About Salt
34“Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?f 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
next chapter
* * *
a Gk he
b Gk he
c Other ancient authorities read a donkey
d Gk he
e The Greek word for you here is plural
f Or how can it be used for seasoning?
14.1–24 A meal with lawyers and Pharisees provides the backdrop for a healing controversy and several dinner-table teachings on the kingdom.
14.1–6 The fourth conflict over sabbath observance (see also 6.1–5; 6.6–11; 13.10–17) and the third meal with a Pharisee (7.36–50; 11.37–54; see also 5.29–32; 15.1–2).
14.1 The watching is unfriendly (see 11.53–54;20.20).
14.2 Dropsy, a condition of severe fluid retention.
14.3 Lawyers. See note on 7.30. Is it lawful? The question concerns interpretation of Jewish law (see also 6.2, 9; 13.15–16).
14.5 On the required assistance to an ox or donkey (see text note d), see Ex 23.5; Deut 22.4.
14.7–14 Traditional wisdom about taking a modest place at a feast (Prov 25.6–7) illustrates a proverb (v. 11) about being humbled or exalted.
14.7 Parable, here sage advice (see note on 6.39). Places of honor. See note on 11.43.
14.8 Wedding banquet, an image of the heavenly feast (cf. Mt 22.1–10; see Lk 12.36; 14.14–15; see also note on 13.29).
14.11 See 18.14.
14.13 Inviting the poor, crippled, lame, and blind, i.e., social outcasts, goes against the customary etiquette of reciprocity, but it conforms to the priorities of the kingdom (see 4.18; 7.22; 14.21; see also Isa 29.18–19; 35.5–6; 61.1).
14.15–24 Cf. Mt 22.1–10. A final teaching set at the Pharisee’s banquet (see v. 1) conveys a pointed warning about the consequences of refusing an invitation to enter the kingdom.
14.15 Eat bread in the kingdom. See note on 13.29. See also 22.16, 29–30.
14.18–20 See Deut 20.5–8; 24.5.
14.21 See note on 14.13.
14.23 Roads and lanes would be outside the town, probably an allusion to those “outside” Israel, i.e., the Gentiles (see 2.29–32; 3.8; Deut 32.21; Acts 13.46; 18.6; 28.23–28).
14.25–35 Cf. Mt 10.37–38; 5.13; Mk 9.49–50. The decision for discipleship must be seriously examined.
14.26 Hate, prophetic hyperbole for the uncompromising loyalty required toward Jesus and the true family of disciples (8.19–21;9.57–62; see also 18.28–30).
14.27 Carry the cross. See 9.23–24.
14.33 Give up all your possessions. See 12.33;18.22; see also Acts 5.1–11.
14.34 In its Lukan context, the saying on salt probably refers to the need for disciples to maintain their firm loyalty (cf. Mk 9.50).
14.35 On the warning to listen, see note on 8.8; see also 15.1.
Luke 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3So he told them this parable: 4“Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 5When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8“Or what woman having ten silver coins,a if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother
11Then Jesusb said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. 13A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16He would gladly have filled himself withc the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’ 20So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’d 22But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ 28Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ 31Then the fathera said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’”
next chapter
* * *
a Gk drachmas, each worth about a day’s wage for a laborer
b Gk he
c Other ancient authorities read filled his stomach with
d Other ancient authorities add Treat me like one of your hired servants
15.1–32 Three parables on the lost and found. Only the first has a parallel in Matthew (see note on 15.3–7).
15.1–2 The audience for the parables and a definition of the “lost.”
15.1 Tax collectors and sinners. See note on 5.30; see also 7.29–30.
15.2 On the Pharisees’ grumbling about Jesus’ meal fellowship, see 5.30; 7.39;19.7; see also note on 15.25–30.
15.3–7 Cf. Mt 18.12–14. This parable featuring a well-off man closely parallels the next about a poor woman (vv. 8–10; see note on 2.38).
15.4 On concern for the lost, see vv. 6, 9, 24, 32; 19.10; see also Ezek 34.11–16; Jn 10.11–16.
15.6 The party with friends and neighbors is extravagant (see also vv. 9, 22–24).
15.7 Joy in heaven. See also vv. 10, 32. In Luke, repentance is not only an obligation (see 3.3, 8–9; 13.3, 5; see also Acts 2.38; 3.19; 8.22;17.30; 26.20) but a gift or opportunity (5.31–32;16.30; see also Acts 5.31; 11.18).
15.8–10 The second of the paired parables focuses on the intensity of the search.
<
br /> 15.11–32 Only Luke tells this story of the lost son and the loving father.
15.12 Traditional wisdom counseled against giving an inheritance before one’s death (Sir 33.20–24).
15.13 Dissolute living is not defined except by the elder brother (v. 30).
15.15–16 It would be shameful for a Jewish boy to feed pigs and eat their food (see note on 8.32).
