Hey man, hope by now you had returned, THE LORD will bless you and keep you in his sight. God loves you.
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Although many of those who dare interpret the extremely difficult Parable of the Unrighteous Mammon (Luke 16:1-13) have seen the lessons to be learned as otherworldly for heaven, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ still expects His followers to obey it beyond conversion to Christ to get out of coming damnation for sin sure to be found out. This parable is no mere allegory; it has practical value, sadly neglected by today's churches. I aim to show the following twin points:

(1) The availability of individual faithfulness in the unrighteous mammon through personal practice of bankruptcy law (vv. 1-8).

(2) The importance of corporate faithfulness of a congregation in the unrighteous mammon by sending the members in Christ out to befriend the rich people of the world (vv. 9-13).

These points are of great importance to depose the evil servants in charge of so many of today's churches and to dethrone stingy Budgets which have severely limited the work of God in most congregations.

First, let us examine the practical value of the parable alone in Luke 16:1-8. I leave it to others to explain the allegory in which the master represents God threatening damnation yet offering to afford our salvation; still, however, as it continues to speak differently to the converted, there is great practical value even for surely born-again Christians to heed in it. Let us now examine the transactions of this parable as a triangular double exchange.

These exchanges are reminiscent of bankruptcy proceedings. If we follow the example of the Unjust Steward, except his dishonesty, as believers, we should seek a way to offer mercy to the world as the fired steward offered partial forgiveness of perhaps legally binding debts --- in exchange for the debtors' good will (vv. 4 - 7). We should seek a way to arrange for the indebted people of the world to provide partial payment to its masters in exchange for the masters' words of forgiveness (vv. 6 - 8). We should seek a deal with the masters of this world to offer them our professional services in exchange for the commissions or fees of the steward's position (vv. 1, 3, 8). Such a position is available out in the world for us to take up: bankruptcy lawyer.

In almost any modern bankruptcy case, the judge and creditor(s) hold the master's position in the parable; the debtor holds the debtors' position; while in the position of the steward being fired are bankruptcy lawyers. The bankruptcy lawyers corresponding to the parable are not permanent employees of the creditors and will seek other cases when the case at hand is closed. The deal is similar to the parable as follows: The bankruptcy lawyers grant mercy to the debtor by arguing the case for forgiveness of debts before the judge in the presence of the creditor(s). The debtor provides partial payment to the creditor(s) and remains grateful to his lawyer in addition to paying the lawyer's fees. The judge presents the word of justice to all creditors and to the debtor through explaining how the settlement thus reached is fair according to all applicable laws and precedents. The creditor pays lawyer's fees in exchange for legal services. Thus does the profession of bankruptcy law embody personal emulation of the role of the Unjust Steward.

Alas, it is not easy to take this position up in modern English-speaking countries. In the days of Jesus' ministry, nigh any freeman, or servant or slave with his master's permission, well-behaved in court, could argue as an advocate for the creditors or the bankrupt; Roman bankruptcy law was simple and harsh. Today's English-speaking countries, on the other hand, aim to protect the public from "unqualified" professionals; the result is a long, expensive and worrisome training of law school and certification such that disbarment is greatly feared. There are therefore two good reasons for Christians not to train for the professional position of bankruptcy lawyer: worry (Matt. 6:24ff) and belief that Jesus might rapture us saints out of this world before the career could pay off. Nevertheless, whenever an entire congregation of many Christians has left the profession of bankruptcy law completely to worldly lawyers, that church is not following the example of the Unjust Steward.

What brings me to my second point is that it is not always possible for Christians to hold the positions of bankruptcy lawyer. A missionary is uniquely ill-equipped to argue cases at law in a foreign language, for instance. For this reason, Jesus Christ has given us the real requirements for faithfulness in the unrighteous mammon in practice on a congregational level (Luke 16:9-13): that at each congregation claiming to follow Jesus we make friends with the wealth of unrightous people so that they might take us in if we should lose our homes through persecution, disaster, or financial trouble (v. 9) and so that the rich people of the world might endow us with the wealth created by God for us which accrues to the rich so that we might be well-funded for generous Christian ministry (vv. 11-12). That we cannot serve both God and Mammon (wealth) (v. 13) indicates what happens whenever a church is thoroughly unfaithful in the unrighteous mammon and relies on hard-earned donations for its function and replaces the generosity of God with stingy Budgets. Such churches have held to their Budgets and despised Jesus Christ's commands to give freely and set people free from financial worries, just as He predicted! Judgement is coming for these evil servants in charge!

