The Prodigal Son

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 15:1) Then drew near to Him all the publicans and sinners to hear Him.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had been journeying toward Jerusalem and a multitude of people followed Him.  He had been telling them what they must do in order to be His disciples, forsake family and self, and accept all trials and tribulations that came with being His disciple.  At this time, whether from the ranks of the multitude or perhaps coming out of the town He was passing through, tax collectors who were detestable to the Jews and other sinners came near to Jesus to hear Him.

(2) And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

When the scribes and Pharisees saw that the publicans and sinners had easy access to Jesus and He cordially accepted them into His audience and even sometimes ate with them, they found it disgraceful and began murmuring among themselves about it.

(3) And He spoke this parable to them, saying, (4) "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?"

Jesus, knowing what the scribes and Pharisees were thinking and saying, asked what one of them, if he had 100 sheep and lost one, would not leave his 99 sheep and go in search of the lost one.

(5) "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing."

Still part of His question to them, would they not rejoice when they had found their lost sheep?

(6) "And when he comes home, he calls together friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.'"

Would they not be happy about finding their lost sheep and would rejoice with friends and family that they had found it?

(7) "I say to you that likewise joy will be in heaven over one sinner who repents more than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."

Jesus said that was the way it was in heaven, great rejoicing over one sinner who repented, more than over 99 just people who had no need of repentance.  As Jesus had said in Luke 5:32, He had not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  Therefore, it was necessary to be where the sinners were.

(8) "Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she loses one piece, does not light a candle and sweep the house and seeks diligently until she finds it?"

Jesus offered another example, asking what woman who had ten pieces of silver, if she lost one, would not search diligently for the one lost piece of silver until she found it.

(9) "And when she has found it, she calls friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me for I have found the piece which I had lost.'"

Wouldn't that woman be so happy about finding her one lost coin that she would rejoice with friends and neighbors telling them she had found it?

(10) "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Again Jesus told them there was great joy in heaven over one sinner who repented, and that is why Jesus was often among sinners.

(11) And He said, "A certain man had two sons."

To further illustrate His point, Jesus began a parable about a man who had two sons.

(12) "And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' And he divided to them his livelihood."

The younger of the man's two sons asked his father if he could have his portion of his inheritance at that time, and his father did indeed divide his property and give the younger son his share.

(13) "And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living."

Not many days after the younger son had received his inheritance, he packed up everything he owned and journeyed to a faraway land, and there wasted all his money on excessive riotous living.

(14) "And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in need."

When that son had wasted his entire inheritance, there came upon the land a severe famine, and the son found himself in need.

(15) "And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine."

The son went into the service of a citizen of that country who sent him into his fields to feed the swine.  This is representative of one who attaches himself to the world and is employed in loathsome activity, contrary to Godly living, as the keeping of swine was unlawful and one of the lowest forms of degradation to a Jew.

(16) "And he would long to have filled his belly with the husks that the swine ate, and no man gave to him."

The son was so poor and hungry that he longed to eat the husks that the swine ate, but no one gave him anything.

(17) "And when he came to himself, he said, 'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger.'"

When the son came to his right mind, he started thinking about his father and how even his father's servants had more than enough to eat and there he was starving to death.

(18) "'I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, (19) And am no more worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants."'"

He thought about what he would do and what he would say to his father.  He would acknowledge that he had sinned against God and his father also in squandering all that he had given him with debauched living.  He would confess that he was no longer worthy to be called his son and would ask that he be allowed to be one of his father's servants.

(20) "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him."

So the son went back to his father.  When he was still a distance away from him, his father saw him coming and was moved with compassion and love for him.  He literally ran to his son and threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.

(21) "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no more worthy to be called your son.'"

The son confessed to his father that he had sinned against God in heaven and against his father and considered himself no longer worthy to be called his son.

(22) "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring forth the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.'"

However, the father told his servants to bring out the best robe and put it on his younger son, and also to put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet.  The son was surely in rags and must have been barefooted.  The father wanted his son clothed in the best and with a ring that denoted dignity and the favor of his father.  This is a beautiful picture of how God receives us when we repent; He showers us with His grace and love.

