Jesus toyed with Pharisees about death & life
 
John 8:51-59
51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”
54 “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. 55 You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
59 So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple. [1]

• We have always been fascinated with death & the afterlife.
• Death Education Class in China
• “Heaven is For Real”
• In all created things God has created this incredible symphony.

 
1 Corinthians 15:35–58 (NLT)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.[2]

• It’s important to remember that resurrection after death was not a new idea:
• In the Fall, leaves drop from the trees and the plants die. They turn brown, wither, and lose their life.
• They remain that way for the winter – dormant, dead and lifeless.
• And then Spring comes, and they burst into life again. Growing, sprouting, producing new leaves and buds.
• For there to be Spring, there has to be Fall and Winter. For nature to spring to life it first must die.
• Death then resurrection.
• It’s true across our environment with ecosystems, food chains and seasons.

"The death of one living thing for the life of another." (Circle of Life)
What are some examples of death leading to life?

• Genesis – Produce from the trees – Died.
• (Death entered the world.
• Adam & Eve’s spirits died.
• Animal was the first sacrifice.
• Skin cells die and flake off daily and after 30 days we have a new skin.
• Firemen at 9-11
• Now these oranges were originally alive; they were connected to the tree which has its roots in the soil.
• They grew from the earth.
• They were once all receiving nutrients from the earth, but then they were harvested, thrown on a truck, brought to the farmer’s market, and eventually ended up in our kitchen.
• When they were harvested, they were severed from the tree, they were pulled from the soil, they were disconnected from their life source, and they were brought to us so that we could eat them.

 

• And if we don’t eat, we don’t live.
• This food …this dead food …gives us life,
• The more recently food has been living the more life it gives us. Fresh food is better for us.

John 12:24 - Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.[3]

• Jesus teaches us how to die so that we can really live.
• Jesus invites parts of us to die to our flesh.
• This is what holds us back from living – like the part of us that constantly tries to make ourselves look good, or the part of us that always has to be right, or the part of us that always has to be better than others, or the part of us that always tries to look like we have it together.

 
What Jesus is teaching with the use of the metaphor is that we must undergo a process of transformation ...a change from death to life.

Admittedly, we resist the process. It is hard to give up our agendas, our objectives, our aspirations, our interests—our ego. Yet this is what we have been called to: the new life of Christ in us. That is a marvelous exchange!

• In our dying, Christ is alive within us.
• In our brokenness Christ is seen clearly. The way to fullness is brokenness; the way to life is by death.

Two points seem unmistakably clear to me here: the first is that this is hard; the second is that this is glorious.

• We don’t need to miss either of these. If we only see the hard part, we will miss the power and the freedom.
• If we only see the glorious part, we will minimize the sacrifice.
• The seed must die. ―Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear any fruit.

 
Jesus refers here to his own impending death and resurrection. Jesus makes a promise.

• His death will result in life, not only for his crucified body, but for all humankind.
• I hope we all understand the truth Jesus is sharing: our hope for life is in his death, burial, and resurrection.
• To receive God’s free gift of eternal life, we must die to our own efforts to earn or control our destiny and put ourselves totally in Jesus’ hands.

 
In Luke 9:23 Jesus says, ― “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”[4]

• Denying ourselves is dying to self.
• What we allow to die in our lives
• We’re invited to trust Jesus because we’ve been told we can never do it alone.
• But some people refuse to die.
• They relentlessly cling to their egos and false selves and keep propping up that version of themselves that they think is desirable, and trust in their own efforts to accomplish this somehow, someday.

 
Is this you holding on to your life so tightly that you are actually losing it? And you can’t really experience it?
 
“All men die… Not all men really live.” – William Wallace
 
Trying to kill the flesh through our flesh always fails!

• Truly dying to self means saying no to the flesh and its attempts to decide what's good for us apart from God. 
• It means coming under the authority of God's Word and submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 
• The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us down the path of death to self-rule. 
• As we entrust ourselves to Jesus, the Spirit enables us more and more to die to self and live to Christ. – (Jeff Pokone)

 
In a supreme act of faith, a farmer opens his hands and drops his seed into the earth.

