that have  real spiritual life, and those that do not.  To use Christ’s own analogies, it is the judgement of the sheep and the goats, the wise virgins and the foolish virgins, the house built on the rock and the house built on sand, the wheat and the tares.

In this sermon, Jesus is illustrating the nature of the kingdom of heaven.  It is the kingdom over which Christ rules, but not everyone in it has submitted to Him as Lord.  Those that have receive an inheritance in the kingdom.  They belong to Christ.  They are born of God, sons and daughters of God.  Those that have not submitted to Him as Lord and King will at His return be judged by the King, and then they will be cast out of the kingdom into outer darkness.

Jesus gives three parables to illustrate the principle of His coming again in judgment. The first was given in chapter 24, the parable of the fig tree.  When you see the branches budding, know that summer is near, and He is near, right at the door.  The point being the suddenness of Christ’s appearing.

The second parable is the parable of the ten virgins.  And we saw that the criteria for being ready when He appears is that you have the Spirit of Christ indwelling in you.  Now the third parable of the talents illustrates that same principle from another perspective.  This parable illustrates the criteria for being ready when He appears is that you have spiritual life.  If you are truly born again of the Spirit then you will have life in the spirit, and that spiritual life will be evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit.

Now let’s consider the parable to see how Jesus presents this truth and this warning to be ready for His appearing.  Jesus says, “For [it is] just like a man [about] to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.”  The word “it” refers to the kingdom of heaven.  He is making an analogy to the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus isn’t trying to say everything that can be said about the kingdom of heaven.  This is not going to be an all inclusive statement here that will answer every question concerning the kingdom.  But He is presenting really just a couple of principle aspects of it here. 

What He is presenting is the certainty of the Lord’s return, the judgment that will happen at His return, and the fruit that will be evident in the life of the Christian.  So Jesus says it is like a man who is about to go on a journey.  He is obviously wealthy, and he has a lot of slaves.  And he entrusts his possessions to his slaves.  This idea of entrusting his possessions is something that we have trouble understanding what it’s analogous to. I would suggest that “his possessions” indicates something of great value.

Look at vs 15; "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.”  Now this word translated as “talent” is the source of a lot of misunderstanding.  What a talent refers to is the highest standard of money that was known to the Jews.  A talent was worth about fifteen years' wages of a laborer. Today a talent might represent as much as a million dollars. So it’s a very considerable amount of money that the man entrusts to his slaves.  We should recognize that in that day, a slave was often much more than a field hand.  They could include any kind of work.  In this case, these slaves were some sort of managers of the man’s estate.

What the talent represents then is not an ability, it’s not prosperity or wealth, it’s not what we might call a talent like playing an instrument or being able to perform in some way, but it represents an immense spiritual treasure.  And we learned in previous parables of the pearl of great price, or the parable of the treasure hidden in the field, that the greatest spiritual treasure is spiritual life, the abundant life, eternal life.  So the talent entrusted to each slave represents being given exposure to the light of the gospel which when received by faith, brings about spiritual life. 

Now there are a number of elements about the story that if you try to find a direct correlation to from a spiritual point of view, you’re going to run into trouble.  No matter what your template is for interpreting the parable, there are some elements that are going to cause difficulty in finding a direct parallel to the Christian life.  We have seen this same difficulty in previously studied parables. So as we have said in our previous studies, we should look for the major point that is being taught, and avoid trying to draw allegorical applications from every dramatic detail.

That’s especially true in this case, as Jesus says one was given five talents, one was given two, and another one.  To add even further confusion, Jesus says that they were given according to their own abilities.  

The best way that I think we need to see this is that Jesus is the parallel of the master of the estate.  Jesus is the King of the kingdom, the Lord who then gives the truth of the gospel, the light of the gospel, to man.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him.  So the saving truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ is given to men.  And some people are given more exposure to the truth than others.

In other words, He is speaking of the privilege and responsibility of being exposed to the truth of God, to the gospel of Christ. And some people are fives, they’ve been given tremendous privilege. Most of us would have to be considered at least a five on this particular scale, because we have been given great privilege in hearing the Gospel and having been taught the gospel. 

On the other hand, there are some people who would be on the level of the one who received one talent. Their exposure to the gospel was more limited.  But they still received enough light to believe and to be held accountable for what they knew. Romans 1 teaches that even those who only had the witness of creation had enough light so that they are without excuse. So the talent represents exposure to the light of the gospel. 

And so you have a person’s exposure, and their faith, and their responsibility to respond to the light they have recieved, and you can find a parallel there with the number of talents that God gives to each. We have differing privileges spiritually in being exposed to the Gospel. Some have heard it  simply and perhaps infrequently. Others have heard it in fully and completely many times and are the more privileged ones. And that privilege results in a corresponding degree of our responsibility.

When Jesus says that they were given talents according to their ability, I think you can draw an analogy from their ability to their degree of faith.  Jesus speaks often of a little faith, or of great faith, or according to one’s faith.  So there is an element of being given in proportion to faith.

So in the parable, the man given five talents immediately uses that to make five more talents.  The man with two talents likewise puts his to work to make two more talents.  But the man who has one talent, Jesus says went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

The first two show a 100% return on the investment given to them.  That’s an illustration of saving faith.  It receives the gift of spiritual life, and that faith results in regeneration.  A new life is born and a new life is lived.  Being born of the Spirit they now walk in the Spirit. There is a  biblical principle of progressive sanctification.  As you learn more, you respond more,  you grow more, you mature more in your faith. The seed that was planted in good ground springs up and bears fruit. Jesus said in Matthew 7:16, “You shall know them by their fruit.” So there is a response of faith, which proportionally produces spiritual life.

The slave that only received one talent though, he went away and buried it in the ground.  Now there’s the mark of a false servant. There is no response of faith on his part.  He heard it, but he buried the truth.  He pushed it to the back burner of his mind. And consequently there is no fruit.  He illustrates the one who given privilege does not return the opportunity given to him, does not take advantage of it, does not use it. When he hears the Gospel, he doesn’t respond to it by faith. But even though he’s heard it on a limited basis, he is still responsible.