(23) "'And bring here the fatted calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry.'"

The father continued telling his servants to also bring forth a fatted calf and kill it so they might feast on it and be joyful.

(24) "'For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry."

The reason for the father's joyous feast was that his son had been as dead to him, seemingly gone forever; he had lost his way, lost in sin, but had now found his way back.  For this, they began a joyous feast.  Again this is a beautiful picture of Father God and the joy in heaven over a lost soul who repented.

(25) "Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing."

The father's older son was apparently working in the field when all this occurred.  As he came near the house, he heard the music and dancing of the joyful feast.

(26) "And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant."

The older son called one of the servants and asked him the reason for the music and dancing.

(27) "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he has received him safe and sound.'"

The servant told the older son that his brother had returned and that his father was overjoyed that he had come back to him safe and sound, so he had killed the fatted calf and they were having a joyful celebratory feast.

(28) "And he was angry and would not go in; therefore his father came out and entreated him."

The older son was angry about it all and would not join the feast, so his father came out to him and begged him to join them.

(29) "And he, answering, said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have served you; I neither transgressed your commandment at any time and yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. (30) But as soon as this your son came, who had devoured your livelihood with harlots, you have killed for him the fatted calf.'"

The son told his father why he was so angry and would not go in to the feast.  He had served his father faithfully for many years and never failed to do what he asked, and yet his father had never offered so much as a goat kid so that he might celebrate with his friends.  However, when his sinful son returned, after squandering his inheritance that had been his father's livelihood, he killed a fatted calf and made a great celebration for him.

(31) "And he said to him, 'Son, you are ever with me and all that I have is yours. (32) It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive again and was lost and is found.'"

The father told his older son that he had been with him always and therefore enjoyed all that his father had.  However, they should be joyful that their lost family member was now found.  He had been literally dead in sin but was now alive!  That should be a happy event for the older son, too.  Of course, this was a perfect addendum to what Jesus had said at the beginning of this chapter.  In this case the Father would not leave the one and others to find the lost one but would seem to shower more blessings on the lost one when he returned.  Although it might seem unfair to some that they could be faithful Christians all their lives when a lost soul who lived a corrupt life can come to Jesus and Father God at the end of his life and be showered with blessings, we must remember that as faithful Christians, we have always had the blessings of the Father that come with following Him.  A lost soul has never really been happy, always searching for something to fill the emptiness.  And he was destined to live eternity in hell!  We must realize that "there but for the grace of God go I."  We could have so easily been lost as well if not for the love and mercy of God.  Perhaps we were for a time and are now saved.  Because God forgave us and saved us, we should also be willing to forgive others no matter how long they have lived wickedly, and to rejoice when they finally come to Jesus.  This is something Jesus taught in Matthew 6:14-15, that only when we forgave men's trespasses would our heavenly Father forgive us ours.  Matthew Henry said it beautifully in his Commentary on the Whole Bible:

"Therefore we ought not to envy others God's grace to them because we shall have never the less for their sharing in it. If we be true believers, all that God is, all that he has, is ours; and, if others come to be true believers, all that he is, and all that he has, is theirs too, and yet we have not the less, as they that walk in the light and warmth of the sun have all the benefit they can have by it, and yet not the less for others having as much."

Lessons on Humility and Discipleship

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 14:1) And it came to pass as He went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath Day, that they watched Him.

In the last chapter Jesus was teaching in the cities and villages on His way to Jerusalem.  In one of those cities or villages, He accepted the invitation of one of the chief Pharisees to dine at his house.  It seems that if not the host, at least many of his guests watched Jesus, probably hoping to catch Him in something they could use against Him as was their usual M.O.

(2) And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy.

There among the guests was a man who had a disease that caused severe swelling and he was in front of Jesus.  He didn't approach Jesus; Jesus just saw him there before Him.

(3) And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath Day?"

Jesus "answered" the scribes and Pharisees.  Possibly He knew they had planted this ill man before Him to test whether or not He would heal him on the Sabbath.  Jesus asked them if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.