• It lies there dead and buried, and he waits throughout the long winter for some sign that there will be a crop in the spring.
• Scientists cannot explain this mystery.
• A dead seed lies buried in the soil for weeks.
• And then, defying all logic, it comes alive.

We want to control everything.

• The problem with this picture is that it is not about living …it may be about existing, but it is hardly the abundant life that Jesus said he had come to bring.
• May we remember that if we die to self …if we die with Christ …we will also be raised to new life in Christ …that death leads to life.

 
Our Lord's cross is the gateway into His life.

• The tomb was the beginning... Not the end.
  
  

1 Corinthians 15:26 - 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death.[5]
 
Oswald Chambers - The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 8:51–59). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Co 15:35–58). Tyndale House Publishers
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 12:24). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Lk 9:23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (1 Co 15:26). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• We started out Philippians with Paul in prison in Rome and talking about how to find joy in our loneliness.
• Then last week we talked about Paul rejoicing in his suffering because no matter what, the Gospel was being spread.

ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL
PHILIPPIANS 1
18 …Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19 because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

• “Salvation” – not a spiritual salvation, but a physical salvation from his imprisonment.
• One of the few things we share in the human race… death.
• We are born spiritually dead… then we will face physical death.
• Genesis 2:16 – If you sin… you will die
• Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death
• Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned
• Every hour 6,393 people die.
• The first person that I deeply loved that died was my grandfather… Brownie Brunkow
     - Tulsa Pipe Coating
     - Claude’s Hamburgers
     - Pool table
     - Cancer
• It is awkward to talk about death in today’s society…
• We don’t show death on the news
• We send people away to die in nursing homes & hospitals
• Death is an enemy… I Corinthians 15
• What awaits us on the other side…
• Universalism – is a huge lie… “They are in a better place now.”
• Anilationism – Our soul ceases to exist and we are no more.
• Daniel 12:2-3 – Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt. 3 Those who have insight will shine like the bright expanse of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.[1]
  Reincarnation – You die and come back in order to work off your sin.
• Purgatory – A place you go to work at redeeming your sins.
• Hebrews 9:28 - so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.[2]
• What about the religion that says we all die and all go to hell? Where is that one?
• Here is what the Bible says about death…
• I Thessalonians 5:23 – Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.[3]
• We are three parts… body, soul & Spirit.
• At death, the soul & Spirit are separated from the body…
• Where does the spirit & soul go at this point?
     Luke 16 – holding place that has two sections… with chasm that separates the two sides
     Sheol (Hebrew) of Hades (Greek) had two sides:
     1) Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise – The saved side.
     2) Hell – a place of torment for the unrighteous dead.
• 2 Corinthians 5:8 - In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.[4]
• Jesus speaks of hell more than anyone in the Bible.
     Gihenna is spoken of 12 times
• If you are a non-believer… this world is as good as it gets.
  If you are a believer… this world is as bad as it gets.
• Paul has incredible insights to death…
  
  
• Dependent on the Spirit working in his life and his situation.

20 My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

LIVING IS CHRIST
21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better--24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound.

• Brent & Deanna Higgins Video
• Kimberly Schilling - Questions

27 Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel, 28 not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation—and this is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.[5]
Our suffering is purposeful…
To live is Christ… to die is gain…
Everyone of us will die…
Horatio G. Spafford was a lawyer in Chicago that lived during the 19th century. During his later life, he experienced many personal tragedies. The Spaffords were pretty well known during the 1860s, not only for their law practice, but also because Horatio Spafford and his wife, Anna were close supporters and friends of D.L Moody. During the 1870s things went very wrong for the Spaffords. In 1870, the Spaffords' only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later in 1871 they were ruined financially by the Great Chicago Fire. Horatio Spafford decided that he and his family needed a break from the events from the events that had happened recently and so they went to England for a break.
In 1873 when Horatio Spafford's wife and four daughters were leaving from New York to England, the ship that they were travelling on, 'Ville de Havre' struck another ship and sunk, killing his four daughters.His wife, the only survivor, sent him a telegram 9 days after the ship left the harbor of New York, with two words, "Saved alone".
Horatio Spafford, upon hearing the news, left for England to join his wife. As the ship he was on passed the place where his daughters perished, the captain called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." That night, in his cabin, Horatio penned the lyrics to one of the most famous hymns of all time.
“It is Well with My Soul” – Audrey Assad

