LIFE OF THE MESSIAH – 012
DR. ARNOLD G. FRUCHTENBAUM
V. THE OPPOSITION TO THE KING, Paragraphs 96-111
E. The Conflict Over the Healing of the Man Born Blind – Paragraph 100
Let’s turn in our Harmony’s to paragraph 100, on your outline we’re on page 9. We’re now in the fifth main segment of His life out of the ten segments we’re covering this course in, the opposition to the King. It’s a segment in His life, in a three month period, we’re in five now, the people are following the leaders and now the charge of being demonized is not only coming from leadership but also from the many parts of the common people, but you keep seeing still there was a division. On your outline we come to capital E, the conflict over the healing of the man born blind. Here we have the sixth of John’s seven signs. On your outline I’ve divided this into five subdivisions so we’ll move through these as we have in other paragraphs.
1. Physical Healing – John 9:1-12
First of all, His physical healing in John 9:1-12. Verse 1 reads, “As He passed by, He saw a man blind from his birth. [2] And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind.” Now if you analyze the question there is something here that should strike you as somewhat strange. The strange part of the question is not did his parents sin and he was born blind, that can be explained by a point of the Mosaic Law in Exodus 34:6-7, for example, that God visits “the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation.” So conceivably the parents sinned and as a discipline, punishment, judgment, God caused the son to be born blind.
But that’s not the totality of the question; the question also is did this man sin and because he sinned he was then born blind. How could he sin first and then be born blind? Now people in the New Age movement have used this passage to try to claim that Judaism in the first century held to a form of reincarnation but there never was any such belief in ancient Judaism. The question does not reflect New Age philosophy but again it does reflect the point of Pharisaic theology. The Pharisees teach that when a child is conceived he’s conceived with two separate inclinations and they refer to it as the good inclination and the evil inclination, and the two inclinations continually struggle for the control of the person. Now for most people the good inclination wins. But there are a few exceptions and it could be that in the nine month development within the womb of the mother the evil inclination got the upper hand and now out of animosity the child kicks its mother in the womb, therefore dishonoring the mother. And therefore the child is born blind.
So being born blind is a sign of divine discipline, divine judgment, and therefore anyone who is born blind will never see until the Messiah comes and there’s the rub again. Here’s our third unique special Messianic miracle. Now to heal people that went blind was not uniquely different because that has been accomplished before but to heal someone that was born blind was unique. Also to understand that issue we’ll see why things happen here the way they do.
Now John 9:3 corrects their theology; the man was not born blind by any specific sin committed by him or by his parents; God so ordained the situation to get the greater glory at this point of time. He then proceeds to heal the man but does it in a rather strange way. He spits on the ground and from the spit and the dirt He makes mud; He then smears the mud on the eyes of the man born blind. Even then the man is not healed. He then tells the man in John 9:6 to go down to the pool of Siloam, and wash the mud off of his eyes, only then will he finally be healed.
Now why go through all this trouble; why not just heal him instantaneously. I mentioned previously that Jesus not only violates the Mishnaic law frequently, He sometimes goes out of His way to do so; here’s one example of this. First of all, it happens to be the Sabbath day; He already knows that it was forbidden to heal any person on the Sabbath day by rabbinic law. But not only do the rabbinic writings spell out not to heal a blind man on the Sabbath day it even spells out how not to do it.
Let me read you the law the way it actually reads and this is a quotation: “It is prohibited to heal a blind man on the Sabbath day, either by injecting wine into his eye or making mud from spittle and smearing it on his eyes.” End of quote. Not only can you not heal a blind man on the Sabbath day, you cannot do it this way on the Sabbath day, yet that’s the way He does it.
Now there are many pools in Jerusalem; many are easier to get to than the pool of Bethesda, why the pool of Siloam which is not too easy to get too, you have to walk down a steep hill, it’s at the very bottom part of the city of David; it’s difficult enough for people with sight, more so without sight. Why this pool and no other? Because also as we see from last night’s context it happens to be the Feast of Tabernacles, as I mentioned there was a special ceremony conducted by this pool every day for seven days. And therefore this was the most crowded pool in the whole city during this period of time. And therefore word would spread quickly that a third Messianic miracle had been performed. But in keeping with His methodology He doesn’t do it publicly because when the miracle occurs He and the men are separated by some geography.
And indeed, when He washes the mud off of his eyes at the pool of Siloam it does cause a stir. And it causes a dilemma for the Jewish audience because on the one hand, the positive side, this was a miracle never performed before. And it was done on the Sabbath day and furthermore it was done in a specific way forbidden on the Sabbath day. And they cannot rectify it in their minds; they do what they naturally do is simply go to the leaders to get this one explained away.
2. The First Interrogation – John 9:13-17
That leads to point 2 on your outline, the first interrogation of the man born blind in verses 13-17. Here the man is questioned and they’re hoping to find some kind of a loophole in the story. None of his answers help them out at all. So finally someone suggests well maybe he actually went blind at a very young age, he was not born blind and therefore it is not uniquely Messianic. We should really talk to his parents. And notice in John 9:17 the motif of this segment, “And there was a division among them.”
3. The Interrogation of the Parents – John 9:18-22
So in point 3 we have the interrogation of the parents in John 9:18-22 and when the parents are interrogated they affirm two things. First of all they affirm that this man is their son. So what would that mean? At least they’ve known him an awful long time now; they have known him since the day he was born. So secondly they can affirm that he was born blind, he did not go blind. As to how he now sees they venture no guesses because in verse 22 it’s already been decreed, if anyone accepts Jesus to be the Messiah he must be excommunicated from the synagogue.
