Community Bible Study -- LUKE

Text of Luke 16:19-17:37 Presentation, Lesson 16

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The Rich Man and Lazarus; the 10 Healed Lepers; the Signs of Jesus' 2nd Coming

Last week's lesson discussed the Parables of the Prodigal Son and the Dishonest Manager. One theme was the "new and improved" value system of Jesus the Messiah. Jesus proclaimed: "You cannot serve both God and Money" (16:13) . . . which upset the Pharisees because they believed wealth was a sign of God's blessing. Rich people gave more to the temple than poor people - as they do in churches today - so serving God and getting money seemed interrelated (16:14). The Pharisees did insist that pursuit of money must be done according to the rules of the oral law . . . but the oral law allowed "acceptable" ways to cheat (ref Mk 7:10-13).

Jesus tells a parable to contrast his point of view with that of the Pharisees. There was "a rich man who . . . lived in luxury every day" and "a beggar named Lazarus," who lay begging "at his gate" (16:19-20). Lazarus is not begging because he is lazy; he is very sick: "covered with sores" (16:20). The Pharisees believe the rich man is blessed by God . . . but Lazarus' illness is the result of a sin he committed - or maybe one that his parents or grandparents or greatgrandparents committed.

As Jesus defined his "new and improved" Messianic value system last week, he said people should "use worldly wealth to gain friends . . . so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings" (16:9). Let's ask: "When is our worldly wealth gone?" It's gone when we spend it all . . . or it's gone when we die. Ancient Egyptians believed wealth could be taken into the afterlife; but Jews did not.

And let's also ask: "How do we 'use worldly wealth to . . . be welcomed into eternal dwellings'"? It's not rocket science. According to God's law in the bible, every Jew is required to help less fortunate Jews (cf Lev 25, esp Lev 25:35); and judging from his name, Lazarus is a Jew. The Jews of Jesus' day had an obligation to give to the needy (Matt 6:2): modern Jews have the same obligation - which they call "tzedakah." The rich man is surely aware of this obligation. Judging from his "purple and fine linen" apparel (16:19), he is filthy rich, so he has more than enough to share - which is why Lazarus parks at his gate. But the rich man does not even give Lazarus the food that "fell from (his) table" (16:21). This isn't 21st century America; a Legal Aid attorney won't sue the rich man, claiming the table scraps made Lazarus ill. And don't think the rich man is been too busy to notice the beggar at his gate . . . later in the story the rich man recognizes Lazarus and knows his name! No . . . the rich man lacks compassion, and refuses to follow God's law. And Jesus sets "the bar" really low in this parable: Lazarus will be happy with the food that falls from the rich man's table: the rich man's garbage.

Here's the subtlety: under the oral law of the Pharisees, the rich man is believed to be blessed by God because he is rich. He has a religious obligation to help less fortunate Jews; but the proof of his blessing is his wealth. If he does not give alms to poor beggars like Lazarus yet remains rich . . . he must be OK. Jesus, on the other hand, says being wealthy is not a sign of God's blessing . . . that if the rich man fails to help the poor as God's law requires, he is a law-breaker: a sinner. And God's punishment for sin is eternal damnation - the "flip side" of eternal life (cf Rom 6:23).

Both men in the parable die at about the same time. To the rich man's surprise, he is taken to "hell, where he was in torment" (16: 23). Remember the scene in chapter 13, in which unfaithful Jews look through a window into heaven and see outsiders taking their places in a great banquet with Abraham, and themselves locked out (13:28)? The rich man is one of those unfaithful Jews. He can to "look up" into heaven "far away" and see "Abraham . . . with Lazarus by his side" (16: 23). What a shock; the Pharisees are wrong! He's not blessed . . . he's damned!!

Now we see a new definition of chutzpah. The rich man, who would rather throw food away than give it to Lazarus, asks Abraham to send Lazarus to relieve some of his "agony" in hell (16:24). Abraham patiently explains this isn't possible. The rich man stoically accepts his fate - does he have a choice? Then he says to Abraham: "I beg you, . . . send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment" (16:27-28).

Then comes the exchange that I think is so neat:

Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them." "No, father Abraham," (The rich man) said, "if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." (Abraham) said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead" (16:29-31).