Listen, you could hear it on a level of five talents and not respond. You could hear it on a level of two and not respond. And if you wonder why it is the one talent person that doesn’t respond, it is because the Lord wants to illustrate that the person who would be seem to be the most excusable is not excusable. 

If the person with the five-level privilege doesn’t respond, someone might think that God condemned him because he was angry that he wasted such privilege, because he was especially guilty,  and  so we might assume that hell is only for people who having had great privilege waste it. And so to make sure that that isn’t implied, the Lord picks the one who had only a very limited privilege and lets us know that being cast out of the kingdom will happen to people who waste even a limited privilege. Every person exposed to the Gospel, if they have at all been exposed to the saving truth of Jesus Christ, are inexcusable if they waste that opportunity.

Then, in the parable Jesus says that the day of reckoning comes.  The master returns and he calls his slaves to give an account of themselves.  Vs19 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.”

The implication there is that the Lord is telling them His coming will be delayed, just like in vs 5 where he said the bridegroom was delayed. Those are veiled ways of telling the disciples that the consummation of the kingdom will not be as soon as they think it is. After a long time, the Lord is going to come. And during the time before he comes, men and women are going to be given the privilege of the gospel, some on a level of five, some on a level of two, some on a level of one. But there will be a day when the Lord comes back to settle accounts.

“The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’”   Notice that Jesus incorporates the idea of faith as the response of the life that bore fruit. It’s faithfulness to the degree of exposure.  To the degree that you acted in response to the knowledge you received, then you are regarded as faithful in a few things.

And because you were faithful in a few things, you will be given more.  You will be given more light, more opportunity, more responsibility.  At the consummation of the kingdom, when we enter into the age of eternity with the Lord, it will not be a just an eternity of blissful nothingness, of no activity, no productiveness, no service.  But it will be a time of continued service to the Lord, but on a larger scale.  We will rule and reign with Christ.  I don’t know what that will look like exactly, but it will be greater than the service that we rendered here.  Greater in position, greater in scope, greater in duration.  And our responsibility there will be proportionate to what we achieved in this life. It’s hard to understand.  The scripture says, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

Well, Jesus says that the man who had received two talents produced two more talents, and he received the same commendation and reward as the man who had received five.  But then the time came for the man who had received one to give an account.  He said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.  And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’”

So this man produces nothing.  He buried that which the Lord had given him.  He bore no fruit in keeping with the measure of what had been entrusted to him.  He did not enjoin that light given him with faith.  He recognized enough to be culpable for doing nothing with the knowledge that he had.

Notice also that its not bad enough that he did nothing, but he also impugns the character of his master.  He finds fault with God’s justice.  We see that often in our culture today.  “I can’t believe in a God that allows such and such to happen in the world.”  Rather than seeing in themselves the problem of unbelief, they want to blame their unbelief on God’s character and try to say that He is the problem, not them.  He says, “you’re a hard man.”  You are too judgmental.  You are not loving enough.  You are not merciful enough.  You expect too much.”

vs 26 "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no [seed.] Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my [money] back with interest.  'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’”

He says, “You wicked and lazy servant. You recognized enough of the truth concerning Me to have done something.  But instead  you pursued your evil pursuits. You just took the talent and stuck it in the ground. You blocked it out. You made no use of the gospel because it got in your way, the way of your wickedness and the way of your own  lifestyle.

Jesus said the master said to the slave, “If you really believed these things about me, reaping where I have not sown, then why didn’t you put that talent in the bank so you could have at least made interest on it?” In other words, even a little faith would have resulted in some degree of return.  But this guy didn’t respond at all.  He did nothing.

So Jesus concludes this teaching with a summary principle. He says in vs29 "For to everyone who has, [more] shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” If you respond in faith, you believe what you have been shown, then God gives you more knowledge, more privilege, more life.  But if you do not have, even what you have shall be taken away.  That speaks of the judgment.  If you do not have spiritual life, then the life which you do have, the temporal, natural life, will be taken away.  

That life which will be taken away is our physical life.  And Jesus relates that judgment in the parable to the man who had one talent, saying, “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  That is death, spiritual and physical death, separated by outer darkness from the kingdom of heaven, separated forever from spiritual life in Christ.

The warning should be clear.  Jesus has stated it again and again, and illustrated it three times in parables.  “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour when the Lord will come.  But He is coming, and on that day He will settle accounts. and to everyone who has, [more] shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ... 31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.  "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ... "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ...  "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

I pray that you have responded to the light of the gospel by faith, and evidence the fruit of righteousness in your life so that you will be found faithful when He comes.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13

This parable is taken from a sermon that Jesus preached which is called the Olivet Discourse. It is found in Matthew 24 and 25 and its a sermon in which Jesus speaks about His second coming.  And this particular parable is a warning parable. There are several such warning parables in this sermon.

The disciples had asked Him the question, which initiated the sermon,  “When shall these things be?” In other words, they wanted to know the time of the second coming, the time of the establishing of the Kingdom, the time of setting up the Messiah’s rule on the earth. His answer came in chapter 24, verse 36, “Of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven nor the Son, but my Father only.” He repeated it in verse 42, “Watch, therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord comes.” He repeated it in verse 44, “Therefore be also ready for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man comes.” He also repeated it in verse 50 where He says, “will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know.”

And Jesus repeats this principle again in this parable, in chapter 25:13.  “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”  This parable’s intention is to teach us the suddenness and the unexpectedness of the coming of the Lord which should call us to be ready so that we are not unprepared for His coming.

Now when He introduces this parable by saying the kingdom of heaven is to be comparable to… we should be clear as to what the phrase, “the kingdom of heaven” refers to. The kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, refers to the same thing.  It was prophesied as coming with the prophets up to and including John the Baptist.  The kingdom of heaven was inaugurated with the birth of the King, Jesus Christ and as His ministry commenced, it was said, the kingdom of heaven is here, it is in your midst.  The kingdom of heaven then is not something in the future, but it is in effect now, as Jesus Christ reigns as king of kings and Lord of Lords, in heaven at the Father’s right hand, and His kingdom is over the world - over all the world, both the righteous and the unrighteous.