In Judaism in first century Israel there are three different levels of synagogue discipline. The first kind was called neziphah, it’s spelled n-e-z-i-p-h-a-h; and that is a rebuke of somebody; a rebuke that would last for up to seven days but no longer, and it was a discipline to bring them back into line. The second type was called niddui, n-i-d-d-u-i, and niddui was a bit more severe, it will last from seven up to thirty days; it was also disciplinary. It was response to a more severe violation, but again the purpose was to bring him to repentance. Now in the New Testament an example of the first type I mentioned is in 1 Timothy 5:1; an example of the second type is Titus 3:10.
But the worst kind of discipline was called a cherem curse, spelled c-h-e-r-e-m, the cherem curse. And it’s a term that means to be totally devoted to destruction; it means that having received this kind of discipline there’s virtually no possibility for repentance and the person is un-synagogue (?), he’s expelled from the synagogue and therefore separated from the Jewish community. That’s similar to the four stages of church discipline we saw earlier in Matthew 18:15-20. And it’s the third level found here in John 9:22, they are to be expelled from the synagogue. Having accepted Jesus to be the Messiah they must also be cherem curse. The leaders have still no answers for the people raising the question of the leaders.
4. The Second Interrogation – John 9:23-34
So we come to section number 4, the second interrogation of the man born blind in verses 23-34. And here the Pharisees so famous for logical (?) thinking now become rather illogical and somewhat emotional. There’s a bit of humor here I’ll try to bring out as we go through the passage. In John 9:23 they call him in a second time and they tell the men “give glory to God because we know this man is a sinner,” not a very logical response. When was the last time any of you have ever said “praise the Lord, this guy robbed a bank.” Or, “praise God, this one killed somebody.” We praise God for many things but we don’t praise God for other people’s sins. Now proximately that’s they’re asking the man to do, give glory to God because they know now Jesus is a sinner.
At this point the man is able to stay tactful; he responds by saying in John 9:25, “Whether He be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Now this is not merely a statement of simple fact, “I was blind, now I see.” It’s more than that. What he’s saying is he’s issuing a challenge; what he’s saying is I was born blind and you are my spiritual teachers, you’re the ones who taught me that because I was born blind I will never see if the Messiah comes in my lifetime; that’s what you taught me. Now this man named Yeshua of Nazareth came and has healed me of my blindness and based upon what you taught me He should be proclaimed to be the Messiah. Instead you tell me give God the glory because you know He’s a sinner. Can you explain this to me; I’m having trouble following your logic here?
But they respond by saying in John 9:25, “What did he do to you? How opened your eyes?” The response was all right, once again from the top, go through every little detail, there must be a loophole in the account somewhere. And now the man loses his ability to stay tactful; he says in verse 27, “I told you even now, and ye did not hear: why would you hear it again? Would ye also become His disciples?” Not a smart thing to say to Pharisees.
They respond accordingly, and in John 9:28 they reviled him. What they say is if you want to be His disciples, that’s your business, we’ll stay with Moses, “We know that God spoke to Moses;” we don’t know where this man is coming from. If the man was tactless earlier he really blows it next. In verse 30 he says, “Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence He is, yet He opened mine eyes,” the point being as the spiritual leaders of Israel they should be able to explain this.
Now look at John 8:32, “Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.” Never! There are records of healing people that went blind but never was there any report of someone healed that was born blind. That’s what made Him uniquely Messianic. As far as the Pharisees are concerned that will terminate that discussion. At the end of verse 34 “they cast him out.” And the casting out of verse 34 is the same as verse 22; he’s now expelled from the synagogue.
5. Spiritual Healing – John 9:35-41
And so we come to point 5, the spiritual healing of a man born blind in verses 35-41. Now keep in mind he never saw Jesus; when he walked away from Jesus he was still blind; when he finally got his sight Jesus was nowhere around to be seen. And when Jesus hears about the expulsion from the synagogue He finds the man and asks him, “Do you believe on the Son of God?” in John 9:35. The man doesn’t know who’s talking to him so he says, “And who is He, Lord, that I may believe on Him?” And Jesus says the One speaking to him is that person. At that point he says in verse 38, “I believe. And he worshipped Him.” For a Jew to worship another Jew mean he was accepting Him to be the Messianic person, the Messianic God-man. And that leads to the spiritual healing of the man born blind.
Now he concludes with a comparison between the man and the Pharisees, and He points out this man moved from physical darkness and physical blindness to physical light and physical sight. But he’s also moved from spiritual blackness and spiritual darkness and spiritual blindness to spiritual light and spiritual sight. As for the Pharisees they have physical sight and physical light; because of their unbelief they remain in spiritual blindness and spiritual darkness. Also in John 9:4-5 you have an example of John’s sub theme of the conflict of light and darkness; you have it again in John 9:39-41.
F. The Conflict Over the Shepherd
Paragraph 101 – John 10:1-21
We now come to capital F on your outline, the conflict over the shepherd in paragraph 101. Here we have the sixth of John’s seven discourses, the discourse on the good shepherd, based upon the background of Isaiah 40:10-11. If you look down at the end of John 10:7 you have the second of the seven “I AM’s,” the second of seven “I AM’s”; “I AM the door of the sheep.” At the end of John 10:10, repeated in verse 14 you have the third “I AM,” the fourth “I AM.” It should be the third “I AM,” “I AM the door of the sheep, and the fourth “I AM,” “I AM the good shepherd.” The fourth “I AM” is “I AM the good shepherd.” [needs clarification]
1. Messiah the True Shepherd – John 10:1-6
On your outline this has four subdivisions and in John 10:1-6 we have Messiah presented as the good Shepherd. And he points out in this segment that the Pharisees have taken authority but they have false shepherds that climbed in the wrong way. This One, Jesus, came in the right way because He came in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and what He does He does in accordance with Old Testament prophecies. And the prophet that’s said the most about the Messiah in the role of a good shepherd is Zechariah in Zechariah 11:4-14 where Zechariah played the Messianic role, the role of a good shepherd and now Jesus is the fulfillment of that prophetic role prophecy. So He entered in the true way. And the poor of the flock of Zechariah 11, the people who are willing to believe are the ones who recognize Him.