Bingo! "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." And soon after Jesus uttered these words, he did rise from the dead . . . and most Jews still were not convinced.

Jesus really lays down the gauntlet in this parable. He claims the oral law is misleading the Jews about salvation. That's a heavy indictment! The rich man in the parable is not a nice man, but I think we can assume he has followed the oral law . . . except for giving alms to the poor - but no one completely follows the oral law anyway (John 7:19)! Rabbis told the rich man he was OK - violating God's law the bible like this - but the rich man finds himself in torment in hell.. Don't the rabbis deserve some of the blame for his misfortune?

"Yes," says Jesus. For anyone who "cause(s) people to sin . . . it would be better . . . to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck" (17:1-2).

That's not a pretty picture. The rich man is in "torment" and "agony" in hell (16:23-24). But a worse punishment awaits those who told him he was OK; they would be better thrown into the sea with a heavy weight tied around their necks . . . to drown in slow agony.

And the same applies today. Christian leaders who mislead other Christians will be judged most severely (James 3:1) . . . "it would be better for (them) to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around (their necks)." Pedophile clergymen come to mind . . . and people like James Baaker and Jimmy Swaggert. And this also applies to neo-Pharisees in legalist churches and cults like Jim Jones, who make their interpretation of the bible a litmus test for salvation. Legalism was the downfall of the Pharisees . . . and as Patrick Henry said: "Let (others) profit from their example."

But as far as individual, sincere believers are concerned, Jesus says: ""Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, . . . (so) if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him" . . . even if he does it again and again (17:1-4). Why? As we discussed in the Sermon on the Plain (6:37) and in the Lord's Prayer (11:4): we can't expect God to forgive us if we are unforgiving of others! Jesus forgives the repentant sinner, and the goal of every Christian is to become more Christ-like.

The apostles think Jesus' strict new standards are really demanding; they wonder if they can follow the bible rather than the oral law . . . "use worldly wealth to . . . be welcomed into eternal dwellings" by helping the poor . . . forgive without limit. They ask Jesus to "increase (their) faith" (17:5). Jesus says faith isn't the issue . . . it's will. With even small faith, they can follow his commandments just fine (17:6)!

But what does Jesus mean that a small faith - through willpower - is able to uproot a tree and plant it in the sea (17:6)? He probably means the Dead Sea, where Jews traditionally disposed of pagan idols (because they couldn't be retrieved from there). Jesus is essentially telling his apostles to get rid of the "old values" of the oral law as if they were pagan idols . . . that the oral law is leading the Jews away from God just like idols misled their forefathers leading up to the Babylonian captivity.

And there's a "flip side" to this, too. If Christian believers succeed in following Jesus' "new and improved" value system, do they get special praise or other considerations in the Kingdom of God? "No!" says Jesus. Christian believers are - first and foremost - servants of God. Does a servant expect special praise for doing his job? Of course not! Do we - in the workplace - expect praise and a raise for doing the minimum required in our job? Maybe in the days of President Carter and runaway inflation . . . but not today. Believers who follow Jesus' value system should not expect anything special. There is nothing we can do that will make God owe us anything; we are, at best, "unworthy servants; (who) have only done our duty" (17:10).

Next comes the story of 10 lepers: nine Jews and one Samaritan. The episode happens when Jesus travels in the Jezreel Valley along the border between Galilee and Samaria - near his hometown of Nazareth. The lepers know Jesus and address him as "Master"; they ask for "pity" (17:13). Jesus tells them to "show (themselves) to the priests," and on the way to see the priests they are healed (17:14). The nine Jews keep on going without a backward glance; but the Samaritan returns to praise God and thank Jesus (17:15-16).

Jesus is upset because only the Samaritan returns (17:17-18). Why did things happen this way, and why is Jesus upset? The most charitable explanation is that the Jewish lepers were doing what Jesus told them to do (17:14) and what the bible commands them to do. But a deeper explanation may lie in context . . . as an elaboration on Jesus' previous teachings about having the faith and willpower to follow his commands, and that servants who do only their duty do not deserve a special reward.