The ministry of Christ and His apostles then, and our ministry, is to tell the world how they may enter into the blessings of the kingdom of heaven.  How they might become citizens of the kingdom, sons and daughters of the king, part of the court of the king, part of His administration.  But everyone on earth is in one sense a part of the Kingdom of God, they are subject to Him whether they recognize Him as King or not.  But only those that receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior inherit the blessings of the kingdom of heaven.  They are made a part of His kingdom.  Everyone who rejects Him as Lord is in rebellion, and one day they will receive judgment fitting to their rebellion.  Jesus talks about that judgment at the end of this sermon in vs 32, saying in vs31-34, 41  "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ... 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

That day of judgment is consummated at His return to earth to claim His kingdom.  He will destroy all those that rebelled against Him. He will consume with fire the earth and all that is in it.  And He will make all things new, a new heavens and a new earth.  And He will take His seat on His throne and righteousness will dwell on the earth, and those that are His people shall live in the new heavens and new earth with Him forever, whereas those who rejected Him will be cast out of the kingdom into outer darkness.  

Let me just give you a couple of glimpses of that day which are found at the end of John’s book of Revelation. I just want to pick out a few phrases which help illustrate this idea of how God’s plan for His kingdom come about at the end of the age. [Rev 19:11, 13, 15-16.  “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it [is] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ... 13 [He is] clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ... 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

And over in Rev 21:1-3 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer [any] sea.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”

Now that passage which refers to the church as the bride of Christ is especially significant in light of this parable that we are looking at today.  The church is often referred to as the bride of Christ. That analogy is better understood if you understand the way in which Jewish weddings were conducted in those days.  There were three stages to a Jewish wedding in the times. The first stage was engagement – a formal agreement made by the fathers. The second was betrothal – the ceremony where mutual promises are made. The third was the consummation of the marriage – approximately one year later when the bridegroom came at an unexpected time for his bride and there was a marriage supper and then the bridegroom took his wife to her new home.  That explains the frequent mention in scripture of the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is the time directly following the Lord’s return for the church, as a celebration of the beginning of the eternal age in which we reign with Christ forever.

So as we consider this parable which Jesus gives in the context of His return to claim His bride and consummate His kingdom, we notice that He begins by saying, “then.”  He is referring to the time of His appearing. The parable is meant to teach us that Jesus is coming. That He is coming to judge sinners and to reward the righteous. That He is coming in a sudden and unexpected moment and everyone should be prepared. And afterward there will be no second chance. People may knock all they want, but the door will be shut. The day of opportunity will be past.

Jesus begins this parable by speaking of 10 virgins, which would be the modern day equivalent  of 10 bridesmaids.  That’s who these young women were.  There is no special spiritual significance to virgins other than that they are supposed to be part of the wedding party.  They have been invited to participate in the wedding.  “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”

Theologians like to debate inconsequential things in scripture.  And there seems to be a debate on what the lamp was like.  Whether it was more of a torch on a stick or a small hand held lamp which had a bowl of oil and a floating wick, it really doesn’t matter.  They both depend upon oil as the fuel for the fire.  

The significant thing is that Jesus says five of the virgins were wise and five were foolish.  Wisdom and foolishness are often used in the Old Testament scriptures as well as in the teaching of Christ as a simile for salvation or damnation. If you are wise you build your house upon the rock, if you are foolish then you build your house upon the sand.  That principle of wise or foolish is frequently applied to either salvation or the rejection of salvation.

Now the  wisdom or foolishness of the virgins is predicated on the fact that they either brought a supply of oil for their lamps or they did not. Vs 3 "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,  but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.” Jesus makes the condition for being either wise or foolish clear; the wise have oil, the foolish do not.

The question that we are left to figure out is what does the oil signify?  The lack of oil is shown as a lack of being prepared for the Lord’s return.  It is the reason that five of the virgins are considered foolish.  It is the reason that five of the bridesmaids are locked out of the wedding feast.

Jesus doesn’t tell us what the oil is.  But He does tell us that it is essential for entry into the feast. So we can extrapolate that without oil, whatever that is, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Theologians have long debated this point as well.  But the traditional view of the Protestant faith, is that the oil signifies the Holy Spirit.  And that would seem to be the most consistent view with scripture.  

We know that the Spirit is essential for salvation. In John chapter 3, the quintessential passage of scripture regarding salvation, Jesus tells Nicodemus that you must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven.  He says this in vs 5-6 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  So salvation  comes through being reborn of the Spirit of God. Paul explains it further in Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”   So he makes it plain that having or not having the Spirit of Christ is the qualifying factor for entry into the kingdom of heaven.

But there is an Old Testament scripture I want to share which also shows this relationship with the Holy Spirit as oil.  And perhaps that is the basis for Jesus using oil as analogous to the Holy Spirit.  It’s found in the vision of Zechariah in Zech.4:1-6  “Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. He said to me, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;  also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side."  Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, "What are these, my lord?" So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."  Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.”

So there we see that the lamp is supplied continuously by the oil and the Lord says that it is by the Spirit that the lamp stand gets it’s light.  So I believe we can safely assume that the idea behind what Jesus is teaching here is that at the consummation of the kingdom some will possess the Holy Spirit and some will not, and those who do not will not be able to enter.

Now that is illustrated in the parable.  Jesus continues in vs 5 "Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and [began] to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet [him.]' Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you [too;] go instead to the dealers and buy [some] for yourselves.' And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.”

Another aspect of this story that bears consideration is Jesus says the bridegroom was delaying his return.  What that means is that there will be a time of waiting for Christ’s return.  The time is going to be delayed longer than anticipated.  And we have certainly seen that.  It’s been 2000 years since the resurrection, since the betrothal, since the bridegroom went away to prepare a house for His bride.  And the church has been expecting Christ’s return to be soon ever since. The fact that the women grew drowsy and fell asleep is not given as a condemnation, but simply as an expression of the reality of the church’s expectation beginning to wane.