Now if you read Luke 16:9 or any discussion of it with "it" in the second clause instead of "ye" or "you" (all, as a congregation), the text has been corrupted and translated from a Greek text missing the two letters Tau and Epsilon present in the word "eklipe^te," "(when) you fail financially," in the correct text. Please ignore such an author's or preacher's pronouncements from the wrong text (e. g., NIV) and pick up a King James Version to interpret correctly. Even experts reading from the corrupted translations make false promises of houses and welcomes in heaven and claim a false need to have the favor of many poor people in Christ for heaven's sake in eternity. Do not believe their mistaken promises; the "failing" in verse 9 is loss of home in the here and now rather than loss of dominion after death. Now, if we neglect the rich mission field as most American Christians have seen fit to do, we shall continue to lack the means for faithful local ministry, let alone world evangelism (v. 12). I, Kevin Douglas Rosenberg, refuse to tolerate this abominable state of affairs any longer; I decry and denounce the evil servants in charge of most churches and cry out for their master to return in the here and now (Matt. 24:45-51). Let it be known that those evil servants in charge when their master returns have no forgiveness from me, but sure awareness of the wrongness of their expedients to serve Christ in stinginess while His Holy Word requires their generosity. If the laws in the way of this judgement were repealed, I could gladly call a respected pastor an evil servant in charge and hack him apart and kick him out and flog him if I had the position; that position, however, is not mine, but that of the gatherings which hire such individuals. In the meantime, be sure of each church's need for favor with the rich people of the world, especially if there be no bankruptcy lawyers in it.

Let God enrich your churches through the favor of the rich people of the world, not through hard, proud work. Good luck!


(Erratum to my earlier message: A transposition occurred in my typing afflicted with carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes in both arms: "Matt. ... 6:42" -- a nonexistent verse -- should have read "Matt. ... 6:24, ..." in which Jesus taught against worry.)
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Thanks for the insight, I was looking for insight on the web about this parable that I am teaching on Sunday morning. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.

I can see how a church getting larger can get out of control, regarding the birds of the air making their nest in it.

May the Lord help us "small or large" to keep the birds out.

God Bless.
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Many people focus just on the younger son...lets remember something here. The scriptures say that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy, in the Holy Ghost. What did the younger son actually feel in his fathers arms? Do you recon he was more excited about the feast, or the redemption? What had the older son lost sight of, in the presence of his father, but not in his arms? We tend as christians to get so busy in our "works efforts" that we loose sight of the purpose of our stewardship. Our carnal natures sneak into prominance and then we wind up working to achieve the wrong goal.....to please ourselves, not to glorify our Father! The Father said what to the older son? DO we as christians take full advantage of our inheritance and the privelidges of our Bloodline? The wealth had already been divied up, the older son had received his fair share, and should have then been enjoying the status of just living in accord with His Father....all the benefits of the Fathers prosperity were there for his use....but he wasn't using them was he! He was so busy still trying to please his father, that he lost sight of the fact that he was already in good standing with him. WHy do you think he felt he had to keep trying? See, it wasn't about pleasing his father....it was about pleasing himself....to be better than the lost brother..(in his own eyes). Our Father wants to see us take advantage of our status as his child.....to put to use and enjoy the benefits bring his children....or are we too busy (self absorbed) to see the big picture here? As children of the Father...we are sanctified, holy, we are his Glory.....so why do we scurry around trying to earn an inheritance we have already been given? That inheritance isn't ours to earn...it came as a gift! We own it...so why don't we put it to use!
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Dear Sir: May I have a copy of your good shepherd sermon? I am not a pastor, just ibterest you sermon. also I am a forener student in OU.
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in response to Gary:
the man who God gives the one talent to is the man with 5 talents who has earned an extra 5 (total 10 talents).
Also the Luke version states that there were 10 servants who were all given 1 mina (NIV). Also in the Luke version the servant is sent to slay the Master's enemies and is not sent into the darkness. My personal opinion on this is that the Matthew and Luke are not in fact the same story, just very similar stories. Jesus probably told the same parable dozens of times to different audiences and so adapted the parable to suit the audience. This may be the explanation why the two versions are differ in the two records. I hope that helps you.

