Bible Devotion

Meditative Reflection
Worldly Shrewdness

“What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” (Lk. 16:15)

In the world of business, I often hear this saying, “Do not leave any crackers on the table.” It means that in business dealings, one should not be satisfied with a fair return, but rather should seek to scoop up every penny that is available, leaving nothing to your competitors or the consumers.

This is considered a shrewd and wise tactic, not only an acceptable but commendable practice in business. For the longest time, I had bought into this worldly shrewdness without giving a second thought as to whether it was biblical.

So, it was a surprise to me when I started reading teachings in the Bible like the following:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 19:9-10) — that means leaving crackers on the table!

“But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of Sabbath rest, a Sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.” (Lev. 25:4) — does it not mean not maximizing one’s profit?

Also, I gave attention to the laws concerning the year of Jubilee (the 50^th year) when Hebrew slaves have to be freed and land sold must be returned to the original owner’s family! (Lev. 25:40-41)

Of course, such provisions mandated by the Law of Moses  taught the Israelites not to make wealth their god, to have compassion for the poor and to avoid perpetual poverty. It also taught them about the need to trust in God for their wealth, the need to rest physically, mentally and above all, spiritually — by resting before the Lord and worshipping Him!

But these teachings obviously go against business practices that are “highly valued among men”. I recently heard that a CEO of a very successful company in the health-care industry told his employees that they should treat every day of the week the same (that is, to ignore Sundays), not for the sake of providing service, but for the sake of maximizing their bottom line. This is, indeed, “detestable in God’s sight!” (Lk. 16:15)

Meditative Reflection
Understanding a Parable

“They have Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them.” (Lk. 16:29)

It is important for us to understand what a parable is, so that we may interpret it properly.

The word parable, derived from the Greek verb parabollō is composed of the preposition pará, meaning beside and the verb, bállō, to cast. A parable is thus a comparison of two objects for the purpose of teaching.

Most of the time, our Lord draws from natural things to bring out the facts in the spiritual realm. As in the parable of the sower (Lk. 8), Jesus has not violated the actual order of natural things — seeds in fact do fall on the path, on the rock and among thorns — all fail to produce the intended crop. The parable thus compares the sowing of natural seed to the sowing of the Word of God in the hearts of some of the hearers.

However, not every detail in this parable can be applied to the spiritual. For example, while the sower of the natural seed should take care not to allow the seeds to be sown on the path and the rock, he should also clear away the thorns before sowing. But in its spiritual application, the fault is not on the sower of the Word, but on the hearers entirely.

Therefore, in interpreting a parable, we should always focus on its main theme or teaching, and not push its interpretation beyond it.

This is particularly true when the parable is drawn not from the natural realm, like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. There, Jesus is comparing things spiritual with things spiritual.

The main teaching is aimed at the Jews who have the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and yet they would not repent and believe. So the parable concludes with a verdict by Jesus, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convicted even if someone rises from the dead” (Lk. 16:31). Jesus is predicting that even with His own resurrection, many of the Jews will not believe in Him.

The rest of the parable, therefore, cannot be interpreted as a real depiction of the actual details of heaven and hell — that those in hell could actually see what is happening in heaven, or those who are saved would be in the bosom of Abraham. However, this parable thus affirms to us the existence of heaven and hell, the happiness in heaven and the torment in hell and the finality of the two eternal dwellings.

Meditative Reflection
Having Enough Faith?

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be rooted and planted in the sea’, and it will obey you.” (Lk. 17:6)

It is interesting to read that the disciples asked Jesus to “increase” their faith. The question is: How did they know whether they had enough faith or not? You see, faith is not something you can measure, like money and whether you have enough to buy a certain thing!

We normally find ourselves lacking in faith in two areas: First of all, we face a problem or challenge that, humnaly speaking,we think is insurmountable — the impossibility of overcoming the obstacles causes us to doubt that a change of  circumstances could ever take place, and such a doubt causes us to think we may not have enough faith. Secondly, it might  not be so much the impossibility of the situation, but rather our earnest concern over a matter that causes us to be very anxious. It is the anxiety that causes us to doubt if we have enough faith, not necessarily the difficulty of the matter.

