Synoptic Gospels: 266

Mr. C. Sometime this week, Lone Wolf will be giving me a call and I'll go pick up that Ruger. The guy in New York is giving it to me. Ruger All Weather. Should be a, it's got a Leopold scope on it and should be a, should be a, I might take you up on that.

So you have a .338. You can reach out and touch somebody with that thing. Just shoot a rabbit with that and all you're going to find is the tail. What are you talking about? A bear hunting story on the tape.

That'd be, that'd be great on the sermon audio. Actually, I know a number of Reformed Baptists be going, yeah, all right. Let's talk guns. Anyway, we won't mention any names at that point. We are pressing on in our synoptic study, getting dangerously close, dangerously close to the Passion Week here.

The Parable of the Pounds in Luke 19

And some of the more challenging, yeah, yeah, we're within just a few pages of some of the most challenging synoptic issues. And of course, you get into the resurrection accounts and we're going to be investing significantly more preparation time because they are the most challenging sections.

So, but we're not quite there yet. We're getting close. We're on page 229 of the synoptic, which is the parable of the pounds. I guess the primary text here is Luke 19, verses 11 through 27. While you're turning there, for those of you who, which is probably pretty much everybody with the possible exception of one fellow down front, I had the opportunity last week, I had gone to Missouri and then flew from St. Louis to wonderful Detroit.

Well, I tell you, we don't realize how good we have it when you go to a place like Detroit. Now Detroit's, you know, Detroit's Detroit. It's just the way it is. But then when you make it frigid cold and throw in lots of wind, so you have this wonderful thing called windchill.

Oh, it's wonderful. I mean, every once in a while I see a windchill thing around here and just chuckle. Like, oh yeah, we're really concerned about windchill. But I'll tell you what, back there it makes a huge difference.

And the whole time I was there they were having lake effect snow, which it really wasn't collecting, but it was just this stuff floating around the air, you know, and the wind would whip it across the parking lots.

It was, when I was packing up, I rented a Prius, a Toyota Prius. It's a nice little car. And I was packing up at four something in the morning to get my morning flight back on Thursday. And, you know, you're sitting there trying to get your bags in the car and it's, I think, 19 degrees.

And we had had windchills down to like nine. It wasn't really windy that morning, thankfully. But we have a good year anyway. The reason I was in Detroit was I was doing live Jesus or Muhammad shows on the Aramaic Broadcasting Network.

And I think you got to see a couple of those, as I recall, yeah. But for those who didn't, I'm posting the best parts of those on my blog. And we did have a couple of interesting calls, but mainly it was just some really interesting topics.

And one of them you might find interesting, you all as a group might find interesting, is the one I just posted this morning. I haven't blogged it yet, but it's on my YouTube site, my 501st video on the YouTube site.

But it's on, it's called Can Muhammad Save You? And it's, we discussed the fact that in Islam there is this concept of Muhammad as an intercessor, that on the final day of judgment, it is quite interesting.

I read a Hadith, it's found in a number of different forms in the Islamic sources, but a Hadith about how on the final day, all of mankind will come to Adam and they'll say to Adam, intercede with us, with our Lord, because they're afraid of the final judgment.

They want the final judgment to start, but they're afraid of what's going to happen. And Adam's going to say, I sinned, ask Noah. And then Noah's going to say, I sinned, ask Abraham. And Abraham's going to say, I sinned, ask Isa, Jesus.

Interestingly enough, in none of the reported versions of this Hadith does Jesus say anything about sinning. He's not accused of sin, which is interesting. But he still says, that's not for me, go to Muhammad.

And so they finally go to Muhammad and Muhammad says, yes, this is what I am to do. And so he goes to Allah and Allah teaches him a new form of worship and he worships Allah. And then he's given the ability of shifa 'ah, which is intercession.

And three or four times he intercedes and Allah then goes and takes out of the hellfire, which is interesting, out of the hellfire, people who had said, la ilaha illallah, which is the kalima, the Islamic confession.