However, I will say that I am seeing a lot more interest in people lately who are looking at current events and believing that the end of the age must be upon us.  And I understand that mentality.  We find it hard to believe that things can get much worse.  But the fact is that we don’t know the day nor the hour.  There have been many other periods of history when circumstances were at least as dire as they are now, if not more so.  I would suggest for instance that the time of the second world war would have been an opportune time for Jesus to return according to many people living in that day.  There had just been the Great Depression in this country, a nationwide famine, and then these world wars. Hitler would have made a great candidate for the anti-Christ. So I hesitate to look too much at world events and try to draw conclusions about when the Lord has to return.  What this parable indicates is that it’s going to be at a time when you don’t expect Him. The fact that they grow drowsy indicates that they don’t seem to think it’s going to be at that time.

But at midnight there was a shout. “Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.”  Paul says in 1Thess. 4:16 that the Lord’s return shall be preceded with a shout. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of [the] archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

When the virgins hear the shout, they rise up to meet the bridegroom.  They were to raise their lamps and go out to join Him in the procession.  But at that point the distinction between the wise and the foolish virgins is made clear.  The foolish do not have enough oil, and though they would like to borrow some from the wise virgins, they cannot do so.  The wise virgins say, “No, there will not be enough for us and you [too;] go instead to the dealers and buy [some] for yourselves.”

Now Jesus is not speaking literally here of an actual chain of events, but He is speaking allegorically. As I mentioned earlier, in vs 31 of this chapter He speaks more literally of this separation between those who are His and who are outside the kingdom.  He speaks of a judgment that will occur when He comes again and takes His throne.

Now back in the parable we see the five foolish bridesmaids return to the site of the wedding to find that the door had already been shut. That phrase is reminiscent of the door that was shut on the Ark in the days of Noah.  Jesus had referenced that earlier in this sermon in chapter 24 vs 37, saying, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,  and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” If you remember the Genesis account of the flood it says the Lord shut the door to the ark.  And likewise, the coming of the Lord effectively shuts the door to the kingdom of heaven.

Notice the foolish virgins begged the groom to open the door, crying out, “Lord, Lord!” In the Bible, the repetition of a name often communicated intimacy, such as “Abram, Abram!” or “Absalom, Absalom! or Mary, Mary!”   It indicates that those being turned away looked at the  bridegroom with a degree of intimacy.  They thought that they knew Him, they thought that they belonged to Him.  Yet, the bridegroom replied that he did not know them.

Jesus speaks of a similar thing in another sermon, one known as the Sermon on the Mount. He said in that instance in Matthew 7:21-23  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter.] "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” He is not speaking in a cognitive sense, but in a personal and familial sense.  He is saying “You do not belong to me.” “You are not of Me.” They were not born of the Spirit, and so they do not belong to the Lord.  “I do not know you.”  That’s a tragic, horrible sentence of condemnation to give to someone who obviously thought that they belonged to the kingdom of God.

This parable is not speaking about pagans who have never heard the gospel. Rather, it speaks of the danger towards those who claimed faith in Christ but have never been born again. It is a warning that while there is still time before the coming of Jesus Christ, it is not too late to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.  The Bible says that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I’m afraid that there are possibly many people in the church today, who profess to know Jesus, but Jesus does not know them.  They are not His.  The difference is they have not been born of the Spirit. In the parable Jesus says half the virgins were not allowed into the wedding feast.  We can extrapolate from that possibly 50% of people that are “in the church” are not actually saved.  When I look at the church on a national scale, those that consider themselves to be Christians, I don’t think that number is an exaggeration.

This parable calls all professing Christians to examine themselves.  To  prayerfully to discern whether they truly have been born again. Jesus concludes the parable by saying, ““Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”  In other words, He is saying, “wake up.”  Consider your situation carefully.  Don’t be lulled into sleep by apathy.  Call upon the Lord while He may be found. Make certain of your calling. 

Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

The Lord is coming back soon.  It could be today. It could be tonight while we are sleeping. We don’t know the day or the hour. But it will be at a time when we are not expecting it.  And His coming will be a sudden, final judgment which will shut the door of opportunity for salvation.  I pray that you are wise, and evaluate the time, and make sure of your salvation.

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

Today we are looking at possibly the best known and the best loved parable that we have been given in the scriptures.  It is popularly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Prodigal is a word that means wastefully extravagant, to spend or use resources recklessly.  It’s interesting that the word prodigal is not used in the Biblical account of Jesus’s words.  He never used that word.

Just to be contrary, I guess, I came up with what I think is a better title.  I am calling it The Parable of the Lost Son. I’ve heard many other possible titles over the years, but I feel that I have good reason to call it the Parable of the Lost Son because if you notice it is part of a trilogy of parables that Jesus gave on the same occasion, in response to the criticism of the Pharisees and scribes who were grumbling about Him, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

So if you notice the first two parables that Jesus gives, you will see that in the first parable it’s a parable of the lost sheep.  The shepherd leaves the 99 sheep and goes after the one that was lost.  And the second parable is the parable of the lost coin.  The woman has 10 coins, loses one, and looks for that one until she finds it.

In both of those parables, Jesus emphasizes the fact that they were lost, and they were found.  And so I think it is obvious that this next parable follows the same template, but just as an expanded version.  And as with the previous two parables, this parable concludes with the same type of expression;  Jesus says, “for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.”

What being lost indicates is that a person is without salvation. When Christianity first started it was called “the Way.” And so to miss the way to life is to be lost.  And so in this parable we will see how the way of salvation is offered and received.  We also can see from the first two parables that salvation originates from God.  In the first  parable the shepherd goes to seek the lost sheep.  The sheep isn’t looking for the shepherd, but the shepherd is looking for the sheep.  It’s a picture of what Jesus said in Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

That same principle is being emphasized in the second parable of the lost coin.  The woman who owned the coins seeks for the lost coin until she finds it.  Again a picture of the origin of our salvation is God.  As Psalm 3:8 “Salvation belongs to the LORD.”  So we understand that our salvation originates with God seeking us,  quickening us, with Him opening our eyes, and causing us to be convicted of our need for salvation.

But in this third parable of the lost son, the divine origin of our salvation is not emphasized as much, but rather the sinner’s response is emphasized.  Jesus said that the lost son “came to his senses.” He had a spiritual awakening.  We know that salvation originates with God, but nevertheless it necessitates a response from the sinner.  It is necessary for the sinner to respond to the call of salvation. And so in this parable Jesus emphasizes the response of the sinner.