But again he speaks parabolically and notice John 10:6 says, “This parable spoke Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which He said unto them.” And again the parabolic method of teaching continues ever since paragraph 64.
2. Messiah the Door – John 10:7-10
Now point 2, Messiah is the door, in John 10:7-10, and He points out that He is the true door and those that claim to be doors and came in before Him were simply thieves and robbers. This is the true shepherd and He’s come to provide them with eternal life.
3. Messiah the Good Shepherd – John 10:11-18
And He’s not only the true door, under point 3 He’s also the good shepherd in John 10:11-18. And what’s the uniqueness about the true shepherd? The good shepherd will lay His life down for the sheep. He makes a statement that only becomes clearer in later New Testament revelation, especially in the writings of the Apostle Paul. He points out He does have a flock of sheep right in this present area, the land of Israel, and these are the Jews who are responding to Him and these are the members of the faithful remnant of that day.
He also points out He has another flock which is outside this particular territory. John 11:16, “Other sheep have I, which are not of this fold,” “this fold” is the Israel fold and the Jewish believers specifically, the Israel of God, but He has other sheep of a different fold, and eventually the two folds will be united together. And the sheep of the other fold are the Gentiles that will come to faith. And as Paul will reveal they will be united into one body, that by the Messiah, though that specific relationship is not yet being given we have the first hint of it. So Jewish and Gentile believers become one flock, in verse 16, and they have one shepherd.
In John 11:18 notice what He says, He’s the one that lays down His life; “No one takes My life from Me,” ultimately all the arguments about who killed Jesus is irrelevant here in verse 18; different groups have different roles in the death of Jesus but ultimately if Jesus wanted to He could have hung on that cross forever. As we’ll see next weekend He will choose the moment of His own death, so “No man takes My life from Me, I lay it down of Myself.” He had the power to both lay it down and take it up again. Again notice how parabolic He is and how much later revelation clarifies what He means here. Without the writings of Paul later we wouldn’t be quite sure what He means here.
4. The Division, John 10:19-21
This leads to the motif of this segment under point 4, the division, in verses 19-21. “And there arose a division again among the Jews because of these words.” And some believe He’s the Messiah in light of the recent special miracle, the healing of the man born blind. But others are saying in verse 20, “And many of them said, He has a demon, and is mad.” Notice once again the charge of being demonized coming from the common people and not just the leaders.
G. The Witness of the Seventy
Paragraph 102 – Luke 10:1-24
1. The Seventy Sent – Luke 10:1-16
Now paragraph 102, the witness of the seventy. Now besides the closed apostolic group of twelve that were with Him all of the time He has other disciples who were there on call, and here they’re called for a very specific mission. On your outline there are three separate segments of this paragraph, the seventy sent in John 10:1-16. The seventy are sent out for a temporary mission; the purpose is to prepare a place in this day in those cities that He Himself will walk through. They are not given a general ministry to go throughout the land but a very specified ministry to go only to those places He Himself is going to be going and the purpose is to prepare places for them.
As they go out they are to pray, and (?) their own prayer. They are warned in (?) to anticipate rejection by those who are remaining in unbelief; so like the twelve so also the seventy they’re sent as lambs in the midst of wolves. Notice it tells them as well not to be concerned about taking provisions; these will be provided by the Lord as they proceed. And once they find an acceptable place for Him to stay they need to look no further. And they are simply to do good to those that accept them but declare judgment upon the cities that will reject Him. So as it was with the twelve earlier, the same principles for the seventy: go into a city and search out the believers, but now prepare places for Him to stay.
As for the cities that will reject Him they’ll be under judgment. He repeats the curse we saw in an earlier paragraph; among the cities that saw the majority of His miracles they will be suffering the greater judgment at the Great White Throne. He also says as it was with the apostles so it will also be with the disciples, accepting them is a sign of accepting Jesus and vice versa. And so the seventy is sent out two by two, which means there will be a minimum of 35 places prepared… a minimum of 35 places prepared.
2. The Seventy Return – Luke 10:17-20
Now point 2, the seventy return in verses 17-20. When they come back in verse 17 they come back with great joy because every place they went they found circles of believers. And so places have been prepared. They are also rejoicing over the fact that they found demons to be in subjection to them in Jesus name; they were able to cast them out. And here He says what this shows is [18] “Satan fallen as lightning from heaven,” it’s a prequel to the final collapse of Satan.
But He tells them in Luke 10:20 not to rejoice over the fact that demons are subject to them; what they should happy is that their names have been written up in heaven. The thing to be excited about is their salvation; what we should be excited about is our salvation and not over the issue of demons being in subjection. That’s only because of divine authority God has given them.
3. Messiah’s Prayer – Luke 10:21-24
Then point 3 we have Messiah’s prayer in verses 21-24, “In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit,” as we should be rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. He explains the unbelief in that the wise and those who are experts of Scripture, those who are the most (?) in Scripture were the ones who failed to recognize Him. And why would they fail to recognize Him; they have a knowledge of Scripture? As we saw previously the knowledge of Scripture was temperate, but how it was interpreted through Pharisaic Judaism and Mishnaic Judaism. So their understanding of the Hebrew text was based upon not what the Hebrew text said but how it was reinterpreted through Pharisaic Judaism. And therefore, if we do not take the text as it reads and find ways to get around it, which is what happened with Pharisaism, that will lead to a failure of recognition of the truth and that’s why they failed to recognize the Messiahship of Jesus.
What is called the uneducated class, the uneducated just meant they were not well versed in rabbinic literature, rabbinic theology, but they were taught Scripture since from the age of five in that day, they did recognize Him because they only had the Bible to go with.
And so in Luke 10:23 He points out that’s the unique advantage of the disciples; “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see,” the advantage of those disciples and the apostles and other Jews who recognized Him is what they had been looking forward to receive they have received. And those who were considered the wisest in rabbinic literature are the ones that failed to recognize; again only because they failed to take the text as it is.
