Luke 14:1-6

In Luke chapter 14 we see that Jesus had been going through a long discourse giving numerous examples of the wickedness of the human heart and the heart specifically of the pharisees. As we read, I want you to ask yourself the “why” questions.Questions like, what is Jesus' aim? What is his point? Why is he asking that? Why did he say that? Hopefully Christ will take this time open our hearts to Him as we grow in His Word.

Luke 14:1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5 And he said to them, "Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?" 6 And they could not reply to these things.

Verse 14 starts with Jesus at the house of one of the chief pharisees for dinner and it then says that they were watching him intently.  Why so intently? I believe they were trying to find something to use against him.  Jesus had healed on the Sabbath before and they knew it.  Yet here they were, watching his every move. They listened to him.  And Jesus knowing what was in their hearts did what they were hoping for.  Only their hope was misplaced. They were hoping for a reason to criticize him, to accuse him. They didn't care that a man that had dealt with such a serious sickness was healed.  After all, he was a sinner. In fact, according to their Pharisaical customs, he shouldn't even have been invited. He was unclean and there was a chance of his uncleanness rubbing off on them making the pharisees unclean too.  Yet here he was, with his dropsy or edema on full display (it was a condition that caused swelling in parts of the body). This was a very visible illness.  Often times, the Hebrews believed that it was divine punishment for sin- even sexual sin.  So they knew for sure that he was a base creature, that he was unclean. But they invited him anyhow- even if it was just for bait to catch Jesus with.

Yet Christ wasn't fooled. He had healed the man- on the Sabbath no less. The very same day they were so adamant about protecting. Yet no sooner than he had healed the man, he addressed the Pharisees in their own sinfulness. Jesus began to question them.  But the Pharisees remained quiet.  They knew that either answer that they could give would make them look like fools.  Fools for not wanting their kinsman to be healed or fools for blatantly ignoring the facts facing them, i.e. that they were guilty before God.  This is especially true as the questions he asked them seared their hearts.  Which of you who have a son, cow or donkey fall, sits back as they fall into a ditch? What did you do when something that belonged to you, something that was dear and precious to you, had fallen into the earth? Furthermore, what did you do when it happened on the Sabbath? Did you leave them there and wait till the following day? Or did you stage a rescue?  Did you work on the Sabbath to get back the very thing that you lost? Jesus candidly pointed out the wickedness in their hearts.

In this story, Jesus also points out the wickedness in our own hearts. In our own hearts where our wicked desires live, we create our own hypocrisies.  We often set rules for others that we easily break because we have our own "reasons." We often do so void of instruction from the Lord. Like the folk in Mark 10:48, And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me... We try to act like holy club bouncers, refusing to let people in because they don't "look the part." We create bars and tell people that they have to live to this standard or that standard and condemn them when they fall short. We do this at the same time as we plead to God for mercy. Often we easily portray ourselves as the pharisee looking down on the sinner.  Both prayed to God, but only one left justified (and it wasn't the pharisee).  

The point is this, we are called to have mercy, even as we beg for mercy.  It is hypocrisy to do otherwise.  It is a slap in the face to our consciences and we grieve the Holy Spirit in our actions.  That's why Jesus told his followers to hear the pharisees, but to not do, act or behave like them or else they (and you) would be found wanting.  

Mercy is a gift. One that is easily bestowed on others, yet so easily withheld. But as Christians we are called to mercy. Even when dealing with egregious sins.  This does not mean that sin does not have consequences.  But it does mean that our outward dealings with others must be done under the banner of Christ and in the mind of the Spirit.  If we belong to him, then we must recognize that a weak brother or sister is our own family and we are called to pull them out of the ditch as if it were ourselves. 

