Jesus on Money Management Part 2
Luke 16:14-31
Last week, as we were looking at Jesus’ teaching on money management, I mentioned another Pastor’s view that Christians, instead of saving for retirement or saving to benefit an heir, should rather aim to spend what they have for kingdom purposes before they leave this world. His idea was that we can’t take anything with us, so we should try to spend any wealth that we have before we pass from this world, so that in the Kingdom we would have more wealth that would last for all eternity. I admit that I probably should have clarified and unpacked that thought a little more last week.
Now there is definitely Godly wisdom in saving for retirement and working to provide for yourself and for your family. And none of us knows when exactly we will pass from this world, and how much money we will need in order to continue functioning in this world until the day He calls us home. There is such a strange dichotomy for a follower of Christ. We currently live in this world, and have to live and function according to how it operates, and yet we are also citizens of Heaven aiming to live and function according to how it operates- and the two are very different. And so surely there is a bit of a balance as we wait for the Kingdom of Heaven to be fully instated. This balance is difficult. I’m still working on what it looks like- attempting to live how Jesus would have me to live with a Kingdom mindset- while I am still on this earth. I think that often it’s really easy for us as Christians to tip the scales to balance more in favor of operating according to the values and systems of this world, rather than tipping the scales in favor of operating more according to the values and systems of the Kingdom. And Jesus knows our propensity to do this, so over and over He teaches about the Kingdom, setting our sites on what is to come, and compelling us to take extreme action so as to ensure we don’t miss out on any of the amazing life that is to come.
So, in mentioning this other pastor’s view on spending all before we die- without saying I 100% agree or disagree- I am hoping to tip the scales a little more towards us thinking about and wrestling with how we can be more Kingdom focused in this world with relation to finances. Let’s look together at Luke 16:14-18 as we continue to wrestle with Jesus’ teaching on Kingdom perspective.
Ok, so Jesus had just taught that all our resources really belong to God, that we should be wise stewards of His resources, that we need to be investing in our Kingdom future, and that we should be faithful with little things like passing earthly wealth- so that we could later be entrusted with true, greater, Kingdom wealth. Now Jesus was directing this teaching to His disciples specifically, but some of the religious leaders overheard, and they were in the background with the reaction of… “Phhhhfff! Yeah right Jesus.” So, He turned to them to address their scoffing, and directly targeted the issue of their heart. The issue of their heart was that Jesus’ teaching didn’t apply to them- they loved money, and they were relying on their overall goodness concerning fulfilling the law, in order to one day secure the Kingdom home and riches that Jesus spoke of. Look again at verse 16…
So, Jesus does differentiate between the message of the law and the prophets and the Kingdom message He and John the Baptist had been presenting. And He adds that since the proclamation of the Kingdom message, people have been forcing their way into that Kingdom. Entrance into the Kingdom doesn’t happen passively, it doesn’t happen automatically because of your family lineage, it doesn’t happen by thinking you’re good enough, it doesn’t happen because you have attended church- you enter into the Kingdom by actively seeking it, by aggressively pursuing it, by forcibly entering into it. And the words also seem to convey that what was thought to be a right of the nation of Israel alone, was now being breached by people from all nations. Entrance into Heaven was thought to be reserved for morally elite Jews, but now “sinners,” “unclean people,” the morally corrupt- were forcibly piercing into the Kingdom inner circle by way of repentance. And although Jesus differentiated between the law and the prophets and the Kingdom message- in verse 17 He argues that He is not doing away with the law, no- as long as Heaven and earth are in existence, then the law will remain- even every dot of every “i” and every cross of every “t”. God’s law still remains the standard. So how does Jesus’ Kingdom message relate to the law if it isn’t replacing it? Verse 18 gives us the answer…
You might say, “Whoa, where did that come from? What does divorce and marriage have to do with what Jesus is talking about?” The primary purpose of these words in verse 18 is not to teach on divorce and marriage, the primary purpose is to show Jesus’ teaching in relation to the law. In the sermon on the mount, early on in Jesus’ ministry, He established His relation to the law. Loosely paraphrased He said: the law says don’t murder, but I tell you if you’re angry with someone- you’re guilty of the same sin that breeds murder. The law says don’t commit adultery- but I say if you look lustfully at someone you have committed adultery in your heart. The law says divorce can happen with the right paperwork, but really the sin of adultery takes place when two that are joined together separate and then re-unite with another. Jesus made a whole argument in Matthew 5 that He wasn’t replacing the law, but rather showing God’s intent of the law, and that God actually has a higher standard than the law.