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

​It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Da 12:2–3). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Heb 9:28). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (1 Th 5:23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (2 Co 5:8). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Php 1:18–30). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• Jesus was doing public miracles… water to wine… healing people, etc
• Matthew 8, Mark 1 & Luke 5 – Jesus heals a Jewish leper – Messianic Miracle #1
• Jesus continues to heal publicly… lame man in John 5, man with withered hand in Matthew 12 and many by the Sea of Galilee in the same chapter, etc.
• Same chapter, a deaf mute who is demon possessed is brought to Jesus and He heals the man. – Messianic Miracle #2
• The Jewish Nation as a whole condemns Jesus and accuses Jesus of healing under the power of the devil.
• They just blasphemed the Spirit of God to His face.
• At this point, they became cursed as to never see/hear the Gospel and it would lead to a generational death in 70 AD.
• They asked to see more miracles.
• Jesus said you will see one more miracle… the miracle of Jonah… resurrection.

 
John 11
LAZARUS DIES AT BETHANY
1 Now a man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany (not the same Lazarus in Luke 16), the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

• Bethany is 2 miles east of Jerusalem
• Bethany is under the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin

2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3 So the sisters sent a message to him: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that he was sick, he stayed two more days in the place where he was. 7 Then after that, he said to the disciples, “Let’s go to Judea again.”

•  Day 1—The messenger comes to Jesus (Lazarus dies).
• Day 2— The messenger returns to Bethany.
• Day 3— Jesus waits another day, then departs.
• Day 4— Jesus arrives in Bethany.[1]

8 “Rabbi,” the disciples told him, “just now the Jews tried to stone you, and you’re going there again?”

• The disciples were reminding Jesus that the Sanhedrin had jurisdiction of Bethany and they wanted Him dead.

9 “Aren’t there twelve hours in a day?” Jesus answered. “If anyone walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks during the night, he does stumble, because the light is not in him.”
11 He said this, and then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I’m on my way to wake him up.”
12 Then the disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”
13 Jesus, however, was speaking about his death, but they thought he was speaking about natural sleep. 14 So Jesus then told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 I’m glad for you that I wasn’t there so that you may believe. But let’s go to him.”
16 Then Thomas (called “Twin”) said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go too so that we may die with him.”
 
THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem (less than two miles away). 19 Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. 20 As soon as Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
21 Then Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.
 - Martha believed Jesus had the authority to prevent death.
 - Martha didn’t know that Jesus had authority over death.
22 Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
23 “Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

• Old Testament saints died and went to Abraham’s Bosom/Paradise. (Before Pentecost)
• New Testament saints died and the Spirit/Soul is absent from the body and present with the Lord (After Pentecost).
• Jesus is the only man with a resurrected body at this point.
• New Testament saints get our resurrected bodies at the “Rapture”
• Old Testament saints get their resurrected bodies at the end of the tribulation.
• 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 - 20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
• But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death.[2]

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”
 
JESUS SHARES THE SORROW OF DEATH
28 Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
29 As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there.
32 As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”
33 When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked.
“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.

• Why did Jesus weep?
• He knew Lazarus was going to be resurrected.
• What if He wept because He is able to sympathize with Mary and Martha? He came in human flesh and is able to experience thoughts (both good and bad) and emotions just as we experience them every day.
• We have a Messiah/Savior that can sympathize with us.
• What if He was weeping because He knew that He was about to perform one more public miracle and His people (the Jews) would still not believe that He is the Messiah?
• After all… this was the purpose of this miracle.

36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

• They mention one of the Messianic Miracles yet they still don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah.
• Only 7 signs (miracles) recorded in Gospel of John
• 1) Changing water into wine at the wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-11);
• 2) Healing the royal official’s son (Jn 4:46-54);
• 3) Healing the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (Jn 5:1-15);
• 4) Feeding the 5,000 (Jn 6:5-14);
• 5) Walking on water (Jn 6:16-21);
• 6) Healing the man born blind (Jn 9:1-7); and
• 7) Raising Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11:1-45).