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In understanding Jesus’ teachings concerning the Kingdom of God, (God’s way of doing things in the earth) one of the most misunderstood and underrated things that a Christian has to consider is the time element involved in Faith.

Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is likened unto a seed, which is sown in the earth, and then after many days a fruit is harvested. But in light of faith being likened unto a seed or the idea of farming, the growing time has to be considered.

As difficult as this is to do, there is no other way around it. When I want a fishing lure, I want it today not tomorrow. When I woman eyeballs a new pair of shoes, is she content in having them next week? Trust me, if she really wants them she’ll have them tonight.

But in the realm of the spirit there are mechanisms set in place for our protection. It's called growing time. So, why this growing time? Is God just a hard head? Is he just being unreasonable? Or is there divine reasoning behind it?

According to Jesus our hearts are a two way street. “Let your light so shine”, “take heed that the light which be in you be not darkness”. And God has confined himself to working through the human heart. But do you know what? Satan is also confined to working through the heart. Now he has an advantage because he’s already in the earth (due to the fall of man). God on the other hand is trying to get back into the earth, and the great battleground is the heart.

The growing time is a buffer zone that God uses to function in the spiritual realm where #1. Satan can never beat him (us). And #2. He can preserve Christians from the affects of fickleness and unbelief. If the system worked that way we wanted it to, then Satan would be able to wipe us out in a matter of days. But this long growing time assures that the only things that truly enter into our hearts are things that we really desire or things that we obstinantly adhere to (negative things-yes they can get in there too). The whole thing is a safety mechanism whereby God in his infinite wisdom can keep us alive and happy.

Jesus taught that there is power in words and interestingly, he manifested himself as the Word of God (John 1:1). If all of the crud and expressions of the day were to REALLY take root in our hearts, we would seal a fate of doom very quickly. But be of comfort, God has set up a plan whereby we can access the “treasure of our hearts” in a deliberate way without destroying ourselves in the process. Of course the one drawback is this long time element, but if we know it going into the process then we can #1. Make sure that the things that we pray for are truly desires of the heart and not temporary whims that we all get into. And #2, we’re encouraged to be responsible thereby preparing for the future, much like Noah preparing an ark on dry land being warned by God’s Word of things yet to come. (This is the meaning of this parable: Prepare beforehand.)

This parable shows vividly this time element and it also shows the importance of preparation for the future in a godly sober manner.

God is not the author of hardship though we may think that he is in making us wait such a long time-so it seems, (we want everything yesterday) for the things that we ask for. But give the God of the heavens-the one who actually died for us the benefit of the doubt and know that he doesn’t withhold things from us, he preserves them for us. But we must figure in the time element in the growing of our faith.

If done properly we can feather a nest of blessing, security and provision over our families that terrorism or global uncertainty can never quell.

But you have to get on the front end of things and this entails preparation in the light of Gods word for the future. This is what a wise person does. A fool will always live behind the eight ball, forever reacting to unexpected visitors from the dark side in the form of circumstances not in line with the abundant life that Jesus promised all.

If done correctly, not only will our life’s structures prevail against the storms of life, but also we’ll have room for others who have not been so wise, so as to build their lives upon the word of the Almighty.

Don’t ever buy into that anger business where the adversary accuses God of making you wait as though he’s dangling a carrot in front of our faces leading us on. No, to the contrary, we’ve probably been believing things in our hearts that if he were to honor the one he would have to honor the other, and the other could possibly destroy us. God will work as advocate and counselor making up for our “ways” assuring us blessing if we but patiently harbor his promises in our hearts.

Cheer up! God’s CAUSING these things to come to pass, not impeding them. But we must hold fast his Word in our hearts liberally giving him time to work around our sin and quirks. All things considered, we serve a wonderful God that is not hard and unreasonable, but one who has all the facts, and who is our greatest ally.