In either case, Jesus’ reply to the disciples is most interesting:
“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be rooted and planted in the sea', and it will obey you.” (Lk. 17:6)

I do not think Jesus is saying that their faith is even smaller than a mustard seed, rather, He is saying that even if their faith is so small, as small as a mustard seed, just exercise it, then they will see the amazing result. Ultimately it is not our faith, but the object of our faith that really matters. The object of our faith is always the Lord Jesus Christ and with Him nothing is impossible! (Lk. 18:27)

Meditative Reflection
Saving Faith!

“One of them when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him — and he was a Samaritan.” (Lk. 17:15-16)

The healing of the ten lepers is a familiar story in the gospel of Luke, and we are told that only one of them came back to thank Jesus, and of all the ten lepers, only he was not a Jew. Rather  he was a Samaritan, despised by the Jews who had no association with people like him (Jn. 4:9). Obviously they did not consider him worthy to be called one of God’s people.

It is true that the Samaritans revised the Pentateuch (the Five Books of Moses) to suit their own theology and such an act of altering the Scriptures was considered an abomination.

All of the above made the healing of this Samaritan more amazing.

The disease of leprosy somehow broke down the barrier between Jews and Samaritans. While they were all isolated from the society and lived on the outskirt of the village, they banded together, perhaps for the sake of survival. However, as they shouted to ask for healing by Jesus, the Samaritan would  doubt that Jesus would extend healing even to him, a Samaritan. 

To his surprise, Jesus’ reply was directed to them all, “show yourselves to the priests”. But who were the priests? If the village was on the side of Galilee, the Samaritan was not in a position to go to the Jewish priests, and his Samaritan priests would be a long way from this village! While the other nine lepers went one way, he had probably gone another way. But just the same, he found himself healed — likely before he could reach his own priests!

We cannot blame the other lepers for not retuning right away for it was important for them to be certified by the priests so that they could return home. They must have been very eager to see their children, parents or wives from whom they had been separated for who knows how many years.

I believe this Samaritan was also keen to return home and see his loved ones, but his actions demonstrated that his faith in God was not self-centered, but God-centered. The first thing he did was to return to see Jesus and thank Him, and in so doing, he “threw himself at Jesus’ feet” — a clear sign of worship and submission! While he might have only heard of His claim to be the Messiah of the Jews, he now knew He was not just the Messiah of the Jews, but his God as well.

Leon Morris is right in saying that when Jesus said, “your faith has made you well”, “it is literally, ‘has saved you’". "It may be that Jesus recognized in this man the faith that issues in salvation and so He sent him off with the assurance that it was well with his soul as it was with his body. Full restoration means a saved soul as well as a sound body.” (TNTC, Luke, 283)

Meditative Reflection
Judgment is Assured!

“Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” (Lk. 17:37)

I have to admit that seeing how the world and even some Evangelical preachers ignore the warning of the impending judgment of God (which will happen upon Jesus’ return)  makes me angry and sometimes, lose heart. Those who faithfully warn the unrepentant world of the severe judgment they will face are often called preachers of fire and brimstone instead! Indeed, preachers who avoid preaching the impending judgment of God are aptly described as priests and prophets who practice deceit by Jeremiah, because they preach, “'Peace, peace', but there is no peace!” (Jer. 6:14)

However, this has already been predicted by our Lord, as He likened our days as those of Noah and Lot. In both cases, the people ignored the warning of God, and they “were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage” (Lk. 17:27, 28).  Their sin was not their eating and drinking etc. , but it was their unwillingness to take God’s words seriously and that was their demise. In both cases, the judgment came suddenly and the destruction was total!

Unfortunately, the same is true in our day — the world really looks upon our time as one Titanic, one big party that will never end, and will never be destroyed. Although, apart from the “more certain” words of the prophetic warnings throughout the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:19), there are enough signs from nature that point to the world heading toward a path of self-destruction — rich and poor people of the world, leaders of the world, entertainers of the world and self-righteous religious leaders of the world — all operate their lives according to business as usual and think that their sins against the Creator God will not have any consequences.