Fix that Scripture!!!! p1

What I am going to do from now on is a continual segment called "FIX THAT SCRIPTURE!!!" What's going to happen is when I come across a scripture that someone has preached upon incorrectly, I am going to point it out and fix it. I think at this point I am not going to give you the individuals' names because I am not sure if it is going to be of use (but that might change). The main point is to correct the teaching so that you can truly learn biblical exegesis (allowing the scripture to speak for itself). Sadly, in today's prophetical (read: hear it preached from someone else without doing any study for yourself to verify that what was said lines up with the Word) atmosphere a lot of individuals are taking the scriptures and making them say what they were not originally intended for. Sometimes the stretches are small, sometimes the stretches are as far as the east is from the west. Nevertheless, we have a duty to present the Gospel of our Lord without error. Before we get started, let's go over some ground rules:

1.) Scripture must be viewed in light of -

the context that it was written in

to whom it was written to

why the author wrote it {the meaning} (already understanding that it was the Lord who

directed it)

2.) Scripture must be interpreted by scripture.

Scripture never contradicts scripture, it is on us to search diligently to find out why

some things may seem that way and correct our understanding

Great, let's begin.

I just heard an emergent preacher speaking on the "Prodigal Son." [Luke 15:11-24 pull out your bible and read along or you can open up the link to the BLB verse] Now for years, I too believed the way he interpreted this particular scripture to be correct. However, I have since learned that it was wrong. In fact, the way that it was presented (and also by most folk that preach it) is very man-centered. Here is the way it was presented.

"The greedy son goes to his father and asks him for his inheritance. the father concedes as the young man hurries off to live his life without a care in the world. After some time has passed, all his money is gone and he is working a menial job where the pigs are eating better than he is. Sitting in his state of bewilderment, he has an epiphany. He realizes that his father still has plenty to eat and the servants are much better off than he is at that present point. In realizing his foolishness in wasting his inheritance and spurning his father, he resolves to go back home to ask for forgiveness (and food). Upon returning home, his father rushes out to meet him and because the son came back there is rejoicing because now all is well!" But it isn't.

You see, the problem with this retelling and flawed focus is that all of our eyes become fixed upon the son. In the man-friendly telling of this parable, everything revolves around the son instead of where the attention should be- his father. Had the father not shown mercy to the son, there would not have been a happy ending. Had the father refused to even hear him, his trip would have been in vain. After I first heard that the "father" was the focus of the story, I couldn't see it. Then I too had an epiphany. If we look at the scriptures in Luke 15 leading up to vs 11, we see Christ alluding to why He would eat with the unscrupulous folk. The pharisee were livid with Jesus for entreating the sinners and publicans. In their eyes, Jesus should have ignored them so as not to be bothered or contaminated by their presence. However, the exact opposite happens as Jesus begins the parables of the "lost sheep" and the "lost coin." Both of these were set ups for the "Prodigal Son" in that it was the owners of their lost things that were searching them out. The sheep didn't go looking for the Shepperd and the coin didn't look for its mistress. Likewise, it is the father looking to reconcile with the son that gives the story merit. It is through the desire, love and mercy of the father that the son was not punished further than what he had already dealt with. In fact, the son realized this as well when he vowed to repent before the father and acknowledge that the father had the full right to deny him son-ship. The son knew full and well that he did not even deserve to be a servant in his father's house. It is when we look at our own sinfulness in the light of the sovereignty of our LORD, that we can then understand that it is God through Christ Jesus that has searched for and brought us out of our rebellious ways. We must never forget the never-ending and immutable omnipotence of God. It is through HIS sheer pleasure alone that any of us have come to salvation. This is the same thing that Paul speaks of in Romans 9:15-16. For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Furthermore, before folk jump up and cry about man "deciding" to come to Christ, Jesus himself says in John 6:44, "No man can come to me, except the FATHER which hath sent me draw him..."

The preacher that I heard made the error in placing "the return" on the son when in fact "the return" rested squarely on the shoulders of the father. How magnificently that parlays into our finite understanding. By focusing on the son in this parable he effectively went contrary to scripture and lessened the supremacy of the Father in our eyes. Friends, our Father in heaven reigns supreme and we must not allow any thought otherwise to enter our minds. Likewise, we should exalt HIS Holy Word high above our vain imaginations. We must continue to strive for Sola Scriptura because a proper understanding of the nature of God rests on it!