So build your spiritual structures on the foundation of prayer and the believing of his word, in time you’ll be the “strong tower” that others come running to in times of a storm and destruction.

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The second message is more complete, it has more to it at the bottom!
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hey do you hav picture of the parable of the seed and the sower... i need it for my project pls. reply me to my email if do you have
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to me, the prodigal son`s elder brother did not know his rights despite his loyalty to the father, not until he was told by the father himself. As a child, you have every right to your father`s properties and that was why it was easier for the younger brother to receive his own portion without any query from the father. (well, it now depends on how you spend it)
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Dear Kathleen,

I am also a CGS catechist and am looking for a photo of a mustard tree that would be appropriate to use with the children. If you have anything like this, sould you mind forwarding? Thanks! Nadine
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I am a catholic teacher and would love a copy of the mustard tree as we are looking at how our faith grows from a little seed. I want to use the parrable in our class prayer service.
Thanks and God bless Liz
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We have several interpretations on the parable of the Ten Virgins. But one thing is sure, the five who were taken to be with the bridegroom were ready and the others were not. This shows the urgency for us to be watchful and prayerful and ready ourselves for !the coming of the LORD JESUS.

See you there in the KOG (Kingdom of God)
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My take is....
The purpose of the Fig Tree is to produce FRUIT. Just like the product of Christians is their works aka their FRUITs. One day Jesus approach the fig tree, cause He was in need, but when He looked, He saw none and cursed the tree. A closer look, you will see that it was out of season for the tree to produce FRUIT, but Jesus had need! There is no excuse!

Lesson: One day Jesus will comes down the road in need, and sees you, a Christian standing there. Will you be FRUIT-less? If so be prepared to be cursed and withered away! Remeber no excuses!

DP
P.S My Fruit!! I hope u enjoy!!!
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I think you are all missing the point. Why speculate when Jesus told us. Two of the parables are explained. should not all the others be understood in the same light?

1-leaven IS a bad thing in the Bible. I think you are missunderstanding the verse. Three measures of meals refers to fellowship. In the mid-east culture this is well understood. Leaven would never be included. It would be insulting and shocking. Jesus was Jewish, His disciples were Jewish. We have to understand this from a Jewish perspective. The leaven is hidden and corrupts the whole lot. This is a WARNING from the Lord.

2-No all the kingdom parables are not 'bad' so to speak. The treasure is not bad. The treasure is the remnant of the body of Christ. The field however, represents the world which IS bad. The man of course is the Lord who did give up everything to purchase the field. And yes it is a corrupt field, but He paid the full price in order to get the treasure.

3-All these parables must be kept in context. Remember - Jesus explained two of the parables, the rest can be understood from this. Use the Bible for context, not our assumptions or imaginations. Jesus explained the two then asked if He had to explain the others. The disciples said basicly, 'no need, we understand now."(Matt 13:51)

In Christ

Jeffrey


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"Why were the first paid last, and the last first?

The pay God's servants receive is enternal life, and is characterized by the penny. Therefore, those who are granted the assurance of a never ending life first, are those who were hired last, and according to the parable, it was the company called at the eleventh hour. They are those who are marked or sealed by the man with the writer's inkhorn of Ezekiel 9, or as John calls him, the angle with the seal of God: and he sealed, or marked, 144,000. Rev. 7:1-8. This glorious company are the first who are granted the assurance of never tasting death. Thus they are paid first, but those who were called early in the morning (Ancient Israel) are to receive their reward, enternal life when they are resurrected. "So the last shall be first, and the first, last."

Why was he calling those questioning him evil? Was he calling them evil?

They that murmured represent that part of the Jewish nation who were unworthy, and the phrase, "Friend, I do thee no wrong... Take that thine is, and go thy way," denotes the rejection of the nation.