15.17–19 The younger son’s sober speech to himself (see note on 12.17) begins his return, or repentance.
15.18 Against heaven, i.e., against God (see, e.g., Dan 4.26; cf. Ex 10.16).
15.19 The concept of being worthy is generally tied to observance of the law (see note on 7.4–5).
15.20 On the father’s response of compassion, see 7.13; see also Jer 30.18; Hos 11.1–9. The father runs, contrary to the social expectations of the audience.
15.22 The father interrupts his son before he can present his proposal to work as a servant (see vv. 18–19). The festive clothes display the extravagance of the celebration (see Gen 41.42).
15.23 Meat was not often eaten, so killing the fatted calf was a sign of special celebration.
15.24 Was dead. See 9.60. Lost…found. See vv. 6, 9, 32.
15.25–30 The portrayal of the elder son and his resentment may be a subtle criticism of the grumbling Pharisees and scribes (vv. 1–2).
15.30 This son of yours. The elder son distances himself from both his brother and his father (cf. v. 32, this brother of yours).
15.31 The inheritance rights of the elder son are protected.
15.32 We had to celebrate, the obligation or necessity of mercy (see note on 2.49).
Luke 16
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
1Then Jesusb said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealthc so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.d
10“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth,e who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”f
The Law and the Kingdom of God
14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. 15So he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God.
16“The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force.g 17But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped.
18“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham.h The rich man also died and was buried. 23In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.i 24He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. 26Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 27He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house—28for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 29Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 30He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
next chapter
* * *
a Gk he
b Gk he
c Gk mammon
d Gk tents
e Gk mammon
f Gk mammon
g Or everyone is strongly urged to enter it
h Gk to Abraham’s bosom
i Gk in his bosom
16.1–31 Jesus warns of the dangers of wealth.
16.1–13 Cf. Mt 6.24. An enigmatic parable is given several applications.
16.1 The audience is again the disciples (cf. 15.1–2). Rich man, probably an absentee landowner. Manager. See note on 12.42–43. Squandering could be merely inept management (see 15.13), but later the manager is called dishonest (vv. 8; see also vv. 9, 11).
16.2 An accounting, probably an inventory of possessions and transactions in anticipation of a new manager.
16.3 Said to himself. See note on 12.17.
16.5–7 The dishonest man uses his last opportunity as manager to obligate his master’s debtors to himself (see also 7.41–43). The instructions to make it fifty…make it eighty eliminate the manager’s personal commission from the debt.
16.8 Commended. The commendation is not for the manager’s dishonesty but his prudent elimination of the commission, which showed his cleverness in dealing with an urgent situation. Shrewd (Greek phronimos), or “prudent” (see 12.42). Children of light, a term used in the NT for Christian disciples (see Jn 12.36; Eph 5.8; 1 Thess 5.5).
16.9 A second conclusion to the parable urging proper use of possessions, termed dishonest wealth (lit. “the mammon of wickedness”) because of their corrupting influence (see 6.24; 16.25; 18.25). Eternal homes may be connected to the “treasure in heaven” that results from almsgiving (see notes on 11.41; 12.33).
16.10–12 A separate application focuses on the issue of responsible behavior.
16.11 On the value of the true riches, see also 12.33–34.
16.12 What belongs to another, what is your own, perhaps contrasting worldly goods with the disciples’ true possession, the kingdom of God (see 6.20; 14.33).
16.13 A final, general application of the parable. Serve. The issue is not greed but idolatry (Ex 20.3; Deut 5.7; 6.13).
16.14–18 Cf. Mt 11.12–13; 5.18;19.9; Mk 10.11–12. The Pharisees reemerge as the audience.
16.14 Luke accuses the Pharisees of being lovers of money. Grumbling (15.2) turns to ridicule.
16.15 Justify yourselves. See 10.29;
cf. 18.14. God knows your hearts. See Prov 21.2; 24.12; Acts 1.24; 15.8. What is prized by human beings, here idolatrous love of money. Abomination. See Deut 7.25.
16.16 In Luke, John the Baptist stands at the apex of the age of the law and the prophets (see note on 7.28). The time of the proclamation of the kingdom of God is a new regime (4.43; 8.1; 9.2; 10.9; Acts 8.12). Everyone tries to enter it by force. This difficult phrase should probably be translated with emphasis on the passive force of the verb: “And everyone is constrained [Greek biazesthai, ‘ forced, compelled,’ i.e., by God] to enter” (see text note b; see also 14.23).
16.18 Luke’s version of this isolated statement presupposes Jewish customs that grant only the husband the right of divorce (see Deut 24.1–4; cf. Mk 10.11–12; 1 Cor 7.10–13).
16.19–31 The parable of the reversal of the states of the rich man and poor Lazarus recalls Jesus’ statements in 6.20–25; see also 1.53. It illustrates the failure to make prudent use of dishonest wealth (see note on 16.9; see also vv. 10–13).
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 470