Let’s look at the parable to learn what Jesus is teaching concerning salvation. Jesus said a man had two sons, and the younger son asked the father to give him his inheritance early. This would have been a brash and offensive demand to make.  Basically, the young man was saying that “I can’t wait for you to die to get my inheritance. I want it now.”  The  young man doesn’t want to live under his father’s rule anymore, but he wants to cash out so he can live the way he wants. But nevertheless, the father figured out what part the son should receive and he divided it up and gave him his share.  

The younger son then gathered all that he had, and left home, going to a distant country.  And Jesus said that while there he squandered his estate with loose living.  He wasted his inheritance in riotous living. That’s quite common among young people, to want to leave home and go somewhere that they can live without fear of reprisal by their parents or people that know them. But in pursuing this reckless lifestyle he wasted all the wealth that his father had given him.

We could dramatize this part of the story and add a lot of embellishments in hopes of making this a more relevant, or more exciting story.  But the simplified way that Jesus tells it should suffice to understand that God has given us the blessing of life, but man wants to live according to what he thinks is good and beneficial, and so he seeks to satisfy the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life in the world, according to what the world says is desirable.  But this sinful lifestyle ends in ruin.

After the son spent all his money, a severe famine came upon the land. Without any resources to fall back on, the son was compelled to earn a living by taking care of pigs. The young man was so hungry that he would have gladly eaten the food that he was feeding to the pigs. Pigs were the most unclean of all animals in the eyes of a Jew, so Jesus uses this picture to show the extent of this man’s uncleanness.  To a Jew, he could not be more unclean.  And I think Jesus adds that element to the story to illustrate that we have to come to a point of recognizing our sin for what it is, and the horror of the depravity of our sin.

Finally, the son “came to himself” and realized the severity of his situation. It’s as if he had a great awakening, his eyes were opened, and he saw his situation for what it really was. At certain times, God awakes people to their spiritual predicament.  And it takes an act of God for such a person to come awake out of their blindness. There was an event in this country in the eighteenth century which was called the Great Awakening.  It was a time when God moved to bring this nation to revival.  He used men like George Whitfield, and John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. 

Jonathan Edwards is known for one sermon in particular; Sinner’s in the Hands of an Angry God. God used this powerful message to break in to the conscience of the people, so that they felt the full weight of their sin, and they turned in repentance to the Lord.  Repentance really is the key to salvation that is expressed in all three parables here in this chapter.

Notice that in the first parable, even though the sheep showed no signs of seeking God, yet Jesus summarizes it by saying, ““I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”  Yes, God awakens, and God calls, and God initiates salvation, but it is necessary for sinners to repent.

The same principle is emphasized in the second parable of the lost coin.  When it was found, Jesus said in vs10 "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Once again, repentance is not specifically taught by the story of  the woman who found the coin that was lost, but Jesus adds that in order to show that repentance is a necessary part of salvation.

In the parable of the lost son, Jesus doesn’t say specifically that he repented, but the characteristics of repentance are clearly there.  When he came to his senses, he showed an awareness of the depravity of his sinful condition, and he recognized his need to turn from the path he was on, and return to the father. That’s repentance. It says in vs17-19  "But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”'

Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son, make me as one of your hired men.”  That is repentance, pure and simple.  He knows that he has sinned against God, and against his father.  And consequently, he is willing to turn away from that and live in service to the father if he would just accept him and forgive him.  Repentance is not just feeling sorry for the situation you find yourself in, feeling sorry for the consequences of your sin.  But true repentance is being willing to do a 180.  True repentance is being willing to die to  your reign over your life, and being willing to live for God under His reign. That is what is meant by Paul when he says in Romans 10:9 “if you confess Jesus as Lord… you shall be saved.  You relinquish the throne, and submit to Jesus as Lord.

Part of this young man’s problem was that he was in rebellion against his father.  He wanted to live as he thought best rather than submit to the father’s rule of the house.  And that is a picture of the sinner’s rebellion, wanting to live as master of their destiny, as the lord of their own house, rather than live under the control and authority of God. But when he realized that his situation was hopeless he decided to seek his father’s forgiveness.  He had a repentant heart. And it should be obvious that without that repentance, he would have remained in the same sinful condition that he was in.  2Cor. 7:10 says, “For the sorrow that is according to [the will of] God produces a repentance without regret, [leading] to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

So the repentant son made the return journey to his father’s home, planning to confess his sin to his father. He rehearsed what he would say to his father, whom perhaps he imagined would be unsympathetic to the idea of him coming home.  So he would say he was no longer worthy to be called a son, but that he hoped to be hired as a servant in his father’s household. 

But long before he was even close to the house, the father saw him coming.  Jesus said, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”  That is the most beautiful part of the story, isn’t it?  Being a father, and having had a father, I kind of get a lump in my throat every time I read that part.

His father wasn’t sitting there in front of the television, grumbling about that “no good son of mine, that ungrateful, sorry no good you know what.”  No, the indication is that the father was out looking for the son every day.  He would walk out in the middle of the road and stand there looking at the direction his son had left, hoping and praying that one day he might return.  And you can just imagine after such a long time,  how one day, the father spotted a lone figure coming down the road, way off in the distance.  The resemblance seemed faintly familiar.  And then his breath caught in his chest as he began to believe that it was his son walking back down that road. 

Men in those days wore long robes and it was definitely considered undignified for the patriarch of the tribe to be seen running.  But this father couldn’t care less what people might think.  His compassion towards his son was so great that he hiked up his robe around his waist and started running down the dusty road while his son was still way off in the distance.  Remember what we said about compassion last week in the parable of the Good Samaritan?  It’s a love that moves you.  It’s a love that calls for action.  It’s pity, and empathy, and sympathy and love all rolled up into a great big emotional roller coaster that compels you to do whatever you can to help this person in need. Jesus said the father felt compassion for the lost son, and so he started running. 

What a tremendous picture that is of our God who pursues us, who seeks for us, who finds us, who calls us, who draws us to Himself.  What compassion that caused Him to come to our rescue, to become our sacrifice, our substitute, so that we might be saved. God is not unmoved, but He has moved heaven and earth to be our Savior and Lord.