Note that those who were hired last were paid first, and the first, last. As all were equally regarded, the ones hired first murmured, though they were paid in full. Their disdainful act denotes that the Jewish nation was unworthy of their hire, and the Goodman said to them, "Take that thine is, and go ty way." As Ancient Israel is represented by the first called, so shall they be the last paid.
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In the light of the way in which leaven is always used in the Old Testament, Christ could use the word in a symbolic sence---as he did in Matt.13:33, and Matt.16:6 and his disciples would know exactly what was meant. And the exactly the same thing can be seen where leaven is used elsewhere in the New Testament. Every place this word appears, the context always clearly shows the word being used only one way--to show corruption and deterioration- in complete keeping with the Old Testament usage. In Matt.13:33 the context leading into the use of this word has to do with fruit-bearing and with the method Satan uses to stop Christians from bearing fruit. The preceding two parables reveal Satan introducing false doctrine, with a progressive corruption and deterioration following. And the parable of the leaven simply reveals the conclusion of the matter. Acording to the parable of the leaven, the message surrounding the proffered kingdom during the present time would, near the end, become completely leavened. Corruption introduced at the beginning would progressively permeate the whole of Christendom untill that having to do with the proffered kingdom would be completely corrupted. This is how, according to this parable,the dispensation would end. The Church will not only left its "first love"{Rev.2:4}, but the Church will be brought into a state described as "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked"{Rev.3:17b}
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Vs 17 states "When he came to himself". It's important to stay with God.

When do not know how long God's mercy is going to last. You may not be

as fortunate as the Prodigal son coming to himself. You may not come to

your senses (NIV). "Stay with God"
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I don't know which subject you are speaking of, since I was the last one before your comment, let me share the Scripture in God's Word, concerning continued sin in the life of a believer! First, Jesus said unto sinner that came unto Him and were forgiven their sins, sin no more less a worse thing come upon you! The Judgment of God!
(Hebrews-10-26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth (Christ) there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
(27) But CERTAIN fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.
Satan has always been the liar and murderer that deceived mankind, from the beginning, to take of the tree of knowledge, knowing good and evil!! (Genesis-3-4-5) (2-17) But God said, The day you eat thereof, knowing good and evil, you shall die!
(Romans-6-16) Know you not to whom you yeild yourselves servants to obey, his servant you are to whom you obey: whether of sin unto death (continued sin) or of obedience unto Righteousness! We cannot obey God, and the Devil! God never changes, (Genesis-2-17) that wages of sin is death, neither does Satan! (Genesis-3-4-5) you shall not surely die!
(11Thess-2-3-12! That all might be Damned who believed not the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness!
Also note, (1John-3-7) Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as He is Righteous!
(8) He that COMMITS SIN is of the Devil, for the devil sinned from the beginning, For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might DESTROY (not justify) the works of the Devil!
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if the father represents God, the younger son represents us, who does the elder son represent?
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First thing to note is that there are three parables given.

Why are they given? The occasion for Jesus to give them is back in chapter 15:1-3. The phrarisees and scribes are grumbling because sinners come to Jesus.

He then tells three stories (keep in mind these are parables - the details are not important but the main point Jesus makes).

Note these similarities -

1) Lost sheep --something is lost (sheep), something is found, the finder rejoices, others rejoice with the finder.

2) Lost coin -- something is lost (coin), it is found, the finder rejoices, everyone rejoices with the finder.

3) Prodigal -- something is lost (son), he is found (comes to the father), everyone rejoices (they have a party). But then we get to a different element than the first two stories, the older brother grumbles because the father receives the sinful younger brother. Does that sound like anyone else? It is exactly like the attitude of the pharisees and scribes in verses 1-3 (the reason Jesus tells these parables).

The meaning of these three parables is plain. The proper attitude should be joy when someone comes to Christ.

It is easy to get bogged down by trying to figure the meaning of each of the things in the story of the prodigal. I don't believe Christ ever intended us to try to place a meaning on every element of this story. Just like today when a preacher gives an illustration, every detail of it is not important - just the main point. I fully believe in the inerrancy of scripture - but I still think that these three parables have a simple meaning.