(4) And they held their peace. And He took and healed him and let him go;

The scribes and Pharisees did not answer Jesus, and He did indeed heal the man.

(5) And answered them, saying, "Which of you shall have a donkey or an ox fallen into a pit and will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath Day?"

Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees which of them who had a donkey or an ox fall into a pit would not immediately pull the animal out on the Sabbath.  That was considered work according to their strict interpretation of the law, yet they would certainly do that anyway to rescue their animal.  How much more should a person be rescued from his disease on the Sabbath, as in the eyes of the Lord, His people are worth much more than animals:

"...you are of more value than many sparrows." - Matthew 10:31

"Of how much more value...is a man than a sheep?" - Matthew 12:12

"...how much more are you better than the birds?" - Luke 12:24

"...let (man) have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." - Genesis 1:26

(6) And they could not answer Him to these things.

Once again the scribes and Pharisees had nothing to say to Jesus.  

(7) And He put forth a parable to those who were invited when He noticed how they chose the chief places, saying to them, 

Jesus noticed how all the invited guests sought the best seats closest to the head of the table and He put forth a parable to them.

(8) "When you are invited by anyone to a wedding, do not sit down in the highest place, lest a more honorable man than you be invited by him, (9) And he who invited you and him comes and says to you, 'Give this man place,' and you begin with shame to take the lowest place."

Jesus told them that whenever they were invited to a wedding or any kind of feast, one should not sit down at the highest place.  It could be there was someone invited whom the host considered deserving of more honor and he would ask that one to give up his seat for the more honorable man.  Then that first man would feel ashamed as he had to get up and take the lowest seat at the table.

(10) "But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher;' then you will have glory in the presence of them who sit at the meal with you."

Instead, Jesus said, one ought to seek the lowest place at the table.  Then when the host might ask that one to move up closer to the head of the table, he would feel honor and esteem rather than embarrassment in front of the other guests.

(11) "For whoever exalts himself shall be abased, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

Jesus concluded with the moral of His parable, that whoever exalted himself would be humbled and the one who humbled himself would be exalted.

(12) Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you make a dinner or a supper, do not call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back and you will be repaid.

Jesus then spoke to the host of the meal, telling him that whenever he made a dinner or a supper, he shouldn't make it for his friends and family and rich neighbors only, not that there should never be an occasion to have a dinner for close friends and family.  However, when he made a feast for no particular reason, he should not invite only those who would in turn repay him with an invitation to a dinner.

(13) "But when you make a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, (14) And you shall be blessed for they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Rather, Jesus told the host, he should invite the poor and disabled, those who could never repay him, and for that he would be blessed by God and be among the resurrection of the saints.  As Jesus said in Luke 6:33-34, "...if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks have you? For sinners also do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks have you? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much back."

(15) And when one of them who sat at the meal with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God."

It seems there was one guest who sat at the meal with Jesus who seemed to understand the spiritual meaning of what Jesus had said and recognized that one would be blessed to dine in the kingdom of God.

(16) Then He said to him, "A certain man made a great supper and invited many."

It appears Jesus turned His attention to the man who had spoken and began another parable.  He told of a man who had made a big feast and invited many to it.

(17) "And sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'"

The man sent his servant out to tell all the invited guests to come to supper as everything was ready for them.

(18) "And they all with one accord began to make excuse. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground and I must go and see it; I pray you have me excused.'"

All the invited guests began making excuses as to why they couldn't attend.  One man said he had bought some land and had to go see it, and asked to be excused from his invitation.

(19) "And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen and I am going to test them; I pray you have me excused.'"

Another man said he had just bought oxen and was going to test them and he also asked to be excused.

(20) "And another said, 'I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come.'"

Another used the excuse that he had just married and could not come to the supper.

(21) "So that servant came and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'"

The servant went back to his master and reported all the excuses to him.  The master was angry and told his servant to go into the streets of the city and bring in all the poor and disabled.  This is a picture of Father God who prepared His merciful gift of salvation and invited His chosen people to receive it.  However, they all rejected it, so He offered His gift to those of a lower station, the Gentiles.  He said to go quickly; the time was short, as it indeed is with us all as we never know when our time will be up.