The point may be that we should show gratitude to God for allowing us to be His servants and to join Him in His kingdom, even though we are sinners and don't deserve it. All 10 lepers see Jesus do a God-like miracle. But only the Samaritan - who lacks the oral law and the Jewish tradition - realizes how special it is that God healed his leprosy; he feels compelled to praise God and thank Jesus (17:15-16). But the nine Jews act as if God's special attention is their birthright - an "entitlement." Perhaps they see Jesus as God's servant, doing his "duty" (17:10) by healing Jews. Or they may know the Pharisees say Jesus heals through the power of Satan (11:15) - and they want to get as far from Jesus as possible as fast as possible - even though they accept his healing. In any case, they feel no need to praise God or thank Jesus for their healing . . . which no doubt foreshadows the rejection of Jesus by most Jews despite all his God-like miracles..

Yet Jesus praises the Samaritan's "faith" (17:19). He has received salvation as well as healing . . . as salvation will come to Gentiles in the future.

This lesson ends with a discussion about the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Pharisees ask "when the kingdom of God would come" (17:20). Jesus replies: "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, `Here it is,' or `There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you" . . . or this is alternately translated "the kingdom of God is among you" (17:20-21).

Before we go any further, let's interpret what Jesus just said:

1. The Kingdom of God on earth - then and now - is "within you"; it's spiritual rather than physical. As Jesus told his apostles about faith and willpower: believers with faith become citizens of the Kingdom of God by following his "new and improved" value system . . . regardless of which physical "kingdom" they belong to, and regardless of the behavior of most citizens of that "kingdom."

2. The Kingdom of God is "among you" in the sense that its citizens - believers in Jesus - stand in the midst of nonbelievers: in this case, the Pharisees who asked this question . . . and in more modern times, in places like Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Mao's China, and Castro's Cuba.
   

Jesus goes on to discuss the establishment of the physical Kingdom of God on earth by the Messiah. Jesus says it will not be a subtle or secret thing people must seek out; he will come instantly and everywhere "like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other" (17:24). But this won't happen while he is alive . . . because "first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation" (17:25) . . . a reminder of the coming horrible death he has predicted for himself (9:22).

Jesus then answers the original question, rephrased appropriately: "When - after Jesus crucifixion - will the physical Kingdom of God come with the return of the Messiah?" (cf 17:20). We call this the 2nd coming. Jesus said earlier this will happen at an unpredictable time (cf 12:40) . . . and now he elaborates. He compares his 2nd coming to the time of Noah: evil people went their everyday affairs and ridiculed Noah for building an ark to escape a flood in the desert (17:26-27). In the same way, Pharisees and their intellectual offspring today ridicule those who follow Jesus. Jesus compares his 2nd coming to the time of Abraham's nephew Lot: evil people in Sodom went about their everyday affairs, not realizing God was about to rain fire and brimstone to destroy them immediately after Lot escaped with his family (except that Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she disobeyed God and looked back; cf 17:28-29, 32). In the same way, those who oppose Jesus will have no idea what's about to happen until Jesus is dramatically revealed as Messiah (17:21) . . . then it will be too late, because their eternity of fire and brimstone will already be determined. At Jesus' 2nd coming, no one can look back . . . there won't be time to go home - or even go downstairs - to collect valuables. And there will be an associated persecution because, as Jesus said just before his Transfiguration (cf Lk 9), anyone who denies him to avoid physical dealt will suffer eternal damnation . . . and anyone who accepts physical death rather than deny Jesus will gain eternal life (17:33).

Finally, Jesus speaks of what we call the "Rapture":

On that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left (17:34-36).

We're not going to discuss the "Rapture" here - especially not whether it will happen as portrayed in the Left Behind Series. But here and at other places in the bible, we learn a time will come in which believers destined for eternal life will be separated from nonbelievers.

The apostles ask where all this will occur, and Jesus responds: "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather" (17:37). He may be referring to Prov 30:17: "The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, . . . will be eaten by the vultures"; if so, Jesus means this will happen wherever there are people disobedient to God the Father . . . and that's everywhere there are people!

Next week Jesus talks about prayer: it's importance, and the proper way to do it. We can all learn from this one. And we'll discuss Jesus' dialog with a rich man inquiring how to inherit eternal life; Jesus tells us it's difficult for the rich to find salvation - certainly under the misleading precepts of the oral law. Then - after once again telling his apostles of his upcoming crucifixion - which they once again fail to understand - Jesus crosses the Jordan River for the last time at Jericho and begins his final trip to Jerusalem.