So it takes three or four times to get all of them out of the hellfire. So most Muslims will end up in hellfire, but just not for a permanent period of time. And so we went over that Hadith and this concept of Muhammad as an intercessor and then had the opportunity of contrasting that with the Biblical presentation of Jesus' intercession, the basis of the intercession, went through the Bible and stuff like that.

Obviously it's always my goal, because we do have Muslims watching, to explain to them what the Gospel is and make as strong a contrast as possible. So I just posted that this morning. It will be on the blog this afternoon.

And you might find that an interesting study, especially in light of what we're doing, our Hebrew studies. No, they do not believe that Muhammad was sinless because the Quran itself rebukes him for once having ignored a blind man while speaking to the leadership in Mecca.

So they do not say he's sinless. However, it is interesting. Just yesterday, I was listening to Sheikh Yasir Qadhi lecturing and he was mentioning an ayah, a verse in the Quran that says to Muhammad that if he were ever to commit shirk, which is idolatry, that he would be amongst those who are not successful.

In other words, those who have not gained Jannah, heaven. And he said, now of course we know it is impossible for the prophet to have committed shirk. And so there is, you know, we have discussions of the impeccability of Christ and whether Christ could have or could not have sinned, et cetera, et cetera.

Interestingly enough, they have a similar concept for Muhammad in the sense that while he might commit very minor sins, that it would be simply impossible because he is considered to have been the greatest man to have ever been on earth, even though he wasn't virgin born.

And even though they don't accuse Jesus of sin, it's almost in the Islamic mind, like because he's the Jewish Messiah and there is such an inborn antipathy toward Jews that even though Jesus was virgin born and raised the dead and performed miracles and all the rest of this stuff, still it doesn't quite get to Muhammad's level as far as that goes.

So it is rather interesting to note that. But anyway, that particular study might be of special interest to you because when it's combined with something that in light of our Hebrew studies should be at least somewhat fresh in your mind, it might help you to remember and understand some of the Islamic concepts that we're discussing at the same time.

And of course, the host of the program, Pastor Joseph, is Arabic and so his comments are always interesting. And so that's up there. By the way, next week I will, I'm very thankful for this, but also somewhat, what should I say?

Scared, not scared. Nervous, not nervous. Concerned, I guess. I'm back in book writing mode. I haven't written a book in about three years. And the last one was Pulpit Crimes, I believe was the last book that I wrote.

And, but Bethany House has extended me two contracts. I'll sign them next week. Both books are on Islam. And so it's going to be a lot of work, a lot of hard work. That's the mode I'm going to be getting into.

But don't worry, we won't just start doing studies on Islam. I've told you, I think I've told you all the story before I heard in seminary about a guy who was studying under Karl Barth. Now, Karl Barth is not someone I would highly recommend, even though in certain circles he's next deity.

But there was a guy who told a story about taking a systematic theology course at Karl Barth. And it happened to be that that semester Karl Barth was writing, he wrote Church Dogmatics, this big, huge, massive, multi-volume work on Christian theology.

And it happened to be that semester he was writing the volume on angels. And so all he, this guy, ever learned that entire semester was about angels, because that's all Karl Barth talked about, because that's all he was writing about.

So therefore, even though it was a systematic theology class, all he talked about was angels. So I will try not to be like Karl Barth and go, now Luke 19 says, as they heard these things, that reminds me about Muhammad.

Now, Muhammad said, you know, I'll try to avoid that particular kind of situation. But I will be busy on that for quite some time. So anyhow, Luke chapter 19, after that long, rather completely disconnected introduction.

The parable of the pounds, which will be repeated later. Notice the CP number 299, which means we get 299. We can skip it because we will cover it here. As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem, because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return. Calling 10 of his servants, he gave them 10 pounds and said to them, trade with these till I come. But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him saying, we do not want this man to reign over us.

When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him that he might know what they had gained by trading. The first came before him saying, Lord, your pound has made 10 pounds more.

And he said to him, well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over 10 cities. The second came saying, Lord, your pound has made five pounds. And he said to him, and you are to be over five cities.

And another came saying, Lord, here's your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin, for I was afraid of you because you're a severe man. You take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.

He said to him, I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant. You knew that I was a severe man taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money into the bank?