(22) "And the servant said, 'Lord, it is done as you have commanded and still there is room.'"

The servant did as his master had told him and there was still room at the table.  The servant could be a symbol of Jesus who came to do His Father's will.  He brought those who would receive Him and there was still room for more.  

(23) "And the lord said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and the hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.'"

The master of the house told his servant to go out further, into the highways and the hedges that were planted to border the fields.  This is a picture of the great commission of Christ to "go therefore and teach all nations" (Matthew 28:19).  "Compel them to come," or earnestly press them, accepting no excuses of their poor and lowly state or feelings of unworthiness; "come as you are," to quote a hymn and Christ's sentiment.  God wants His kingdom filled with all His children.

(24) "'For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper.'"

The master of the house said that none of the men he had originally invited would taste of his supper, as will be the fate of those who reject Christ and His salvation.

(25) And there went great multitudes with Him, and He turned and said to them, (26) "If any man comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."

There was a great multitude of people following Jesus and He turned His attention to them and began to tell them what it really meant to be a true follower or disciple of Him.  Merely following Him out of curiosity or just desiring to hear Him teach was not enough to be a true disciple of Jesus.  He must be the most important thing in their lives to be disciples.  The original word translated as "hate," that is "miseo," in this sense means to loves less.  Obviously, Jesus doesn't want His followers to hate their family and friends; He taught us to love.  However, we must put Jesus before our family and friends.  As He said in Luke 12:51-53, He came to bring division and would divide families, those who accepted Him from those who rejected Him.  He also expects us to deny ourselves and our egos and die to self.

(27) "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

Jesus also told them in order to be His disciple they must be willing to take upon themselves all the trials and persecutions that come with following Him.  When the world objects, if they relinquish and fall away, they are not true followers of Christ.

(28) "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it?"

Jesus asked which of them, if they intended to build a tower, would not first sit down and figure the cost to determine if he had enough to finish the job once he started it.  Likewise, if a man intended to be a disciple of Christ, he should first consider the difficulties he would encounter and determine if he had the strength and faith to endure.  

(29) "Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who behold it begin to mock him, (30) Saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'"

If a man began building a tower without first considering the cost, he might wind up laying the foundation and not be able to finish, and those who saw the empty foundation may begin to mock him.  Likewise, one certainly would be a poor witness for Christ if he professed to be a disciple and fell away at the first sign of difficulty.

(31) "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?"

Jesus also asked what king would decide to make war against a king with a much larger army without first planning a strategy to defeat him.

(32) "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends an ambassador and desires conditions of peace."

If a king did act so rashly, he might find himself surrendering before he even started.

(33) "So likewise, whoever he be of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."

Jesus's point to those who were following Him was that they must consider the costs of being a true disciple, whether or not they could forsake family and deny themselves and bear the difficulties that would surely come with discipleship.

(34) "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what shall it be seasoned? (35) It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Jesus concluded by stating that salt was good, but if it lost its saltiness, how could it then be salted?  It couldn't; it was not fit for land or even a dunghill, but only to be thrown out.  Salt was used as a preservative and for flavoring.  It killed bacteria and prevented rapid rotting of meats.  Likewise, a disciple of Christ was salt for a decaying world.  Salt brings flavor and purpose to lives that are empty and hopeless.  But a "disciple" of Christ that is not salt is useless to God and His kingdom on earth.  Jesus asked that those who heard His words really understand them.

Repent and Enter at the Narrow Gate, or Perish

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 13:1) There were present at that season some who told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

In the last chapter Jesus had been speaking to His disciples and a multitude of people, teaching them to be reconciled to their Lord and ready for His second coming.  At this time some of the present company told Jesus about a certain incident.  According to Biblical scholars, this was most likely about the Galileans who were followers of Judas of Galilee (Acts 5:37) who refused to acknowledge the Roman government.  There was an occasion recorded by the historian Josephus when Pilate surrounded and killed Galileans while they were sacrificing in the temple, thus mingling their blood with their sacrifices.