H. The Conflict Over the Question of Eternal Life
Paragraph 103 – Luke 10:25-37
Paragraph 103, the conflict over eternal life. Now the incident begins in verse 25, “Behold, a certain lawyer,” a “lawyer” here means in the sense of someone who is an expert in the areas of the Scriptures, especially the Mosaic Law, “stood up and tempted Him, saying, Master,” or “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life.” And the question again is a question to try to trap Him theologically, to show He’s not well versed in Scripture in general and the Law in particular. But the Greek form of the word “do” is an aorist which emphasizes basically what is the one thing I can do once and for all to have eternal life? What is the one work that will guarantee I have eternal life?
And because he focused on the issue of the “what one work can I do,” Jesus refers Him to the Law. In Luke 10:27, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And the man answers correctly, “You have to love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” you also have to love “your neighbor as yourself.” So in verse 28 Jesus says to Him, “Ye have answered right: do this, and you shall live.” But Jesus here uses the present tense meaning keep on doing this, keep on doing this consistently and you will have eternal life. And the lawyer, of course, knew he could not consistently maintain that standard so he tries a trick question; well if I have to love my neighbor, how do you define “neighbor.” What is your “neighbor?” And in Pharisaic Judaism your neighbor can only be a fellow Jew; a non-Jew can never be your neighbor.
So you have the famous story of the Good Samaritan where a man was robbed and left for dead on the Jericho road, and a priest goes by without offering any help. A Levite goes by without offering any help. The explanation might be is because they assumed the man is dead; by the Mosaic Law a priest or Levite could not touch a dead body. They could excuse themselves that way, but they even failed to check if the man was alive or dead, they could have tried to check him without touching him.
Now of course another Jew who was not a Levite or a priest could touch the man to see where he’s at, but it was not a Jew who came by but a Samaritan. This Samaritan knew that the person beaten up and dying alongside of the road was a Jew and yet he went against the whole Samaritan culture. He brought the man some oil, some wine; he began to walk the animal, probably a donkey of some kind, he put the man on the donkey, he brought him to an inn, he left some money with the innkeeper to make sure the man could stay there until he’s fully recovered. If he owes any money more he’ll pay next time he comes around.
So none of these actions… how do you define the man’s neighbor, who was the man’s neighbor? Was it was the priest? Obviously not! Was it the Levite? Obviously not! It was the Samaritan. But the Jewish lawyer is not even to say Samaritan so he answers the question in a roundabout way in Luke 10:37, “He that showed mercy on him.” And now He just says “Go, and do likewise.” And the way you define your neighbor is simply this: whoever has a need that you can meet is your neighbor.
I. The Example of Fellowship
Paragraph 104 – Luke 10:38-42
Now paragraph 104, the example of fellowship. This is Luke’s version here, and again Luke is the one that’s concerned with the role of women in the life of the Messiah, and here we have another role of these two special women that appear for the first time at this stage. And one of the homes prepared by those seventy disciples happens to be a home in Bethany, not too far from Jerusalem, located on the lower eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, two sisters, Mary or Miriam and Martha and their brother Lazarus. And while the two women welcome Him in Martha is more concerned about getting everything ready, just so, she wanted to become a very nice good Jewish hostess. Whereas Mary sits at the feet of Jesus listening to what He’s teaching and Martha gets a bit frustrated and now she begins to scold her sister to help her out in the affairs of the household in getting things ready.
The answer is in Luke 10:41, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” And the point is it is far more important to be occupied with the Messiah than to be occupied for the Messiah. And being occupied for the Messiah has much greater meaning and much greater reward once we’re more occupied to be with Him. So to be taught by the Messiah is far more important than to be busy for Him simply preparing a meal. And this household plays a later role in His life as we’ll see next weekend.
J. Instruction in Prayer
Paragraph 105 – Luke 11:1-13
Now paragraph 105, instruction concerning prayer. In dealing with the Sermon on the Mount I mentioned as a unit that was Messiah’s interpretation of the true righteousness of the Law in contradistinction with the Pharisaic interpretation. And it was not intended to be Church ethics for this age but there are things He says in there that did become Church ethics for this age. We know what does and does not by what is repeated later in the Gospels, especially after paragraph 61, and what’s repeated in the epistles by the apostles. Here’s one such example.
Remember I said in the Sermon on the Mount that in Judaism of that first century period nobody prayed their own prayers; every prayer was ritualized, every prayer was through a prayer book. There’s no extemporaneous prayers per se. And of course by now the disciples recognized that Jesus did not use the common prayers of Judaism. So they asked Him in Luke 11:1, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Why would they need to be taught to pray? Because Judaism no longer taught people to pray on their own; everything was through prayer books, as it is to this day.
He once again gives the same six point out outline that we covered in the Sermon on the Mount so I won’t repeat it here, and shows that the thing He taught in the Sermon on the Mount is also applicable to us today. It should not be prescribed but it should not be haphazard either. And He gives us a model outline to use for our prayer life. And this is again especially for times of devotions, whether we have them in the morning, afternoon or evening, but throughout the day of course we can do much shorter praying and more specific, simple prayers. When it’s time of devotionals this is a good outline to follow.
He then goes on to present a parable in Luke 1:5-13 and the point of the parable is to teach on one hand intercessory prayers; and secondly, to teach persistent prayers. Intercessory prayers and pray persistently. And He points out if an unwilling person will finally give in because of persistence, how much more this is true with the Lord who is willing to answer prayers. Therefore, keep on asking, keep on knocking, keep on seeking. And if a sinful father knows how to give good gifts for his child, how much more is that true with the Lord in heaven who is characterized by goodness.