And in my coming, I should have collected it with interest. He said to those who stood by, take the pound from him and give it to him as the 10 pounds. They said to him, Lord, he has 10 pounds. I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given.

But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who do not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.". Now, you see the parallels, the parallel, excuse me, in Matthew chapter 25.

This is one of those texts where you have Matthew and Luke. What is interesting is that what is missing in Matthew is anything about the rebelliousness of the people amongst whom these individuals are living.

So, in other words, if you just read Matthew, for it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted them his property to one, he gave five towns to the two and to the one. Now, it is very probable, in fact, extremely likely, that these are two different parallels, I'm sorry, parables told two different times, especially in light of the fact that Matthew places this after the triumphal entry and in the ministry of Jerusalem.

So, again, let me just mention this. We have mentioned it before. We've seen this. Obviously, we're almost all the way through the story now. We've seen it multiple times where there are variations in a story that would allow for us to recognize that Jesus did not come up with something new everywhere he went.

I mean, if we travel from town to town, he's going to be preaching the same message and there are going to be parables. There's an interesting difference here. You have 10, 5, and 1 in Luke and you have 5, 2, and 1 in Matthew.

So, was it a different occasion? It would seem to be, in my opinion, that the Matthew 25 is, after the triumphal entry, teaching. Remember, we're told that Jesus would spend hours teaching. I mean, it wasn't like a 45-minute sermon.

He would be teaching all day. So, clearly, illustrations would be used and reused and modified and changed and spoken in different ways. It's interesting. I believe it was one of the callers we had when I was on the air last week asked about...

No, I'll take that back. It was when I was speaking in St. Louis. I had brought up a difference between... It was a synoptic difference again. Oh, it was the story of Jairus. Remember, we went over this...

I remember when we went over this. We went over this early in 2006. I don't even need to have George here to know this was early in 2006. The reason I remember that is because I mentioned it to you when I debated Shabir Ali at Biola.

He brought it up and we had covered that very synoptic issue in here just a matter of months before the debate, which had put me in very good stead that we had done that. But if you remember the story of the raising of Jairus' daughter and the differences that exist between Mark and Matthew in the relating of that particular story and how Matthew telescopes what Mark gives us in a fuller account, I had this fellow ask me at the church.

He said, well, why couldn't that be two different incidents? Now, I'm saying I think Matthew 25 and Luke 19 are two different incidents. So, why did I answer that man's question? Well, absolutely, certainly not.

Well, because this is an illustration. This is a parable that would have been told many times. When I tell... I have certain stories. I travel all over the place. I'm going to be in London, in Dublin in February.

I'm going to be in Sydney and Brisbane next October. I travel all over the place. Even when I was in Lima, I would use illustrations that I've used here in sermons and all over the place. And sometimes you have to be careful about that, obviously.

The point is, if I look back at the clock and it's going very slowly, I may tell a very full version of the story. I may add some items to it. But if the clock's going real fast, I don't have much time, I might really shrink it down and just get to the main point of the story, get it in there and move on.

It all depends on the situation I'm in. This isn't exactly rocket science. We all have been in this situation. We all know how that works. However, the idea that an incident in Jesus's life would have happened twice with the same guy and the same gal.

I mean, the poor kid died twice? I mean, you would think, okay, let's say she did. Don't you think maybe the mourners would have gotten the idea after the first time? Oh, Jesus is coming again? We're not going to bother.

We remember what happened last time. You know, I mean, it struck me as just so obvious, but this fellow was like, no, why couldn't this be two different incidents? So it's this complete difference between looking at a parable, which would have been used multiple times and certain events in Jesus's life and in his ministry.

Unfortunately, sometimes people will miss the distinction between the two and end up, introducing some unnecessary complications in the process. So I think these are two different stories, but they have the same point.

The only difference being that in Luke 19, there is a judgment theme of the people of Israel beyond what is found in Matthew. Maybe Jesus didn't include it in his telling in Matthew that Matthew relates to us because of other parables that already included it.

I don't know what the reasons would be, but there is a judgment theme because it's only found in two places. It's found in verse 14, but his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him saying, we do not want this man to reign over us.