(2) And Jesus answering, said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things?"

Jesus perceived that their reason for telling Him of this incident was to pass judgment on the character of Galileans who seemingly sinned above all and received their just punishment.  He point-blank asked them if that was their supposition.

(3) "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

Jesus answered that was not the case, but unless they repented, they, too, would in like manner perish.  Indeed, they would.  The fate of those Galileans, killed while sacrificing at the temple, was an illustration of what was to happen to the Jews who would be slain in Jerusalem by Roman soldiers.  The broader point was that unless they repented of their sins, they would perish in hell for eternity.

(4) "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were sinners above all men who dwell in Jerusalem?"

In this question of Jesus, He showed them that not only Galileans, whom they may have had contempt for, but also inhabitants of Jerusalem had died violent deaths.  Apparently, this was a recent occurrence that a tower which had been built at the Pool of Siloam fell and killed eighteen men likely as they were purifying themselves in the pool, which made this case much like the one they had described with the Galileans.  Did they also presume that those eighteen Jews were more sinful than the other Jews in Jerusalem?

(5) "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish."

Again Jesus told them that was not the case, and that unless they repented, they would all perish in the same way.  Once again, it was a picture of what was to come.  As the tower fell and buried the eighteen in the pool, so would Jerusalem fall and they would all be buried in the ruins of the city.  This may have been exactly what Jesus meant, warning them to repent before all of Jerusalem fell, but I can't help but think about it in a broader sense.  That's because, if there was someone in Jerusalem who repented and followed Jesus, Jerusalem would have still fallen and could have killed that innocent person.  Jesus said it rains on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) indiscriminately, but the just will have eternal life whereas the unjust will be permanently destroyed.

(6) He spoke also this parable, "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit on it and found none."

Jesus then began a parable to illustrate His point.  He spoke of a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard.  He went to it to gather fruit from it, but there was none.

(7) Then he said to the vinedresser, "Behold these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none; cut it down, why let it cumber the ground?"

The owner of the vineyard spoke to the keeper of his vineyard, telling him he had been coming to that particular fig tree for three years looking for fruit and had found none.  He told the vinedresser to cut it down as it was taking up ground that a fruitful tree could use.  This was a symbol of God looking for good fruits from His creation, and finding none, wishing to destroy it and allow the more fruitful of His creation to take its place.

(8) And he answering, said to him, "Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig around it and fertilize it."

The vinedresser answered his master, asking that he allow the tree one more year.  He would work it, nurture and fertilize it.  The vinedresser is a symbol of Christ, the intercessor for us sinners, asking for patience while He was on earth to nurture and teach the sinners.  

(9) "And if it bears fruit, well; and if not, after that you shall cut it down."

Like the vinedresser for the barren tree, Christ the intercessor for sinners, asked for one more chance to allow sinners to bear the fruit of repentance, and if by then they did not, then they could be destroyed.  Interestingly, Christ's ministry was also three years like the time that the owner of the vineyard had been looking for fruit from the fig tree.  Still the Jews had not come to repentance, but Jesus in His love and mercy and patience, asked for more time for them.  Even at His crucifixion Jesus would ask forgiveness for the ones who crucified Him because they didn't know what they were doing (Luke 23:24).  However, after that, if they still did not bear the fruit of repentance, then they were to be destroyed.

(10) And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

Sometime later Jesus was teaching at one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day.

(11) And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years and was bent over and could in no way lift up.

There was a woman in the synagogue who had a condition that kept her bent over and unable to lift herself up.  She had had the condition for eighteen years, but it did not keep her from attending the synagogue on the Sabbath.  I can't help think about what feeble excuses we might use not to attend church, but this woman went in her condition and received an incredible blessing as we will see in the next verses.  What blessings might we be missing when we miss church?

(12) And when Jesus saw her, He called and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity."

When Jesus saw the bent over woman, He called out to her and told her that she was released from her infirmity.