The lost son started to say the words that he had rehearsed, but the father interrupted him.  He knew that the son was repentant, otherwise he would not be walking home down this road.  But he wanted to restore him, to show his love for him, and to renew him.  So he  said to his servants, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

The father fully forgave and restored his son. He embraced his son and kissed him. Instead of rebuking him, he restores his place in the family.  He summoned the servants to bring him fine clothes that were fit for a son in his house, and a ring for his finger which was a symbol of his place in the family as a son. And he ordered his servants to prepare a great feast to celebrate the return of the lost son.  He was lost, and has been found.  He was dead and has come to life again.  Such a picture of our salvation.

Well, that would be enough of a story for me if Jesus had just stopped there.  I kind of wish that He would have.  Because this last section has among certain theologians overshadowed the first part of the story.  And I think that is a mistake.  I think the first part of this story is the main part of the story.  Its’ the story of salvation; the story of repentance and restoration.

But nevertheless, Jesus added this last section for good reason.  Let’s see if we can find out why.  The older brother heard the noise of the celebration as he was returning from working in the field. And he asks the servants what’s going on.  Their answer angered him.  “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.”  And because of his anger he would not go in to the celebration.

His father came out of the house and began pleading with him. “But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

Now what is Jesus saying in this section? I think the answer is very simple and straightforward.  I think it was a gentle rebuke of the Pharisees. Remember at the beginning of this chapter?  The scribes and Pharisees were grumbling because tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus.  They said, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

I think the Pharisees were jealous of the fact that grace was being shown to sinners.  They thought they had stayed home, so to speak, and obeyed the Father, while these sinners had been living in the world and doing all kinds of things that were against the commandments.  They wanted to see such people punished and their own behavior rewarded.  But Jesus makes the point that we are saved by grace, not by works.  And only when you realize that you are sinner in need of grace, and are willing to repent of your sins, can you be saved.  And I think he makes the point that if you have been truly saved by grace, you will not begrudge others that come to salvation by grace, and in fact you will rejoice over them, along with all the hosts of heaven.

“As the father said in the parable, ‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”  Let’s not lose sight of the primary message of this story, how the lost son was found, how the dead have begun to live.  It’s the story of the compassion of the Father being so great, that his mercy resulted in forgiveness, and his grace resulted in restoration and life.  Let us be sure we have returned to the Father in faith and repentance, confessing our sins, and asking for restoration and new life.  And not be found as the Pharisees, thinking they had no need of repentance because they trusted in their good deeds. Jesus came to seek and to save those that were lost.  Recognizing that you are lost, and in repentance turning to the Lord is the way to life. 

Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37

Today we are looking at another parable of Jesus which is called the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  That’s a title that was given by the translators and editors of the original manuscripts.  It’s not phrase that would have been understood by Jesus’s audience.  That phrase would have been considered by Jesus’s listeners as an oxymoron.  In the opinion of most Jews of that day, the only good Samaritan would have been a dead Samaritan.  Samaritans were considered people of the lowest, most despicable character.  They were half breeds who were the descendants of those Jews left in the land of Israel during the exile under the rule of the Assyrians and who had intermarried with their oppressors and produced an offspring called the Samaritans.  They not only were looked down upon, but the Samaritans themselves added insult to injury by building their own temple and adapting certain pagan rituals in their worship.

But before we delve too far into all the particulars of the Samaritan in Jesus’s story, we must consider the context in which Jesus gives this story.  It is given in response to a conversation with a lawyer, an expert in Jewish law.   And the lawyer asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life. Notice how Luke describes it though.  “And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

It would seem that this man was not genuinely seeking the wisdom of Jesus concerning eternal life because he recognized that Jesus was the Son of God and was the way to life.  But his motive seems to be to put Jesus to the test.  He is trying to catch Jesus saying something that was contrary to the law. The religious rulers were constantly testing Jesus, trying to entrap Him in something that He might say.  

So this lawyer asks a good question, but with an ulterior motive.  In fact, it’s the most important question that any person could ask. You could say that it is mankind’s greatest question, which reveals man’s greatest need.  We looked a couple of weeks ago at the rich, young ruler who asked virtually the same question; “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Unlike this lawyer, the young ruler’s question was sincere.  But Jesus answered him much the same way that he answered this man.  In answer to his question, Jesus turned him to the law.  

Now this man was a lawyer - he was supposed to be an expert in interpreting Biblical law.  And so Jesus responds to his question with a question; Vs 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 

I think it’s noteworthy that when this lawyer or the rich young ruler asked how to enter into eternal life, Jesus did not give them a gospel tract and tell him to repeat the sinner’s prayer after me. You know, 21st century evangelical Christianity wants their theology reduced down  to a simple formula.  Do these three things, or take these three steps and “presto” you are saved, you will avoid hell, and you will live forever in heaven.  But Jesus never seems to use a formula or a prescription for salvation.  He rarely gives a pat answer.  Jesus’s response should raise a caution flag for us when we try to teach people how to lead someone to salvation through some formulaic prayer.

In fact, seemingly contrary to all evangelical, grace dominated church doctrine, Jesus turns this man to the law.  That would seem to put the Romans Road plan of salvation on it’s ear.  Except, if you listen carefully to what Jesus taught, He isn’t teaching that keeping the law is the way to salvation.  He is teaching that righteousness is the means of salvation. Jesus points them to the law so that they might understand God’s standard of righteousness. But as Paul says in Galatians 3:24 that the law is our schoolteacher to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. The law reveals God’s standard of righteousness which we all fall short of, necessitating a righteousness which we receive from Christ by faith.

So Jesus refers this man to the law to show this man his need for salvation.  And the lawyer  responds by quoting the two great commandments, which as Jesus said in Matthew 22 all the law was summarized in these two commandments.  And the lawyer shows that he obviously knows that as well by his response, saying; “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

The amazing thing though is how Jesus responds to this man’s answer.  Jesus says, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”  Jesus unconditionally says “if you do these two commandments you will have eternal life.” Now that would seem to fly in the face of evangelical, reformed doctrine.  But we have to accept it as Jesus said it, without caveat.