The application is finally made in Luke 1:13, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” Now that was the situation before Acts 2; now days we don’t have to ask God to give us the Holy Spirit; we receive the Holy Spirit the moment we believe. That was not true in the economy of the Mosaic Law. And so while some were indwelt, all were not indwelt. And while all believers had the Spirit with them the Spirit was only in certain people, not all. And one way to receive the Spirit, the unique way under the Mosaic Law, would be to ask Him. That’s the way it will be until Acts 2 when things change.
K. The Conflict Over Healing of the Dumb Man
Paragraph 106 – Luke 11:14-36
Now paragraph 106, the conflict over the healing of the dumb man. Here again you have a similar situation we saw in paragraph 61. He cast out a demon that caused the person to be a mute, and again we mentioned that this was the second of the three special Messianic miracles. And the last time we saw this, in paragraph 61, that’s when the leaders said He is demon possessed, and that’s how He does the miracles He performs, because He’s possessed by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.
1. The Charge – Luke 11:14-16
Now notice the change here; the second line in Luke 11:14, “…and the multitudes were marveled.” Then verse 15, “But some of them,” some of whom? Of the multitudes “said by Beelzebub the prince of the demons does He cast out demons.” And now notice again that the charge of being demonized is not coming from the leaders any more; it’s not coming from them exclusively any more; it’s now coming from the people as well. And the people are beginning to mouth what the leaders themselves are already proclaiming all over the country. [2-4 that follows, verses do not match outline, He didn’t give titles.]
2. The Defense – Luke 11:17-23
Therefore, in Luke 11:15-26 He repeats some of the things we saw in paragraph 61-64.
3. The Condition of the Nation – Luke 11:24-28
And in Luke 11:27 is a new element. “And it came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said unto Him, Blessed is the womb that bare You, and the breasts that gave You suck. [28] But He said, yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” And whereas in the previous segment it was His own mother and His half-brothers, here it’s different. A woman in the crowd makes a statement how blessed the mother of Jesus had to be. But again you have a statement that reminds her that He’s not dealing with preferring earthly relationships but spiritual ones, and spiritual ones are more important than physical ties.
4. The Sign to that Generation – Luke 11:29-32
Now in Luke 11:29-32 He repeats element that are found in the previous paragraph, you can get the information in the previous paragraphs.
5. The Call to the Nation – Luke 11:33-36
But now in Luke 11:32-36 He deals with the call of the nation. To accept Him means to walk in the light but to reject Him means to walk in darkness. And the points He makes here is this: first of all, the word that He is proclaiming is light. He provides light for them through His teaching. Secondly, the light that He’s proclaiming He received from the Father, and the light that was given to them is the light of the knowledge of the Father. Thirdly, the revelation was done openly, in His public teachings, and He taught these truths before the whole nation. But fourth, the nation was spiritually blind and therefore rejected the light that they received. Fifthly, the rejection was not due because the light unclear; the problem was not with the presentation of the light, the problem was with the beholder of the light. So sixthly, the reason Israel now remains in darkness will not be the fault of the Revealer, which He was, but the fault of the nation that rejected the divine revelation offered to them. And seven, if they would receive the revelation they’d receive the light. And a section (?) of the nation will receive the light but the majority remain in darkness.
L. The Conflict Over Pharisaic Ritualism
Paragraph 107 – Luke 11:37-54
Now paragraph 107, the conflict over Pharisaic ritualism. Verse 37, “Now as He spoke, a Pharisee asked Him to dine with him: and He went in, and sat down to meat.” Here a Pharisee invites Jesus over to dinner; isn’t that nice of the Pharisee to do so? But again the context shows it’s only another opportunity to find a way to try to entrap Him in some way. And the issue that comes up again, as it came up in paragraph 77; He did not wash His hands before eating dinner.
And He makes certain statements here that He elaborates on in paragraph 137 which we’ll cover next weekend, so I will not discuss these points He makes here because we will deal with them in a more appropriate area with more details given in paragraph 137.
But a point here to notice is Luke 11:45, “And one of the lawyers answering, said unto Him, Master, in saying this You reproach us also.” The way you say it is a put down (?) you also reproach us who are experts in the Law. So Jesus says in verse 46, Okay, “Woe unto you” lawyers also. And the problem He points out with them is that what they’ve done is reinterpret the Law in such a way that it was not interpreted as it was written; but they interpreted the Law in peculiar Pharisaic lines, and therefore by propagating this new interpretation of the Law they hide from the people what the Law actually says. And thus they take away the key of knowledge.
And so around the dinner table in the home of a Pharisee He condemns the Pharisees in general, He condemns the lawyers of the Pharisees in particular. And notice the emotional reaction, at least here in Luke 11:53, “And when He was come out from thence, the Scribes and Pharisees began to press upon Him vehemently, and to provoke Him to speak many things; laying wait for Him, to catch something out of His mouth.” They do what they have to do, what they try to do, what they can do for simple entrapment.
M. Instruction of the Disciples - Paragraphs 108-110
Now capital M on your outline, we come to three paragraphs, 108-110, in which He instructs the disciplines and he spells out the nine truths which are listed on your outline in these three paragraphs. And notice the contrast in Luke 12:1, “In the mean time, when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together, insomuch that they trode one upon another, He began saying unto His disciples, first of all,” in spite of being in the midst of so many people, notice, the focus of the teaching is focused to the apostles and not to the multitudes. That’s His policy after paragraph 61.
1. Hypocrisy – Paragraph 108, Luke 12:1-12
And the first lesson is the lesson of hypocrisy in Luke 12:1-12. The lesson here is based upon what just happened in the previous paragraph. And the point is, God alone is the proper object of fear; God alone is the proper object of trust and therefore it’s important to obey His commands as he gave it. But to make up man-made commands and put them into Scripture is only hypocritical. Therefore when the disciples are brought before the synagogue courts of Law they don’t need to be concerned about how they’ll respond, they’ll be given divine utterance at that point of time.