(13) And He laid hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God.

Jesus laid His hands on the woman, and she immediately straightened up and praised God.

(14) And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said to the people, "There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

The ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.  He seemed to be indignant at the people as well as he quoted to them the fourth of the ten commandments that men were to do their work in six days and not on the seventh.  He suggested people should come to be healed on one of the six work days and not on the Sabbath.  You would think that prayer and laying on of hands would be exactly what was expected on the Sabbath.  What Jesus had done could not really be considered work, but the laws had become so strict and cumbersome, they had lost all sense of their original purpose.

(15) The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite, does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to watering?"

Jesus called the ruler a hypocrite and asked if he or any of them loosed their oxen and donkeys on the Sabbath and lead them to water.  That was considered work in their strict interpretation of the law, yet they, including the ruler himself who was being so hypocritical at that moment, would certainly do that.  If they would do good to water their animals, how much more good and proper was it to heal people from their infirmities when the occasion arose?

(16) "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?"

Indeed, Jesus went on to say that as they would all loose their animals in order to water them, shouldn't that woman, who was a daughter of Abraham, one of God's own chosen people, who had been bound by Satan for eighteen years, be loosed from her bond on the Sabbath day?  After all, was she not worth more than the animals, as Jesus said in Luke 12:7, "You are of more value than many sparrows."

(17) And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

When Jesus had spoken what He did, the ruler of the synagogue as well as other adversaries like the scribes and Pharisees who were surely also in the synagogue hoping to catch Jesus in the wrong, were all put to shame.  Whether or not they personally felt ashamed or not, they were surely disgraced and silenced as all the people rejoiced in what Jesus had done and said.

(18) Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?"

I don't believe this question of Jesus was made at the same time as when He was in the synagogue, but rather later or at another time, "Then He said...."  Jesus asked a question He would answer Himself, what was the kingdom of God like and to what should He compare it for His listeners' understanding.

(19) "It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and cast into his garden, and it grew and became a great tree and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it."

Jesus used this comparison to show that the kingdom of God was not a sudden perfection on earth that they might have believed it would be.  The people expected an earthly king Messiah who would set up His kingdom immediately.  However, He explained it was not like that.  It would start very small like the mustard seed but would grow to be enormous in the world and would shelter many who would take refuge in it.

(20) And again He said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?"

Jesus asked the question again in order to give another example.

(21) "It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened."

Jesus said the kingdom of God on earth was like leaven, though small and perhaps seemingly begun in secret with a small few, would swell and spread till God's people throughout the whole world were leavened with the Gospel.

(22) And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.

Jesus went through cities and villages as He journeyed toward Jerusalem, and He took the time to teach people about the kingdom of God as He went along the way.

(23) Then one said to Him, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" And He said to them, (24) "Strive to enter in at the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able."

Someone among the people Jesus taught asked Him if there were only a few who were saved.  He told the people to strive, or be diligent about their salvation, striving to be Christ-like in communion with Him in prayer, in study of the scriptures, contending with Satan and the world that opposed salvation.  Jesus called this a narrow gate that many would seek to enter but would be unable.  The use of the word "seek" here bothered me a little because Jesus had said, "Seek, and you shall find."  However, God said in Deuteronomy 4:29, that one would find Him if he sought Him with all his heart and with all his soul.  I believe that is what makes it the narrow gate.  It's not enough to just say we wish to enter the kingdom of God and call ourselves Christian because we say we believe in Jesus and Father God.  We must truly strive to make Him the Lord of our lives proving we desire Him with all our hearts and souls.  Just saying we believe and continuing to live a worldly life is trying to enter by a broad gate that is not of Christ and His narrow gate.

(25) "When once the Master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us,' and He shall answer and say to you, 'I do not know you where you are.'"

Jesus told them that once the Master of the house, meaning God in heaven, had shut His door, and people stood outside the door asking to be let in, He would answer and say He did not know them as His own who lived among His flock, as they came from the world.  Not only would people be unable to enter the narrow gate because they did not wholeheartedly seek the Lord with all their hearts and souls, but they came too late.  God said in Isaiah 45:23, and it was reflected upon in Romans 14:11, that in the end every knee would bow to Him and every tongue would acknowledge Him; every person would eventually acknowledge God, but it would be too late then.