However, let me hasten to say that perfect obedience to the law is righteousness.  Jesus is not saying occasional righteousness gives eternal life.  He is not saying that if your righteousness outweighs your unrighteousness then you will be saved.  He is saying perfectly keeping the law is perfect righteousness and therefore you have no sin, and consequently, there is no punishment for sin which is death. So you will live. 

But keeping the foremost commandment is impossible if you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. If you really love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, then you will have saving faith in Jesus Christ. To believe in Him, to trust Him, to follow Him, to have faith in Him are all ways in which you love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

The problem is that this lawyer doesn’t believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. So he may claim that he loves Jehovah, but he really doesn’t love Him, because He doesn’t believe in Him.  Jesus said in John 5:21-24 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,  so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” So Jesus would say that “I and the Father are One.”  If you reject Jesus, then you cannot love God.

However, from his next answer the lawyer makes it clear that he thinks he has the first commandment locked down, and if there is any concern he has it’s about the second commandment.  So he will narrow down the possibility of failing that commandment by asking Jesus another trick question. Luke says that wanting to justify himself he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Notice, he wanted to justify himself.  We saw a moment ago in Galatians that Paul said that the law was meant to be a schoolteacher to turn us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  But this man thinks that he is justified by keeping the law.  But the law convicts him, and so he wants to find a way to justify himself. He wants to find a way to be able to believe he is keeping the requirements of the law.

So his question is really a means to try to escape the conviction of the law.  But he felt he was justified in that respect, because the religious Jews of that day narrowly defined who qualified as a neighbor by only including other Jews who lived righteously.  Never in a million years would the average Jew consider a Gentile as a neighbor, or a Samaritan a neighbor, or even a Jewish person whom they considered to be a sinner to be a neighbor.

So Jesus tells a parable in order to answer the man’s question, who is my neighbor.  It’s very important to recognize that Jesus does not tell this story to illustrate how to enter into eternal life.  A lot of people have erred into a social gospel through misunderstanding the purpose of this parable.  It is not to answer the question “how to enter eternal life,” but to answer “who is my neighbor?”

The parable begins with a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. These two cities were separated by seventeen miles of desolate countryside. This particular highway was notoriously dangerous and would have been well known at least by reputation among the Jews. Merchants would often travel this road in order to sell their wares in Jericho. The desolate and rocky terrain made this road a popular site for raids by bandits. 

It’s interesting to notice that Jesus does not describe this man with any ethnic or nationalistic or religious characteristics. He is just a man.  There are no defining marks to put him into a specific category of people.  Jesus just simply identifies him as a man traveling on this road, and he fell among robbers.  I’m sure that on that road robbery was a well known risk, and  in this case, the man fell victim to what was already a high probability.

Jesus said not only did they rob him, but they beat him and stripped him of his clothes and possessions and left him lying on the side of the road half dead.  This man suffered terrible consequences for his decision to take this road.  Obviously, not everyone faced the same consequences even though they made a similar decision.  But the point should be made that as Christians we do not rush to judgment about a person because they suffer the consequences of a bad decision. How and why they are in the predicament that they are in is not our concern as much as how we are to respond to their need.

And to make that point, Jesus introduces two other characters into the story.  He says in vs 31, “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.”

Most of you know that I just got back from a trip to LA yesterday.  And I could not help but be reminded of this story as I walked down certain streets in LA and saw the many homeless people that live on the sidewalks in certain areas. Some of the homeless you see look like they are physically capable enough I guess to take care of themselves to some degree.  A lot of them though seem mentally challenged, perhaps through addiction to drugs or alcohol.  And every once in a while you see a person who is laying on the street, and you can’t really tell if they are ok or not.  And you are kind of afraid to find out.  The homeless situation out there is so dire, so out of control, that it seems overwhelming.  You really don’t know where to begin, and so you tend to just keep walking, to pass by and try to put it out of your mind.  It’s easier if you say to yourself that they are on drugs, that they brought it on themselves, that they could go in a shelter if they wanted to, but they want to live like that.  We make all kinds of rationales in order to justify ourselves.

But we are negligent in our comprehension of this law of loving our neighbor if we only relate it to homeless people we see on the street.  This parable teaches that anyone that we cross in our path is our neighbor, whether or not we identify with them culturally, financially, geographically, or by any other metric which we might use to make distinctions about people.

Now Jesus doesn’t elaborate on how the priest or the Levite justified passing the man by.  It’s noteworthy though that the distinction that He makes about them is they are of the religious order of the Jews.  They worked in the temple.  They were the religious leaders of Judaism. If anyone should have been attuned to the requirements that God expressed concerning how we are to treat one another then these guys should have been prime examples.  And yet Jesus shows that the religious leaders did nothing for this man.  They passed on the other side of the street.  That indicates that they wanted to distance themselves from the situation as much as possible.

You know, I used to hear a phrase in the church growing up, which was “There, but by the grace of God, go I.” It was used in conjunction with seeing someone who had fallen into sin, that had been overcome by some vice or calamity.  I hope it was used in the right way,  humbly recognizing that if it had not been for the grace of God which delivered them, then they could be where that person is.  That but for the saving grace of God they would be homeless,  they would be addicted, or they would be in financial or physical ruin.  As Christians, we should have a heightened view of our sinfulness and overflowing gratitude for the grace of God which delivered us.  And consequently, we should have compassion on those who are still captured by such circumstances.

Any number of possible excuses might have kept these two religious leaders from helping the beaten man. They might have said this man should have avoided this road at that time of day.  He brought it on himself. They might have said I am in a hurry, I can’t miss my appointment.  Or I can’t afford to touch this man lest I become unclean and won’t be able to perform my duties in the temple.  Or their excuse might have been that it could be a trap.  Or maybe the man is already too far gone, there is nothing I can do to help him.  But whatever the excuses, at the end of the day that was all that they were - excuses.