And if we warn them with the word of God, they will mockingly ask, “Where?” because they have not seen any sign of judgment. But this is the reply of the Lord, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather” (Lk. 17:37). Jesus was probably quoting a proverb of the time, in that a dead body will attract the devouring by the vultures. Therefore, if the world does not repent, they will be devoured as dead bodies, and their total destruction will be assured. Just as in the days of Noah, so in the days of Lot!

Meditative Reflection
Do not Give up!

“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8)

The parable of the unjust judge is quite unique in that Luke explains the meaning of the parable upfront, as if to avoid any misunderstanding on our part, and that this is a parable of both similarities and dissimilarities.

Indeed, the use of the unjust judge powerfully speaks to the certainty of God answering our prayers, because if such an unjust judge could be pestered into granting justice to the widow, how much more “quickly” (18:8) our God, who is just and merciful, will bring justice to His chosen ones. All we need to do is to keep praying and keep believing.

However, given the context of this parable which follows immediately the “when” of the return of Jesus, the apparent inaction of the Lord (in the face of the world’s defiance of His warnings)  is not to say that He does not answer our prayers “quickly”. Rather He shows us the following things:

- He is patient. Like the days of Noah and Lot, He does not want anyone to perish, but that everyone would repent and be saved (2 Pet. 3:9).

-He tests our patience and faith. So great and prolonged will be such a test that He asks, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8) In other words, will we be as persistent as the widow, or will we give up and lose hope?

Meditative Reflection
Inheriting Eternal Life

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk. 18:18)

Some time ago, I was reading one of the leading Catholic magazines and came across an article by a leading Catholic theologian who was mocking Calvin’s emphasis of salvation through faith, and not by work. The author said that it was unmistakable that Jesus, in the various gospel accounts, was preaching salvation by work. One of the passages he cited in support of his argument was the rich, young ruler who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”. Jesus answered, “If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” (Matt. 19:17) This, to him, is being further affirmed by Jesus’ command of selling all his possessions, giving them to the poor and then to come and follow Him.

The Catholic assertion of salvation by work is in plain contradiction of Paul’s clear teaching of salvation by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) and James’ clear understanding that if we break one law, we break all laws (Jas. 2:10).

The story of the rich young man clearly shows that, as good as this young man was — he might have honestly kept the last 6 commandments that Jesus asked about, his honest soul knew that it was not enough. He truly found himself lacking. As a result, Jesus, in Matthew 19:17, was simply repeating what the young man believed — obey the commandments and one would enter eternal life. He found out that such was not the case, even if he honestly believed himself to have kept the commandments.

As the story unfolds, the young man came to understand that:

- The only way to eternal life is by following Jesus.

- In order to follow Jesus, one has to love Him more than anything and anyone, which is the meaning of the 1st four of the Ten Commandments that Jesus did not ask (or rather He did ask by asking him to sell everything to follow Him).

In support of the Catholic view of salvation by work, Reno (another noted Catholic intellectual) argues that,

 “St. Paul’s criticism of the law of Moses should be read as part of his larger claim about its fulfillment in Christ.” (First Things, January 2012, p.38)

and that the Old Testament Laws do not go far enough, and we need to complement them by obeying and listening to Christ’s commandments. But the fact remains that no one can by themselves obey the law, whether Moses’ or Christ’s. Only when we put our faith in our resurrected Christ and His merit on the Cross, then and only then can we have the power to obey Christ and His commandments. We cannot put the cart before the horse, the cart being work, and the horse being faith in Christ which gives us eternal life.

In Luke’s account of this young man, the question being asked was, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (18:18). This question already reveals that this man understood that eternal life could only be inherited. And no one can work for inheritance; it is a matter of relationship. In the Old Testament or in any culture for that matter, only children of the family can inherit, no one else needs to apply.

“Yet to all who received Him (i.e. Jesus Christ), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (Jn. 1:12)