(26) "Then you will begin to say, 'We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets.'"

Jesus said those people would plead their cases saying that they had been in His presence, if not with Him personally, in His church, and His word was taught in their streets.  They would say that they "knew" Him.

(27) "But He shall say, 'I tell you, I do not know you where you are; depart from Me, all workers of iniquity!'"

However, the Lord would reiterate that He did not know them where they were in the world.  He would call them workers of iniquity and would demand they depart from Him.  Most all the translations other than the King James Version translated Jesus's words as something to the effect of, "I don't know you or where you came from" or "I don't know where you come from."  The fact that it was said twice the very same way, "I do not know you where you are," or exactly in the KJV, "I know you not whence you are," I believe that is exactly what was meant.  The Lord Jesus knows everyone and He knows where they came from.  I believe the sense is that He did not recognize them as one of His own because of where they were in the world, living as the world and not as one of His flock.

(28) "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you thrust out."

Those Jesus told to depart from Him would find themselves wailing in anguish when they saw their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets who had foretold Jesus to them, there in the kingdom of God, and they were thrust out.

(29) "And they shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."

Souls would come from all corners of the earth to sit in the kingdom of God.  This meant Gentiles would come from all nations to sit in the kingdom of God, but they, God's chosen people, would not be able to enter because they never really knew Jesus and He did not know them as His own.

(30) "And behold, there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be last."

By this statement, Jesus was telling them that the last, the Gentiles, the farthest removed from God, and the last to receive the Gospel after it was rejected by the Jews, would be first in the kingdom of God.  God's first chosen and the first to hear the Gospel would become last because they had rejected it.

(31) The same day there came certain of the Pharisees saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod will kill You."

That same day some Pharisees came to Jesus and warned Him to depart from there because Herod would kill Him.  From verse 22 we know that Jesus was journeying toward Jerusalem, so He was not there yet.  Therefore this may have been Herod the Tetrarch of Galilee whose jurisdiction went no further than Galilee.  Perhaps it was of good will that some Pharisees warned Jesus to get out of Herod's jurisdiction, but more likely they just wanted Him to leave and that was designed to make Him leave, whether or not it was Herod who sent them.  

(32) And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'"

However, Jesus fittingly called Herod a fox as he was known as a crafty and incestuous prince.  He told those messengers to go tell Herod that He intended to stay and do the works He was sent to do for the short time He had left to do them, and on the third day He would depart for Jerusalem where He would be perfected when He died there.  Whether He would be just three days there before He was perfected, or rather what He said was to be symbolic of the three days He would be in the tomb before He rose again, the meaning was the same.  He had a short time to do His work and then He would be gone.

(33) "Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem."

However, Jesus said that He would be walking toward Jerusalem those three days, though He intended to keep working His miracles as He journeyed.  He said that was because a prophet could not perish out of Jerusalem.  Obviously, it wasn't true that no prophet could ever perish outside of Jerusalem, but as that was where the Sanhedrin was which was said to be the only one to try and judge a prophet, that was where Jesus determined to go.  He did not fear death by Herod where He was and would not immediately depart, but He knew where He must go to die so He would be journeying that way.

(34) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to you; how often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!"

Jesus then lamented over Jerusalem calling it a place that killed the prophets and stoned to death those who were sent to it in order to save it.  How often Jesus had desired to gather the people of Jerusalem together to protect them as a hen gathered her chicks under her wings, as He had made three different trips to Jerusalem in order to do just that.  However, Jerusalem rejected Him.

(35) "Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and verily I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you shall say, 'Blessed He who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

Because Jerusalem rejected Jesus, it was then consigned to destruction, and would not see Him again until the time when its people would acknowledge Him as Messiah and Savior coming the second time in the name and authority of the Lord.  However, that would be to the posterity of Jerusalem's present people, when the time came that they might be converted in the latter days.