Then Jesus introduces a Samaritan who was traveling down the road.  The very use of that term Samaritan eliminated in the minds of the Jews any inherent good in this man.  He was someone who was avoided by God fearing Jews.  They would travel an extra day to avoid having to cross into Samaria. After all, when the inhabitants of Judah returned from exile in Babylon, they experienced opposition and antagonism from the Samaritans. And so perhaps they thought they were justified in treating them with contempt.  So for Jesus to cast this Samaritan in the light of someone who kept the law of God would have been shocking and disturbing to them.

Jesus introduces the Samaritan, saying in vs 33 "But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,  and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on [them;] and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”

You know, the Samaritan was probably in a hurry as well.  Jesus said he was on a journey, and later on the Samaritan said when he returned he would stop again and pay whatever was owed.  So he had someplace to be, and somewhere to go.  He wasn’t just out for a Sunday drive and had nothing better to do.  It was probably inconvenient for him.  But nevertheless, he saw a man in need, and put everything else aside in order to tend to this man’s needs.

I want to point out his motivation for doing what he did.  Jesus said he felt compassion. Compassion means sympathy or empathy, it can mean love, pity, concern.  I feel confident that Jesus used it in the sense of love. After all, the law said you shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Compassion is a form of love that indicates action.  It’s not just feeling sympathy or pity for someone and moving on and eventually not thinking about it any more.  But compassion means being moved into action.

Compassion in Strong’s Greek dictionary is defined literally as being moved in one’s bowel’s.  Now before you jump to conclusions, the bowels were considered at that time to be the seat of love and pity.  We might think that sounds odd, but yet we use similar expressions sometimes, such as “gut wrenching” to describe something that moves you in the pit of your stomach. Fear can cause that kind of response, and I suppose love could as well.  But it’s noteworthy to see how often the word compassion is used in the New Testament in relation to Jesus.  He was frequently moved with compassion when He saw the lost sheep of Israel, the Jews. And it always spurred Him to act on their behalf, whether it was to feed them or heal them or teach them.   To have compassion is not to remain unmoved, but to be moved to act in love towards someone.

And notice how the compassion of the Samaritan for this stranger, possibly even someone who would have considered him a natural enemy, resulted in such loving care for his needs.  He goes above and beyond to ensure that this man will have a full recovery.  Jesus said “he felt compassion,  and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on [them;] and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’”

So not only does he stop to help and tend to his wounds, but he actually spent the night there  with him.  That probably really upset his plans for his trip.  And then he not only did he use his provisions and his horse or donkey to carry the burden of this man, but he also used his own money, and promised to pay whatever was needed when he returned.  I think that idea of returning is sorely missed in a lot of our evangelism today.  I remember many years ago seeing a man who was supposedly a really great soul winner, who would just witness to anyone at the drop of a hat, I saw him supposedly lead a young man to the Lord one night.  And after he had led him in the sinner’s prayer, he said “Praise God, but I have somewhere to go” and he left right away.  I was the liaison between these two men, and I couldn’t help but notice over the next few years that the soul winner never asked once how the young man was doing, was he still living for the Lord. We are not told to make converts, but to make disciples.  That requires an investment in time, in revisiting that person, to stay in touch, to follow up.  Not to chalk one up for the kingdom and keep moving on like you’re in a basketball game.  This Samaritan shows his compassion is legitimate, because he comes back to check on him and to follow up.

So having given the illustration, Jesus returns to the lawyer’s question, once again by asking him a question.  Jesus said “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' [hands?]”  Even a child should have been able to answer that question after hearing this story.  The lawyer answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” And Jesus said, “you have answered correctly.  Go and do the same.”

Of the three passerby’s, the Samaritan was the only one who showed mercy to the injured man. The neighbor wasn’t the one who only felt sorry, or saw the plight, or passed by, but the one who acted in mercy towards someone who crossed their path. Love is showing mercy.

But Jesus’s parable does not simply encourage us to have compassion upon those
who we see are in need who we find some affinity with. But it also teaches us that our concept of neighbor is not limited by national or ethnic or geographical characteristics.  Every human being is our neighbor whom we are to love as much as we love ourselves.

I also think that there is another story that is being presented in this parable which is sort of like a story within a story.  I think it’s the story of salvation, and our need to be the means of bringing salvation to the world.  We are to be the supply of the greatest need humankind faces.  The need for eternal life.

Jesus said in John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have [it] abundantly.” He is talking about the devil and his angels; they are the thieves, the robbers on the road of life, that lay wait and prey upon unsuspecting men and women.  People that perhaps are naive, that are foolish, that are on the road of life and they think they are going to be ok.  And somehow or another they fall into the hands of robbers.  The devil attacks them, robs them. His intention is to destroy them, to kill them. 

And unfortunately, most of what is considered organized religion fails to help those who have fallen into sin.  As Paul said in Romans 3:23 all have sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God.  We are all dead in our trespasses and sins.  Satan has deceived us. He has robbed us of the life that God had given us.  But God so loved the world, He had such great compassion on us, that He left the throne of heaven to come down to our level, to pick us up from the side of the road and bandage us up, to pay the price for our redemption, for our salvation.  And one day He is coming back for us.  

As the children of God, as people who have been born again of God, we are to be like Christ in the world, having compassion on the world. Going to a world that is sick, that is dying, that is wounded and bleeding because of the deceit and robbery of the evil one. And we are to bring the message of forgiveness, of reconciliation, of spiritual healing, and of eternal life. The greatest need of the world is Jesus Christ.  Not just to give some down and out guy a bowl of soup and a pat on the back and send him on his way, but give him the Bread of Life and the Water of Life, by which he will never hunger and thirst again, by which he might have life and have it more abundantly.  

We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves.  To see their greatest need and be the supply of that need for the sake of Christ. The greatest problem in the world affecting mankind is not hunger, it’s not climate change, it’s not Covid 19, the greatest problem in the world is sin and the death that reigns because of sin.  So then if that’s the greatest problem in the world, then the greatest question in the world is “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”  And we have the answer; Confess Jesus Christ as Lord and you shall be saved. 

Let us show mercy and compassion towards our neighbors, and share with them the saving knowledge of the gospel.  Let us not be like the religious people who passed by the man on the side of the road, but realize that God has commanded us to love our neighbor, and show compassion towards them by leading them to Christ.