And then it is really not picked up on or expanded upon until verse 27. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me. So two things.

Let's first look at the judgment theme and then we can look at the parable of the pounds as it's found in both Matthew and Luke. This is one of the texts that people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris and so on and so forth, the new atheists who are so extremely popular and they even get a little uptick this time of the year from the far left media that wants to express its disgust at any public expression of religion at all.

You've probably been hearing about stories this time of year and every year it gets a little bit more people registering offense at anything that has to do with religion in public life. There was a bank I think in Texas that's a local businessman.

I mean the bank didn't even pay to do this. A local businessman donated decorations for the lobby of their bank and someone registered offense with the bank so they took it down. Well there was such an outcry and this is Texas by the way and everyone's armed there.

There was such an outcry that they hastily reversed themselves and at their own cost put it back up because I think they were afraid that they were going to be the only bank with one customer left in the city after that particular thing happened.

Now they would have been given the keys to the city and made honorary members of the board of trustees of Berkeley if it had happened there obviously but this is Texas and there's a huge gap between those two particular locations but the point being there is this detestation among secularists of any type of religious expression and the new atheists who are given a lot of media play around this time of year any time of the year but especially this time here really go to Luke chapter 19 and you need to be aware of this.

You need to be aware that especially verse 27 is one of the new atheists favorite verses because what they do and it is interesting. Someone like Christopher Hitchens how many of you have never heard Christopher Hitchens speak?

That gives me a possible future bible study theme. Christopher Hitchens is an American citizen. He's British born, grew up in England but moved over here and professes a great love for the United States but he is a secular humanist, a naturalistic materialist, an atheist, wrote the book God is Not Great How Religion Poisons Everything and he is a inveterate hater of the Christian faith even though he has been recently diagnosed only back in July I believe with advanced esophageal cancer.

Between his chemotherapy treatments he is back on the debating track continuing to spread the gospel of unbelief shall we say and because of his British accent people just seem to think that everything he says is brilliant.

He is a very bright man there's no question about that and he happens to be rather conservative politically and so he has an in amongst some news sources that we might actually be more used to accessing and he interestingly enough is right about a number of things he says.

For example he criticizes a lot of evangelicals who have this well the Old Testament God is rather wrathful but I'm glad we have Jesus in the New Testament where all is sweet and sweetness and light and he says straightforward I don't know what I almost break into a British accent when I quote him I don't know what book you're reading he says there's no difference between the God of the Old Testament the God of the New Testament the God of the Old Testament is wrathful and yet he shows love to those whom he chooses to show love to and the God of the New Testament is wrathful as well but he shows love to whom he chooses to show love to.

What are you people reading. Well why can't you read your own text and he'll go to a text like Luke 19 27 and he says you want to talk about a Jesus who's all sweetness and light. Well then explain to me how Jesus who's all sweetness and light can say.

But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them bring them here and slay them before me. He says whether you think this is Jesus or God the Father it doesn't matter that where is all the sweetness and light.

And he'll go to the judgment passages. And basically he's picking on and rightly so the foolish misconception that many evangelicals have that there is some kind of difference between the God of the Old Testament the God of the New.

He's right there isn't. Now he's wrong about the capriciousness and all the rest is the stuff of God. But he at least can read the text and says what what are you people talking about. And there is in Jesus's words here a you know the the citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him saying we do not want this man to reign over us.

Well who are these people. If if we apply this primarily to the people of Israel and the rebellion that takes place uh against not so much the letter of the law but the spirit of the law that results in pharisaism.

And remember Matthew 25 the the parallel telling at least the parable is after Matthew 23. And if there's any text in the New Testament that demonstrates Jesus was willing to in a very straightforward and clear manner announce God's displeasure on religious hypocrisy it's Matthew 23.

If this is in regards to the people of Israel and if the the citizens this nation are the Jews and the gifts that have been given the the gifts of grace that have been given to those in amongst the people of God that we see in say Simeon and Anna and those those remnant few uh who remain faithful to God's ways then there would be in verse 27 a parallel to the Matthew 24 Matthew 25 the crucifixion narratives where Jesus is talking about the the coming destruction of Jerusalem and that those who will be destroyed are are not a remnant people they are the enemies of God and that the the remnant has turned the Messiah.