38 Then Jesus, deeply moved (angered) again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.
Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

• The Jews believed the Spirit hovered 3 days and then went to Sheol/Hades on the 4th day.
• Probably why Jesus waited for the 4th day.
• A true resurrection.

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.”
 - The first public miracle since Jesus was blasphemed by the Jews.
43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 334). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (1 Co 15:20–26). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Luke 16

• We just finished the parable of the Rich Man and the unrighteous steward.
• The Pharisees were bad stewards of the Mosaic Law.
  ​
  

KINGDOM VALUES
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at him. 15 And he told them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.

• 1 Chronicles 17:16 - 16 Then King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said,
• Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far? 17 This was a little thing to you, God, for you have spoken about your servant’s house in the distant future. You regard me as a man of distinction, Lord God. 18 What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? You know your servant.[1]
• God is not interested in your checkbook or all your worldly possessions because He already knows your heart.
• Those “things” may indicate where your heart is for the rest of the world… but God truly knows your heart.
• You go into my office (or closet) and you’d think that I worship the game of baseball.
• But everything in my office has a name and a memory attached to it.
• I didn’t just buy it… it was time spent with people.
• I enjoy baseball… but I love Jesus.

16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it.
 - The mystery form of the kingdom.

• The Jews have already rejected the Messianic kingdom.
• The had already rejected the Mosaic Law.
• The written law has more authority than the oral law.
• The oral law is a reinterpretation of the written law.

17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out (fail).

• You can’t add or take away from the Mosaic Law.
• It was fulfilled through Jesus completely.

18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and everyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

• Most Jewish debate on divorce centered on what the expression “something indecent” in Deut 24:1 meant.
• Hillel (oral law) interpreted this broadly and permitted divorce in such cases as a wife burning supper or if a husband found another woman more attractive.
• Shammi (Mosaic Law) interpreted this more narrowly and permitted divorce only in the case of sexual unchastity on the wife’s part.[2]
• Through the centuries the church has struggled with the meaning of Jesus’ sayings on divorce.[3]
• Deeper teaching on divorce in a few weeks when we cover Matthew 19:1-12.
  
  

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS

• This is never referred to as a parable.
• It is Jesus explanation of how wealth is not the determining factor for who enters heaven.

19 “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. 20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. 21 He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side.

• Hades (Greek) / Sheol (Hebrew)
• The underworld where the spirit/soul went after death.
• Waiting place for redeemed and unredeemed.
• Two sides: 1) Abraham’s Bosom, Paradise – redeemed/saved side of Hades 2) Hell – unredeemed/lost side of Hades.
• At the cross: the redeemed side resurrected with Jesus and the unredeemed stayed in Hell.
• Today, the redeemed go straight to heaven.
• 2 Corinthians 5:8 - In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.[4]
• The unredeemed stay in Hell and wait for judgment where one day they will be cast in the Lake of Fire.

24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
25 “‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
27 “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house--28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so they won’t also come to this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

• Lazarus is resurrected in John 11 and the Pharisees did not repent.

31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”

WARNINGS FROM JESUS
Luke 17
1 He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
 - The Pharisees taught incorrect theology.
2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

• We are quick to pass judgment on whether or not a person is repentant.
• I can’t talk about one public specific situation in this room because of differing opinions.
• No matter what my theology, beliefs or statements made I will be in opposition of someone’s theology, beliefs or statements.
  
  

FAITH AND DUTY
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
6 “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

• Having vision takes great faith.
• It is living on the edge.

7 “Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? 10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are worthless servants; we’ve only done our duty.’”[5]

• Open your eyes to the things bigger than you can imagine. Then trust the Father (have faith).

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (1 Ch 17:16–18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Stein, R. H. (1992). Luke (Vol. 24, p. 419). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Stein, R. H. (1992). Luke (Vol. 24, p. 420). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Co 5:8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Lk 16:1–17:10). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.