This is what Jesus is doing here, He is telling them that God’s standard is even higher than the law. Divorce is permissible in God’s law due to the fallen sin nature of man, but God’s standard says He hates divorce- Malachi 2:16. Divorce is permissible in God’s law due to the hardness of man’s heart, but God’s standard is that what “God has joined together, let no man separate.”- Matthew 19:6 Now here’s how this all correlates back to the subject of money management that the religious leaders were scoffing at: God’s law requires 10% of wages be given back to Him, but God’s standard is that 100% belongs to Him. The tithe is only a reminder to us that it all belongs to Him anyway.
Jesus could have given several other examples of how He advocated for an even higher standard of God through other examples mentioned in the Matthew 5 sermon on the mount, but He specifically used this one example concerning divorce. Maybe there was more to the meaning in this example. Perhaps He mentioned this because it would also reinforce the fact that God wouldn’t divorce the law from His messenger Jesus. It’s quite probable too that this was a specific area that the religious leaders were abusing. The Talmud (the religious leaders’ extra-biblical writings) actually records that one of the rabbis alive during Jesus’ life, Hillel, taught that a man could divorce his wife if she burnt his dinner or put too much salt in his soup. Or perhaps He mentioned this example of divorce because he was not in the northern region of Galilee, but he was in the southern Judea region ruled by Herod Antipas, who John the Baptizer had recently called out, for divorcing His wife in order to commit adultery with his brother’s wife.
It’s likely Jesus used this example of divorce for all of these reasons, proclaiming truth on various levels. Defending that He was not divorcing Himself from the law, rebuking the religious leaders for abusing and neglecting the very law that they placed their hope and confidence in, rebuking Herod for His sin of adultery and sin in murdering John the Baptizer who called him out, convicting the religious leaders of their support of Herod while they at the same time plotted to kill Jesus who actually upheld the law. All that, packed into the first sentence of verse 18.
Maybe the religious leaders didn’t know how to use their earthly money to build Kingdom wealth. Back then there didn’t exist the great organizations that exist today, who purpose to go out into all the nations preaching the good news of Jesus. I mentioned a few of these organizations last week, but also mentioned that surely there are other creative ways to use what God had given us- whether it be great or small- for the building of His Kingdom. And here Jesus, for the benefit of the religious leaders and for us to today, gives another example of how to manage appropriately what we have been given for His Kingdom. Verse 19 and following (Luke 16:19-31)…
Now this is a very different parable Jesus is telling. This story doesn’t start off with words like “so Jesus told this parable.” And parables usually use generic terms because they are a fictional story, intended to convey a spiritual truth. But here, we have the mention of specific names- Lazarus and Abraham. Some believe it’s quite possible that this wasn’t a fictional story, but actually a real-life historical story told in order to convey a spiritual truth. Or perhaps it was a real-life story that was going to take place in the future. Either way, the spiritual truth still remains the same. Notice too the detail mentioned in verse 19 of the rich man dressing in “purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.” During this time, it would have been really easy for everyone’s minds to be drawn to wealthy King Herod, dressed in the color of rich royalty- purple, dining in extravagant splendor, throwing parties in the veranda of his palace. Even so, this is not just a message for Herod. This is a message for anyone who might take more lightly than they should, the idea that their money, resources, life, time, belongings are their own, and that they are free and justified to manage them anyway they please. In this entire chapter of Luke 16, Jesus is saying that our management here on earth has direct eternal effects.
In the first half of the chapter, Jesus teaches that the wise, creative, proactive use of resources will result in a desirable and positive, future eternal effect. And here in the last half of the chapter, Jesus is teaching that selfish, indifferent, lazy use of resources will have a very undesirable and negative, future eternal effect.
Upon hearing this, I guarantee you the religious leaders were thinking, “Is Jesus saying that my eternal destination can be altered by the way I use my money?” Forget the money part- was Jesus saying that someone from God’s chosen race could wind up in Hades? Look at what the rich man calls Abraham in verse 24, he says “Father Abraham”- this guy was Jewish man, a descendant of Abraham, a man among God’s chosen people- and yet he’s here in Hades? This had to have been shocking for Jesus to have said this. And why is this Jewish man whom God had obviously blessed with great wealth, why is he in Hades? Is it mentioned that he did a bunch of “bad things?” Did he intentionally hurt Lazarus? Had he gained wealth dishonestly? What appears to be the fault in the rich man is the fact that he ignored Lazarus. His sin was that he did nothing, he was passive, indifferent. There was a need right in front of him, someone he passed by every day, and he chose to ignore. He didn’t even have a repentant heart in Hades, but had the nerve to ask Abraham to send Lazarus to fulfil a need of his that was similar to the need of Lazarus that he himself ignored while on Earth.