The other way to take it is in a more general sense in regards to the final judgment. Certainly Matthew 25 is a final judgment parable context and in a more general sense that all of humankind anyone who has said we will not have this one to rule over us which is the very essence of naturalistic materialism secular humanism communism and all false religions that reject the lordship of Christ and the revelation of God in Christ.

Once again there is the fact of of judgment. Bring them before me bring them here and slay them before me. Those are strong words now to isolate them and do as Hitchens and others does in making these just innocent people who just didn't happen to choose the right religion that's normally how they present it.

They don't. They don't listen to the text that these are individuals who knew the lord knew of his right to reign over them and rebelled against his right to reign over them. Instead they want to try to turn them into you know political dissidents or something like that I suppose.

But they skip that part. So there is a very strong judgment motif found in those words that cannot cannot be skipped over that Jesus added in his telling of this parable in Luke 19. Now moving past that to Matthew 25 and Luke 19.

Well let me just mention one other thing notice that he said these things first of all because he was near to Jerusalem which would seem to make the attachment to the people of Israel and the judgment narratives and because they supposed the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

So there is something in this parable about the the fact of the lord giving these pounds these men either 10 5 and 1 or 5 2 and 1 depending on the telling of the parable that is meant to communicate uh patient endurance and long suffering is meant to communicate the need to uh be active in this world ready for the consummation.

But not like harold camping's followers today. Everybody know who harold camping is. Who doesn't know who harold camping is the same the same group. Um busy folks here harold camping is the head of family radio.

I think they're still on the air here somewhere and he's about 370 years old. And thank you for calling and sharing. Shall we take the next caller. Please. Welcome to open forum. Anyway uh that took three minutes to say and i said it faster than he does.

So um harold camping is you may remember him back in 1994 he prophesied the end of the world and i've talked with people especially back east in new york who were thoroughly convinced he was right. I remember talking to one fairly wealthy man who had actually spent money to hire a plane to drag a banner through the air above jones beach which is a major spot during the summer out there on long island.

That's where everybody goes jones beach during the summer. Um announcing the uh the end of the world was coming in 1994. Well in case you've not you're not really up on the date. He missed that one. Um and uh um of course came up with excellent explanations.

Now he has a full explanation for it and now he has an absolute date of um may 21st 2011. I'm sorry oh i'm sorry. May 21st 2011 will be the rapture and october 21st is when the world is gone. That's it.

So everything else is squished in between the intervening months. Somehow he's into numerology and all this stuff. Anyway if any of you really are fascinated by such things i debated the guy uh last summer on our radio program and uh the first day he actually did try to respond and the second day he just ignored me.

I wasn't even there. We'd go back and forth and he just went on with his presentation and i would take everything apart. He just said. And then he ignored me and go on with the next point. I take everybody it was it was sad uh.

But um anyway um may 21st 2011 so uh someone sent me a picture of a uh uh huge highway sign you know an advertisement sign in the houston area where someone had donated the money to uh it has the wise men still seek him and he will return may 21st 2011.

And here's the url you can go to to hear about all this stuff. And and uh you know those of us who monitor such things have known about this for quite some time but now the media is really picking up on it.

And so between now and may 21st you're going to see it on the news and in all the rest of stuff. And on may 22nd the world will be going you know once again and i can tell you right now what harold campings could be doing on may 22nd of 2011.

Um i did by the way very kindly and generously offer to him uh to take over his radio program and all of his stations on may 22nd 2011 to teach all of his followers how to do exegesis. He did not respond to that offer uh during the course of our debate.

But uh anyway uh the uh i can tell you right now we already see what he's what he's going to do because he's nervous um he's going to spiritualize it just like edward miller did back in 1844 when he had all the people sitting out on hilltops waiting for the return of christ on a particular day he didn't show up.

What did miller do. Uh well they never go. Okay i'm an idiot forget about me. That's not how false prophets work. Uh what they what they do is they go. You know it just occurred to me that jesus did return but he returned invisibly to the heavenly temple.