2. Covetousness – Luke 12:13-34
a. Occasion – Luke 12:13-15
The second lesson, in Luke 12:13-34, the lesson on covetousness. Notice how it develops; [13] “And one out of the multitude said unto Him, Master, bid my brother to divide the inheritance with me. [14] But He said unto him, Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you?” And this harks back to the account of Moses. Moses could not be a judge or a divider when Israel initially rejected Moses. And like Moses was first rejected, even Jesus was first rejected, and because of that rejection he cannot play out the Messianic role of being a judge and bring justice to these courts of Law. And because He has been (?) the Messiah He cannot play this role of bringing justice in society; that will come with His Second Coming.
b. Instruction – Luke 12:16-21
And in Luke 12:16 He again speaks a parable and the point of the parable is that here we have a man who was quite wealthy; he was getting richer in the produce he was receiving and in place of simply fulfilling the second most important commandment in the Mosaic Law, to love his neighbor as himself, and to share these goods with others, he chooses to build more buildings to simply house the new material that he has. He doesn’t really need all this extra stuff and yet although there are many poor people he does not share the surplus with the poor people and therefore fails to fulfill the second most important commandment of the Mosaic Law. And failure to keep the second most important commandment is due to failing to keep the first most important commandment, to love the Lord God with our whole being. And the failure to love the Lord will lead to a failure to love the neighbor.
c. Application – Luke 12:22-34
And the (?) parable… and he gives the application, notice in verse 22, “And He said unto His disciples,” and the application is made specifically to the apostles. And He says they need to realize two basic things: God will feed us and God will clothe us and therefore we need not show anxiety over these specific issues. If we seek His kingdom our basic needs will be provided for.
3. Watchfulness – Luke 12:35-40
The third lesson is on watchfulness in verses 35-40. The disciples are now also servants and their duty is just to keep on watching and they’ll be rewarded if they continue laboring as they are watchful. And he repeats this in a different context with more details and I’ll cover this in more detail later on.
4. Faithfulness – Luke 12:41-48
The fourth lesson is on faithfulness in Luke 12:41-48. The focus now is again the disciples when Peter brings up the issue, “Lord, do You speak this parable unto us, or even unto all?” To whom shall we apply the parable? He says the parable applies to anyone who knows the truth. And those who know the truth, to them the parable applies and therefore they are to prove themselves to be faithful. There should be constant, consistent faithfulness to the Lord who will bring the reward.
5. The Effects of His Coming – Luke 12:49-53
The fifth lesson is the effect of His coming in verses 49-53. Now before the rejection of paragraph 61 He was offering them the Messianic Kingdom, He was offering them a time of peace with the Lord and therefore peace in those issues, but now after (?) His rejection things are changing. So in Luke 12:49, “I came to cast fire upon the earth;” in place of unity He says in verse 51, “Think ye that I am com to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division,” that’s the results of rejecting Him as the Messiah; in place of blessing there’s judgment. In place of unity there’s division. In place of peace there’s war.
6. The Signs of the Times – Luke 54-59
The sixth lesson in verses 54-59 is the sign of the times. The point is the people should know that these are Messianic times based upon all distant prophecy. If they had simply calculated the Daniel 9 passage they would have known the Messianic times have arrived. Daniel even gave a specific timetable for the First Coming. And why did they fail to recognize it? Again, not because they didn’t know Scripture but they knew it as it was reinterpreted in Pharisaism. Now common sense, He says, teaches you should make your peace with your enemy before you take him into court. And in the context of that generation the individual Jews need to make their peace with the Lord by accepting Jesus the Messiah before the AD 70 judgment comes. Otherwise, those living at the time will suffer massive death and destruction and poverty.
7. Concerning Repentance
Paragraph 109 – Luke 13:1-9
Now in paragraph 109 we have the seventh lesson concerning repentance. Two recent tragedies happened in Jerusalem. One is the fact that Pilate some took some Galileans to be rebels; and he released the soldiers who killed them in the temple compound, as a result animal blood was mixed with human blood. The second tragedy is that there was a tower at the pool of Siloam that collapsed, killing 18 people, and the common element was that if people die in this manner they had to be especially sinful. But Jesus points out neither the Galileans, the ones who died in the collapse of the tower of Siloam, are guilty of any special sins; they were not more sinful than others.
But in both cases He says in Luke 13:3, “Nay: except you repent, ye shall in like manner perish.” Verse 5, “Nay, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” The word “repent” is to change their mind; unless they change their mind about Jesus, He’s not demon possessed but He’s the Messiah, they will fall in like manner.
Now when the war against Jerusalem occurred from 68-70 AD by the Romans, there were defensive towers on the walls of Jerusalem and as the Romans began to undermine the foundations of the towers the towers began collapsing and many Jewish soldiers died “in like manner.” But the last battle, one of the last battles took place inside the temple compound where the Jewish defenders were killed by the Romans, and once again animal blood and human blood was mixed together. And so they perished “in like manner.”
He then deals with a parable in Luke 13:6-9 to show why judgment is being delayed by forty years, why judgment is being delayed until AD 70: to show that even after forty years they do not produce any fruitfulness. Even after forty years there is no repentance on the part of the nation and finally AD 70 hit.
8. Concerning Israel’s Need
Paragraph 110 – Luke 13:10-17
In paragraph 110 we have the eighth lesson concerning Israel’s need. The focus now is that He no longer is going to be dealing with Israel as a people, as a nation; He’s going to deal with Jews as individuals. (?) He’s in the synagogue where there is a spirit of infirmity that a woman has suffered for eighteen years. And by the way, this is the last recorded synagogue incident in His life. He proceeds to heal her which only makes the president of the synagogue angry. In verse 14, “the ruler of the synagogue, being moved with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.”
