LUKE CHAPTER 16
SCRIPTURE
Today I will summarize Luke Chapter 16 where Jesus spoke two extremely controversial things about hell and divorce. Where Jesus spoke about a dishonest manager. Jesus started telling the people a story. He said,” There was a dishonest manager who was defrauding his employer and stealing money. His employer said,” I heard you are a thief.” “Give me all your records and you will be fired.” The man became sacred and said,” What am I going to do? I am too weak for manual labor. I am too proud to beg. I know I’ll steal some more. I ‘ll tell all of my employer customers that they now have less debt and I’ll sign off on it. That day they will hopefully let me stay with them when I get fired.” And that is what he did. But his employer found out and called him into his office. His employer said,” I have to hand it to you. That was pretty shrewd I’m impressed you were thinking about the future for once.
Now get out. You’re fired. Jesus said, “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones. Whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones. If you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth? If you have not been faithful to what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you? No servant can e the slave of two masters. He will hate one and love the other. You cannot serve both God and money. The Pharisees who loved money heard Jesus’s words and scoffed at him. Jesus said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of men. But God knows your hearts. The things that I highly esteemed among men are detestable in God’s sight. For Example, you are righteous but you get divorced and marry as many times as you like. You don’t consider God’s law about adultery.
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery and he who marries an already divorced woman commits adultery as well. You are not innocent or righteous in God’s eyes. It’s easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of the letter of the law to fail. You think you can do whatever you want to do and you convince yourselves that you are righteous and that you are going to heaven you are wrong. Jesus told the Pharisees and the people this story. He said,” I am going to use people’s names so you don’t think that is a parable. This is real. There is a rich man who is habitually dressed in fine clothes and happily lived in splendor every day. A poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate. So, perhaps the rich man would have compassion and give him something to eat but he did not. Even the dogs came and licked Lazarus’s skin where he had open sores.
One day Lazarus died and angels carried him to a place called Abraham’s bosom or paradise. The rich man also died one day but his soul descended into hell. In Hades, he lifted his eyes. He was in torment. He saw Abraham and Lazarus far away. He cried and said,” Abraham, please send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool off my tongue. I’m in agony in this ragging fire. Abraham said,” remember in your life you had good things. Lazarus had very bad things.
But things are different in the afterlife. Also, there is a great canyon between you and us. No one can pass over this canyon even if they wanted to. The rich man then said,” Abraham, then please do this one thing for me. Send Lazarus back from the dead. I have five brothers. Have Lazarus warn them not to come to this hellish nightmare. Abraham said,” No, they have Moses and the prophet’s writings but they murid and listen to them. The rich man replied,” No, they will not listen to them. They will only listen and repent if someone comes back from the dead. Abraham said,” You’re wrong, you don’t understand how any of this works. If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets of God; they will not be persuaded if someone raises from the dead to warn them to repent and to avoid hell at all costs.
OBSERVATION
The thing I think the Lord wants us to understand after reading this chapter is that he wants everyone to do things today that will positively affect their eternal future. He wants us to see that being faithful to the resources that he owns is some sort of test for the next life. God wants us to see that he considers getting a divorce and marrying someone else as committing adultery. And God wants us to see from the facts that Jesus gave about the rich man and Lazarus that hell is real and it is a horrible place. God wants us to see that before Jesus paid the price on the cross as a ransom for many that righteous people like Abraham went to a place called Abraham’s bosom or paradise that was close enough to Hades that they could see people there. Of course, all of that changed once Jesus defeated hell and death, and now the righteous immediately go to a place called heaven when they die. Jesus spoke about some very controversial things in this chapter. When you hear those words what is your immediate reaction to them? Do you recoil or reject them? Do you embrace them? I hope you do embrace them with open arms that’s partially what surrendering to the lord means. Repent for your sin and place your faith in Christ for salvation right now.
Prayer
Father God,
You have shown yourself faithful throughout Scripture. Thank you for being faithful in our lives too. Forgive us for all those times we have doubted you in the past and at times, taken things into our hands, and not trust you with our situation. You love us and want the best for us. Your love for us is immeasurable and unconditional. Everything that happens in our lives you allow, even if it’s painful at times. Remind us that “you work all things for our good for those who love you.” (Romans 8:28) Prompt us in our moments of doubt to never forget all the things you have done in our lives. Never forget that you sent your very own son to die a brutal death on the cross at Calvery because you love us. (John 3:16) To never forget all the answered prayers and comfort you have provided us over the years. Never forget that you are God, and we will one day spend eternity with you. Never forget that your “plans for us are good as they are plans to prosper us and not to harm us, they are plans that give us hope and future” (Jeremiah 29:11) Lord, we trust you today because you are faithful, and we know your faithfulness never runs dry. We love you and remember you, we remember all that you are, and we remember all that you have done today. Dear Lord no matter what trials await us tomorrow, may we never forget the blessings you have shown us. Help me cling to you as my anchor. Help me remember your steadfast love and faithfulness for me. Gracious father may I lift my heart and my hands to you. May I pray consistently, faithfully, and honestly. Help me father, to remain in communication with you as I live my life each day at work with my colleagues or at home with my family or when I am alone. Father give me the grace to pray and persevere when I ‘m hurting or being tempted to cut off our conversation. I ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