And out of that failed millerite movement 1844 is you got 1844 you got the seventh day of venice and the jehovah's witnesses out of one group one failed thing you get two major false religions. Uh and what camping is going to do.

And we've already got him on video doing it is now he's saying well jesus has already returned and is returning spiritually. And so he's he's already planning his escape route. You know i've come up with a number of ways he'd get around it myself uh already so uh but you know he has to come up with his own way.

So you know he'll be back on the air on may 22nd constantly telling everybody you know that jesus has returned. The rapture did take place yesterday just happened invisibly. Yes oh he gets that he remember he's on the air for an hour and a half two hours every day.

And probably right now he gets that phone call every day and his his response uh has been to that anyways all along. Um no we we don't know the the uh the hour but we know we know that it's gonna be may 21st so i can't say whether it's noon or 11 or 1 30 or something like that.

Um but but that that was before the new revelation that has come to him. That was before the new revelation has come to him. Because if you would just read all the bible you'd see that in revelation 12 a book is opened and that's happened in after the church has been destroyed and he's the one who's been given that understanding.

So you can't argue with the prophet. I mean come on. That's uh yeah and that's just that's just how it works. So anyway um it does seem somewhat relevant uh that uh this parable is is addressed to those who suppose the kingdom of god was to appear immediately.

And so uh we don't want to be like uh well does anyone remember the last jehovah's witness date. Is anyone anyone old enough to remember. Because i remember it as a kid uh even i knew the jehovah's witnesses were saying the next year was going to be yet because they were when i lived in mechanicsburg pennsylvania uh camp hill pennsylvania.

Um there was a kingdom hall directly across from my backyard right across the street from my backyard. In fact i remember my dad taught me to ride a bike and i he told me he was gonna hold on and i remember where i know and it's it's it's it's pre-programmed and he said he's gonna hold on and i'm going around in circles in the street and all of a sudden i realized i see my shadow from the sun and he ain't hold on.

Okay. And that's when i knew that parents were not everything you thought they were. Okay. Uh you know. But uh anyway that was right out in front of the kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses right across the street.

Does anyone remember. You have to be at least my age i guess uh to remember the last big prophecy of jehovah's witnesses when christ was going to return now that was a guy named edgar wisenot. 88 reasons why christ is returning in 1988.

I remember coming out of church one day and finding that in the windshield of my 1972 buick lesabre. Yeah which that that lesabre will probably survive the rapture but anyway um nobody remembers 1975 1975.

Uh i i remember in 74 i remember hearing my parents talking about it and you know jehovah's witnesses around stuff like that we just moved out here but uh i'm sorry oh i guess the witnesses weren't quite as big over there but uh yeah 1975 yeah uh 1975.

So um uh that that kind of end times madness stuff. And by the way since we don't have time to do anything more uh you know who has more books cranks out more books publishes more books about end times and prophecies and messiahs and uh fulfillment of modern day stuff than than christians do the muslims.

If you go to book fairs in the middle east you will find row after row of islamic books about the coming mabi they're the 12th imam all this kind of stuff. And they make the channel between 20 and 22 and uh the late great planet earth and everything else look like amateurs uh in comparison to the flood of literature uh that they crank out um about end times prophecies it's just we ain't got nothing on them uh in any way shape or form.

So i didn't realize that but uh that uh that is part of it. So we'll actually actually finally get to maybe an application of the parable uh next time around and uh then after that outside the plot of lazarus we're right into the triumphal entry.

So uh which does not mean we'll get anywhere near the resurrection stories by easter but uh we'll we'll be we'll be on our way maybe by easter of 2012 we might be able to do something like that. Yeah if yeah.

Well yeah yeah we got to get everything in before may 21st of 2011 uh actually but uh yeah i know i know it's uh it's it's something else. But anyway let's uh let's close our time with the word of prayer.

Indeed our heavenly father we thank you for your word it's admonitions to us they are timely. We do ask that you would cause us to be balanced in our reading of your word to hear your truth be with us now as we go into worship pray in christ's name.