And because of this indignation and his public statement in the synagogue Jesus says in Luke 13:16, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham,” notice the indirect object, she is “a daughter of Abraham.” And the point of Israel’s need is that as a nation He’s no longer going to be dealing with them at this point of time, they are under judgment. But He will deal with Jewish individuals and individual Jews can come to faith and she’s one example, “a daughter of Abraham.” And furthermore, Israel is His possession, He can take care of Israel as He sees fit. But the emphasis now is on individual Jewishness in place of Israel as a nation.
9. Concerning the Kingdom Program
The ninth lesson concerns the Kingdom program; He repeats the two of the nine parables we saw in paragraph 64; you can get the meanings of these parables from that context.
N. The Conflict at the Feast of Dedication
Paragraph 111
Now paragraph 111, we come to the conflict over the Feast of Dedication. John 10:22 says, “And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem,” and that’s the Feast of Hanukah, the word Hanukah does not mean lights, as sometimes misinterpreted. The word “Hanukah” means dedication. It’s not a feast that was inaugurated through Moses but there were two other festivals inaugurated in subsequent Mosaic history; one is the Feast of Purim as a result of the events of the book of Esther and one is the Feast of Hanukah or dedication resulting from the events that happened in the inter-testamental period. And while the feast itself is not found in the Old Testament, the events that led to it were prophesied in Daniel’s prophecies. It was a time when the Greek Syrians had taken over the Jewish temple and had desecrated it by offering a pig on the altar.
After three years of fighting the Jews got the temple back and it was the month of December; notice it says in verse 22 “it was winter,” (?) month of December, wintertime. And by then they were three months late from the Feast of Tabernacles which is a seven plus one day festival for a total of eight days. So what they did when they rededicated the temple is to observe the Feast of Tabernacles three months late and then they decided they would make this an annual affair; they would observe the Feast of Tabernacles at its normal time in the month of October but then observe the Feast of Dedication for 8 days in the month of December and Jewish people do that to this day.
The only place the Feast of Hanukah is actually mentioned is not in the Old Testament, only here in the New, in John 10:22. The Jewish people come to Him and say, as He comes to Jerusalem, [24] “How long do you hold us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” What they accuse Him of is being obscure. What they claim is He had not openly come out and said that He was the Messiah; but obviously He did that rather frequently.
So He answers them in John 10:25, He did say that clearly and He said that in two ways, by His words He claimed to be the Messiah, and by His works, the miracles He performs substantiate His claims. The problem is not a lack of evidence; the problem is not He’s been obscure; the problem is in verse 26, “Ye believe not, because ye are not of My sheep.” And because they are not of His sheep they fail to recognize Him.
And what are the characteristics of being His sheep? Three things: first of all, they recognize Him… they recognize Him. Secondly, they have eternal life. And thirdly, they cannot be snatched out of the Father’s hands, a good important verse for eternal security: they cannot be snatched out of the Father’s hands!
He goes on then to make a very clear statement, in John 10:30, “I and the Father are One.” Now do they understand what he means by that? Verse 31, “The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.” Well, so much for being obscure. And notice in the Jewish audience, when back in John 5 He claimed to be the Son of God, that God was His Father, they understood Him to claim being equal with God, but now it gets stronger here; when He says “I and the Father are one,” what did the Jewish audience understand Him to mean?
So before they began throwing stones He asked them a question. [John 10:32] Many good works I did for you, I did it from the Father, before you stone Me can you please tell Me which of these good works are you stoning Me for? Notice what they answer in verse 33, “The Jews answered Him, for a good work we stone You not, but for blasphemy; because that You, being a man, makes yourself God.” And they understood correctly what He meant by “I and the Father are one,” He claimed to be God Himself.
In response He plays a little pilpulistic rabbinic form of logic, referring to Psalm 82:6 where God, speaking to the judges of Israel, says “ye are Elohim,” you are gods. And the point is that the judges were God’s representatives and they received only delegated authority. But the delegated authority meant that the works they were doing were the works God sent them to do and the works God empowered them to do. And so in that context they could be called Elohim, they could be called gods because they were the very representatives of God. Therefore how could they accuse Him of blasphemy because by being the Son of God He didn’t receive merely delegated authority but direct divine authority, direct personal command to do the work of the Father?
Now Moses was a god to Aaron in Exodus 4:16 and Moses was a god to Pharaoh in Exodus 7:1. In what way was Moses a god to Aaron and a god to Pharaoh? Because God sent him. He was God’s messenger. If Moses, who was merely a man, could be as a god to Aaron and Pharaoh, why could not Jesus be the very Messiah, Son of God? Like Moses He was God’s messenger with God’s message. If the children of Israel listened to Moses why should they not listen to Him, because He not only claimed this unique privilege, He had the power to prove His claims and performed it.
Now again the differential is this: the judges only had delegated authority, they were not truly God; but by saying “I and the Father are one,” He’s not claiming delegated authority. What He’s saying is that where the Father is, He is, and that the Father is God, He is God; it’s a much stronger application of the Psalm passage.
VI. THE PREPARATION OF THE DISCIPLES BY THE KING
Paragraphs 112-127
That brings us to the sixth main division of His life, the preparation of the disciples by the King; now He prepares them specifically for His coming death. This will comprise paragraphs 112 through 127. The basic element in the previous segment was “and there was a division.” The basic element of the motif of this section is “the first shall be last, the last shall be first,” the exalted shall be humbled, the humbled will be exalted.
A. The Withdrawal from Judea
Paragraph 112 – John 10:40-42
Now in paragraph 112 we have the withdrawal from Judea. He now goes into what is called Perea; Perea was the east bank of the Jordan River. That puts Him outside the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin’s jurisdiction only went as far as the Jordan and the Sanhedrin could do nothing once He’s across the Jordan. That’s also the area where John the Baptist had done most of His ministry. And notice that while John did not do the work of the restoration of all things, that’s going to be Elijah’s function, John was not a failure because John’s personal calling was to have a people ready to accept the Messiah once the Messiah is identified.
