I never thought I’d get this far. Day 300!
The parable of the great banquet
Luke 14:15-24
The cost of discipleship
Luke 14:25-35
The lost sheep
Luke 15:1-7
The lost coin
Luke 15:8-10
The lost son
Luke 15:11-32
The unjust steward
Luke 16:1-13
More teaching
Luke 16:14-18
The rich man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
The theme that is dominating Jesus’ mind at the moment is the sheer ungratefulness o the Jews. After all that God has done for them, they spurn his gifts, refuse his offer of love and go their own way. Time after time. The parable of the great banquet shows people committing a terrible social crime - first accepting an invitation and then making last minute excuses. People in Jesus’ culture would never dream of doing this. But they do it to God. The parable contains a final slap in the face - the master ends up inviting the poor, the blind the crippled and the lame, the very people that would be excluded from Jewish worship.
He goes on to demonstrate God’s amazing persistence in the three stories of something lost - the sheep, the coin and the son. In each case, the one who has lost something never gives up. The final parable is more complicated, and includes an older brother who has been a good boy. Presumably the pharisees would associate themselves with the older brother. But he can’t cope with the mercy shown to his younger brother. It seems that the pharisees can cope better with God’s wrath than with his mercy.
All Jesus’ parables at the moment seem to be aimed at the pharisees - attacking their love of money, attacking their brittle righteousness that is scandalised by forgiveness, and builds barriers against people not like them. They are uncomfortable to read, because so many Christians, myself included, are just like that.
The parable of the great banquet
Luke 14:15-24
The cost of discipleship
Luke 14:25-35
The lost sheep
Luke 15:1-7
The lost coin
Luke 15:8-10
The lost son
Luke 15:11-32
The unjust steward
Luke 16:1-13
More teaching
Luke 16:14-18
The rich man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
The theme that is dominating Jesus’ mind at the moment is the sheer ungratefulness o the Jews. After all that God has done for them, they spurn his gifts, refuse his offer of love and go their own way. Time after time. The parable of the great banquet shows people committing a terrible social crime - first accepting an invitation and then making last minute excuses. People in Jesus’ culture would never dream of doing this. But they do it to God. The parable contains a final slap in the face - the master ends up inviting the poor, the blind the crippled and the lame, the very people that would be excluded from Jewish worship.
He goes on to demonstrate God’s amazing persistence in the three stories of something lost - the sheep, the coin and the son. In each case, the one who has lost something never gives up. The final parable is more complicated, and includes an older brother who has been a good boy. Presumably the pharisees would associate themselves with the older brother. But he can’t cope with the mercy shown to his younger brother. It seems that the pharisees can cope better with God’s wrath than with his mercy.
All Jesus’ parables at the moment seem to be aimed at the pharisees - attacking their love of money, attacking their brittle righteousness that is scandalised by forgiveness, and builds barriers against people not like them. They are uncomfortable to read, because so many Christians, myself included, are just like that.
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