Jesus' Ministry, per Matt, Mark & Luke (part 13)

• For the entire itinerary, see Ministry Itin'ry;
• in (parentheses) is the location per today's geography;
• remember the pages are described on the HOMEPAGE & listed in column left.

[18] in Galilee; along the border between Galilee & Samaria; in Judea;

[19] 3rd time in Jerusalem-- mid-fall, Feast of Tabernacles:

1. in Jerusalem-- halfway through the Feast, to the Temple courts;
2. to the Mount of Olives (south-central West Bank)-- for 1 night;
3. back in the Temple courts in Jerusalem;
4. Jesus spoke again to the people; as He went along...;

B. cont'd. (after the 2nd time in Jerusalem)

  66. Parable: 'a great banquet-- the Feast of the Kingdom of GOD' [18] above

This is not a repeat-of-a-repeat, as some might think. 2x times before this topic (the Feast of the Kingdom of GOD) was just mentioned in the course of another topic-- 1 was much earlier, in Capernaum, the topic being 'a servant's healing via a centurion's faith' [see Capernaum2 C.3.(end)]; the 2nd was just recently, the topic 'the narrow road' [see PerMtMkLk12 B.62.(end)].

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 14:15-24 When 1 of Those at the table with Him heard this parable about being invited to a wedding feast, & inviting others to a luncheon or dinner, He said to Jesus, Blessed is the man who will eat at the Feast in the Kingdom of GOD. Jesus replied: A certain man was preparing a great banquet & invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The 1st said, 'I have just bought a field, & I must go & see it. Please excuse me.' Another said, 'I have just bought 5 yoke of oxen, & I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' The servant came back & reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry & ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets & alleys of the town & bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind & the lame.' 'Sir,' the servant replied, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads & country lanes & make them come in, so that my house may be full. I tell you, not 1 of those who were invited & didn't come will get so much as a taste of my feast.'

  67. (a) 'Hate father & mother'; (b) 'Salt is good' [18] above

This dual-topic is "similar" to the above single topic-- but it's much more complicated. But with those mentions we see the big picture. Above we had just 1 topic having been mentioned 2x already; here we the 2 sub-topics having been mentioned a total of 4x already-- plus 1 coverage yet-to-come:

1. Sub-topic a) Hate father & mother, mentioned/to-be-covered:
   1. soon after the 2nd time in Jerusalem (see PerMtMkLk3 B.11.), the topic being, Pointing to His disciples, here are My brothers (mentioned in all 3 accounts);
   2. halfway between the 2nd & 3rd trips (see PerMtMkLk5 B.18.), the topic being, 12 apostles sent  (mentioned in 2x in the Matt account only);
   3. after the 4th time in Jerusalem (yet to be covered-- in Judea on the other side of the Jordan)
2. Sub-topic b) Salt is good, mentioned:
   1. before the 2nd trip (see Sermon1 Sermon teaching  #1 Salt & light (Matt only);
   2. before the 3rd trip (see Sermon1 Sermon teaching  #4 Lust & temptation (Mark only).

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 14:25-35 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, & turning to them He said: If anyone comes to Me & does not hate his father & mother, his wife & children, his brothers & sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be My disciple-- reminiscent of the Scripture to love the Creator more than the creation. Suppose 1 of you wants to build a tower. Will he not 1st sit down & estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation & is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build & was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go & war against another king. Will he not 1st sit down & consider whether he is able with 10,000 man to oppose the 1 coming against him with 20,000? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off & ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. This is not about a non-Christian becoming a Christian-- about initially loving God at the cost of abandoning relatives; it is not about complete faith in his works. Rather it is about subsequently maturing in the faith; about building a tower (doing what God has given you to do); about considering the cost-- whether financially or time-wise it would deter you if over-valued your family; about maintaining the saltiness of the salt, whereby 1 can persevere. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

  68. Parable: 'Does he not leave the 99 in the open country?' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 15:1-7 Now the tax collectors & "sinners" were all gathering around to hear Him. But the Pharisees & the teachers of the Law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners & eats with them.' Then Jesus told them this parable--in the hearing of those Pharisees & teachers: Suppose 1 of you has 100 sheep & loses 1 of them. Does he not leave the 99 in the open country & go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders & goes home. Then he calls his friends & neighbors together & says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in Heaven over 1 sinner that repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.

  69. Parable: 'Does she not sweep & search carefully?' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 15:8-10 Or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins & loses 1. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house & search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends & neighbors together & says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the Angels of GOD over 1 sinner that repents.

  70. Parable: 'the younger son got together all that he had' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 15:11-32 Jesus continued giving parables: There was a man who had 2 sons. The younger 1 said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all that he had, set off for a distant country & there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, & he began to be in need. So he went & hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields  to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no 1 gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my fathers hired men have food to spare, & here I am starving to death! I will set out & go back to my father & say to him: 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven & against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like 1 of you hired men'." So he got up & went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him & was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him & kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven & against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe & put it on him. Put a ring on his finger & sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf & kill it. Let's have a feast & celebrate. For this son of mine was dead & is alive again; he was lost & is found.' So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music & dancing. So he called 1 of his servants & asked what was going on. 'Your brother has come,' he replied, & your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe & sound.' The older brother became angry & refused to go in. So his father went out & pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look, all these years I have been slaving for you & never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. Mut when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him.!' 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, & everything I have is yours-- you yet have your status. But we had to celebrate & be glad, because this brother of yours was dead & is alive again; he was lost & is found-- he had disconnected, but now can continue laying up treasure in Heaven.

  71. Parable: 'use Your worldly wealth to gain true friends' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 16:1-18 Jesus told His disciples: There was a rich man whose manager, who also was obviously rich, was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in & asked him, 'What is this I hear about you-- don't even think about proving yourself innocent? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.' The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, & I'm ashamed to beg-- I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.' So he called in each of his masters debtors. He asked the 1st, 'How much do you owe my master?' '800 gallons of olive oil,' he replied. The manager told him, Take your bill & make it 400-- I'll pay the rest.' Then he asked the 2nd, 'And how much do you owe?' '1000 bushels of wheat,' he replied. He told him, 'Take your bill & make it 800-- I'll pay the rest. The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. The rich man was paid-in-full; the manager succeeded in having them welcome me into their houses. He was harmless (recall Jesus saying, in Matt 10:16, 'Be shrewd as snakes, yet innocent as doves)! For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light. I tell You, use Your worldly wealth to gain true friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, You will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, & whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if You have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust You with true riches? And if You have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give You property of Your own? No servant can serve 2 masters. Either he will hate the 1 & love the other, or he will be devoted to the 1 & despise the other. You cannot serve both GOD & Money. The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this & were sneering at Jesus. He said to Them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but GOD knows Your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in GOD'S Sight. The Law & the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the Good News of the Kingdom of GOD is being preached, & everyone is forcing his way into it. It is easier for Heaven & earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. Anyone who divorces his wife & marries another commits adultery, & the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

  72. Those rich/not charitable-- 'a great chasm there will be' [18] above

• Matt
• Mark
• Luke 16:19-31 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple & fine linen & lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores & longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came & licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died & the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died & was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up & saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by His side. So he called to Him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me & send Lazarus to dip the tip of His finger in water & cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here & you are in agony. And besides all this, between Us & you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to Us.' He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have 5 brothers. Let Him warn Them, so that They will not come to this place of torment.' Abraham replied, 'They have Moses & the Prophets; let Them listen to Them.' 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to Them, They will repent.' He said to him, 'If They do not listen to Moses & the Prophets, They will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'