So John 10:41, “And many came unto Him; and they said, John indeed did no sign: but all things whatsoever John spoke of this man were true. [42] And many believed on Him there.” So those who were baptized by John, who made the commitment to believe in the Messiah, when John identifies who the Messiah is, have no trouble recognizing Him. It is those who reject Him, have previously rejected John’s baptism, therefore reject Him as well.
B. Instruction Concerning Entrance into the Kingdom
Paragraph 113 – Luke 13:22-35
Now capital B is paragraph 113, instruction concerning entrance into the Kingdom. The background is Luke 13:22, “As He went on His way through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying on unto Jerusalem,” and keep in mind all the cities and villages have been prepared for Him by the seventy disciples. He summarizes the question in verse 23, “Lord, are they few that be saved?” and the question arises out of the obvious mass rejection; while there are many who come to believe the vast majority do not believe. So the issue now concerns salvation to some degree but also, more important, entering into the Messianic Kingdom.
He responds that the entry into the Kingdom has been blocked by Pharisaism so it takes a Jew to struggle through what he’s been programmed to believe before he can see the way they were in, and he points out in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter in by the narrow door,” and again, the road of Pharisaism was a wide road and a wide way because all this was assured in the age to come; anyone would born a Jew would have rights into Messiah’s Kingdom. But now He presents a very narrow way, so narrow you have to believe in His Messiahship to have the right entry into the Kingdom of God.
And because Pharisaism has so reinterpreted what the Scriptures actually taught, the Jew has to undergo a struggle; he undergoes a reprogramming of his mind before he can break through the programming to recognize the Messiahship of Jesus. Any Jewish person that’s confronted with His Messiahship ends up going through this struggle. It’s a spiritual struggle; it’s also an ethnic struggle, a theological struggle, a natural struggle, before they can see the possibility.
But those who break through it are the ones who are going to enter the Kingdom while the majority are going to be outside the Kingdom in Luke 13:28. When the Kingdom is finally established, people will come from the north, south, east and west, and they’ll sit down and enjoy the Kingdom, while those who were initially involved in the Kingdom will be outside the Kingdom.
Then you have the motif at the end of Luke 13:30, behold, there shall be last that shall be first, and there shall be first that shall be last. And in verse 31 we read, “In that very hour,” when he was thinking these things, “there came Pharisees, saying to Him, Get You out, and go hence: for Herod would fain to kill You.” Isn’t it nice for these Pharisees to come warn Jesus about what Herod Antipas might do to Him. And Perea along with Galilee were under the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. But actually what their concern was was to get Him to go back over the Jordan and be on the west side where the Sanhedrin could have Him arrested.
So He answers to them they do not need to be concerned. He again uses parabolic language, and Luke 13:32 says, “Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected. [33] Howbeit I must go on my way today and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet shall perish out of Jerusalem.” He won’t go to Jerusalem at this stage of the game; He will eventually, so they need not be concerned that He will die in Jerusalem. He puts it parabolically so they don’t understand what He’s saying. Here again the ploy behind this warning is to get Him to cross back over to the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin. He closes with a lament we’ll also discuss when we get to paragraph 137 next weekend.
C. Instruction Concerning a Pharisee’s House
Paragraph 114 – Luke 14:1-24
Now paragraph 114, instruction on a Pharisee’s house. Here again we find the Pharisee inviting Him over to dinner and once again the verse points out it was merely an entrapment; they invited Him so that they might watch Him to see what He would do. On your outline there are three divisions to this.
1. True Sabbath Rest – Luke 14:1-6
First of all, true Sabbath rest, and the point here is that true Sabbath rest includes being healed. Even the Pharisees taught that if a domesticated animal falls into a pit on the Sabbath day and it endangers the animal’s life it is permissible to raise the animal out of the pit, even on the Sabbath day. But a human being is far more important to God than an animal who was made for the service of man. He proceeds to heal, which of course violates Pharisaic law, not Mosaic Law.
2. Humility – Luke 14:7-11
Secondly, in Luke 14:7-11 He goes on to teach them a parable. The point of the parable is to teach humility. The point He makes is don’t praise yourself, wait for others to praise you. And don’t raise yourself, let others raise you. It’s easy to show hospitality to those who give you hospitality; but to show hospitality to those who do not have the means of repaying you will bring the greater honor. And the motif of this section in verse 11, “Everyone that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.”
3. Respect of Persons – Luke 7:12-14
Now the third lesson has to do with respect of persons, in Luke 14:12-14. He points out the kind of hospitality that was shown Him is simply self-seeking and self-righteous. True hospitality should be extended to those that have no way of repaying.
4. The Rejection of the Invitation – Luke 14:15-24
He closes with a parable in Luke 14:15-24, (?) “Blessed is he that will eat bread in the kingdom of God.” In this parable He points out that a great feast had been prepared and certain people had already received the invitation; when the feast was prepared he sent out his servants to the people invited to come and partake. And one by one they all gave excuses why they could not come. Some were simply too occupied with business; some were too occupied with their possessions; some were too occupied with simply personal pleasures. Be it for personal pleasures, or for business, or for other reasons, they do not attend the wedding feast. So the host or the master of the wedding then sends his servants out to the byways to bring others in.
Now the preparer of this wedding feast is God Himself and the means is by means of the prophets who declared the invitation. And the invitation was given out by John the Baptist, he was the first of His servants, and those who were bidden were the Jewish leaders. But the Jewish leaders of that generation rejected the offer. So now the feast will be given not to those who were initially invited, the Jewish leaders, but to other groups, such as the poor which are the common Jewish people of the city streets, and those in the country, the Gentiles eventually, which is one of Luke’s three main concerns.
So that generation that received invitation to enter the Kingdom will fail to enter the Kingdom, will not get to be in it either in this age or in the age to come. And others that were not initially invited will be the ones that will partake of the wedding feast.