Is the point that rich men go to hell and poor men to Heaven? No, Abraham was extremely wealthy. The point isn’t to put wealth against poverty. The point is that we are all stewards, whether given much or little, and our stewardship has eternal consequences. But wait, does that mean we can buy a ticket to Heaven or earn our way into His Kingdom? No. Entrance into the Kingdom is a matter of the heart. It requires surrender, confession, submission, acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus in your heart, and since it’s difficult to explain matters of the heart, Jesus very often gives examples- indicators- of what it looks like on the outside of a person whose heart is right with Him. Since we’ve been in the region of Luke 14-16, we’ve seen Jesus describe several indicators of Kingdom hearts. Kingdom hearts humble themselves and take lower positions, honoring others above themselves. (Luke 14:7-11) Kingdom hearts invite outsiders into their circles. (Luke 14:16-24) Kingdom hearts place their relationship with Jesus above all other relationships. (Luke 14:26) Kingdom hearts crucify their own desires and follow after Jesus. (Luke 14:27) Kingdom hearts stop building their own towers, they stop fighting a battle they can’t win and instead surrender fully to King Jesus. (Luke 14:28-35) Kingdom hearts are sought after by their Father and celebrated in their repentance. (Luke 15) And now we see that Kingdom hearts are active (not passive) in demonstrating their love for their King and their love for others by using their money not just on themselves, but for the physical and spiritual well-being of others. (Luke 16)
Now, are Kingdom hearts going to nail it every time and never screw it up? No. But Jesus is saying this is God’s standard, and He wants us to show more and more of these indicators everyday- why? Because this is how the Kingdom of God operates. The Kingdom is going to be so different, He doesn’t want us to be shocked when we arrive, but for us to feel at peace and comfortable, having already acquired somewhat the Kingdom mindset, and prepared ourselves for the amazing life there. In addition to preparing ourselves for that world, many of these indicators are characteristics and attributes of God, and He wants us to be more like Himself in these areas. In reflecting these attributes, other’s lives can be changed and more can be drawn into His Kingdom- passing from death to life.
The name Lazarus means a needy and poor man, who relies on God’s help alone. You can see why Jesus chose this name to reflect the situation of the poor man who had no one to help him but God. But His name also attests to the fact that Lazarus was a man who was depending on God, who trusted in Him, whose heart was a Kingdom heart, transformed by God’s forgiveness and mercy. And no matter what was dealt to him in life, there his name remained- Lazarus- God alone is my help. What a testimony to see the tables completely turned and to now see Lazarus comforted, basking in joyous splendor. What a testimony to those of us who at times might be tempted to view our Earthly circumstances as indicators of God’s favor, or lack of favor.
On top of this, think of how awesome Jesus is in His mercy to use the name Lazarus in this story for the name of the man asked to be risen back from the dead as a sign to those remaining on Earth who hadn’t repented. We’re going to shortly arrive back to the book of John in order to fill in some chronological details of Jesus’ life, and what we’ll see there is that just days- at most a few weeks after Jesus presents this story in Luke 16- a man in this same region, by the name Lazarus, dies and Jesus brings him back to life. In His mercy, He grants in real life, the request of the troubled rich man from the story. Talk about a story coming to life. This is how serious and real the nature of what Jesus is talking about. And what was the result of the real-life Lazarus coming back to life? John 12:10-11: “But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; (death again, the 2nd time) because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.” Well, how about that, the rich man AND Abraham were both right. Some did believe after the testimony of a dead guy coming back to life, but others hardened their hearts further, and would not be persuaded even though someone rose from the dead.
What would it take for you to get more serious about Jesus’ teaching? Would someone coming back to life from the dead do it? Jesus already did that, with Lazarus and others, and with raising Himself back to life. Is that not convincing enough? Why do we say we believe Jesus rose from the grave, but then don’t really take His teaching serious, avoiding repentance and change in our lives? Don’t be like the chief priests who witnessed Lazarus raised from the dead, and yet continued in disbelief. Believe His words and apply changes to your life, even little changes- little steps- towards living more for His Kingdom. Tip the balance to favor being more Kingdom focused in relation to money, time, people, influence, resources, family, work, church- every area of your life.