Todd
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I am looking for information that is at once Biblical and biological and reconciling the seed and the tree or large shrub.
Thank you.
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Pharisee Sadducees you do not see the phrases in the Old Testament. I am assuming they originated during the inter testamen period. Are they in the lost books
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All 3 servants were given talents to work with. The talents were given according to the ability of the servant. (The Master knew what they were capable of). The servants who receieved the 5 & 2 talents both did the same thing: went at ONCE and put his money TO WORK and GAINED five more. Although they were given the talents, they were not told how to invest (or use) them. (but they did understand that they were expected to produce an increase.) The Master expected a return on the talents he trusted the servants with. The servants who produced an increase were called good and faithful and had their responsibilities increased. The servant who hid his talent was called WICKED and LAZY, had his talent taken away, and was thrown outside. Was he called wicked solely because of his failure to use his talent wisely or was it because of his reasons why? ("You are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow)" Is the word "afraid" in Matt. 14: 25 an accurate translation?

Finally, the faithful servants made no mention of the Master's methods or practices. They saw the giving of the talent to they as a sign of trust & belief in what they could do (or what fruit they could produce) and understood that they were to produce an increase.

I think this parable has layers of meaning with the most obvious one being that God has gifted us for service in His Kingdom and when His Son returns, we will have to give an account of how we made use of the many blessings he gave us while we were on this planet. God means for us to impact a lost world through His gifts in us.

I hope this helped you. Just continue to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth & understand and He will reveal to you what God has for you in this parable.
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Because Jesus told this parable (and had therefore not died yet), keep in mind that a person could not simply "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved-Acts 16:31. Jesus had not died yet. Sin's debt had not been paid "once and for all". This passage therefore does NOT show where a New Testament believer in Christ will go, but rather where Old Testament believers would temporarily exist. I say temporarily because both the rich man and Lazarus will one day stand before the Great White Throne where the book of life will be opened and THEN their FINAL destination will be decided; either eternity future with Christ on a "new heaven and a new earth", or in torment forever in the lake of fire. Remember that Abraham obeyed God and it was "accounted to him for righteousness". This parable gives us an insight to the waiting place of the Old Testament believer; not the New Testament. This is NOT a proof text for the Catholic view of limbo. This does NOT relate to a present-day Christian.
Looking at the parable, I find several interesting points:

(1) The rich man and Lazarus were in the SAME place. Yes they were separated by a "great gulf fixed", but they could see and recognize each other.

(2) Being able to see one another, we see that they must have had bodies that were visible to one another. The rich man could still see, speak (to God), and feel the pain of his torment.

(3) However, Although their physical senses are functional, they do not still have their physical bodies. Verse 22 is clear in explaining that the rich man's physical body was indeed buried!

What I have covered thus far is merely an introduction to this parable (only covering up to verse 24). The real meat of this story is in Abraham's warning in verse 25 and the importance of the spiritual rather than the temporary things of this world. To quote one of the humblest Christian poets of my generation:

"Who have I in heaven but you Jesus? What better could I hope to find down here on earth?" -Rich Mullins

I hope this has been helpful.
Myself your servant for Jesus' sake
-B.D. Means

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everyone seems to be forgetting the simplest of all bible study rules. that being "context". it seems that the most debated of these parables is the parable of the leaven. remember, keep it in context. all the parables in Matthew 13 must be kept in context with one another as they were all given by Christ in one setting. the parable of the sower and the parable of the tares set that context.
let me set for you the scene. Jesus meakes it quite clear that the main topic of these parables is the "kingdom of Heaven". the Kingdom of Heaven consists of all borne again believers from the time of Christ's death to the time of His return, also known as the "church age". in the parable of the sower, the seed represents the word of God. the ground upon which the seed falls represents the condition of mans hearts throughout the world. the good soil represents the hearts of those who receive the word and become kingdom citizens.
in the parable of the tares we find that the seed represent those who have received the word and become citizens of the kingdom. the tares represent those who reject the word. the field, as Jesus makes perfectly clear, is the world. it is not the church. as christ sends the kingdom citizens into the world, we incounter opposition from the tares whom Jesus reveals are sown by satan. from time immemorial, satan has and will, until he is cast into hell, strongly oppose the work of God. this work is being done throughout the world by those sown by the son of god.
the rest of the parables of matthew 13 need to be kept in context with these first two parables.
for instance, in the parable of the mustard seed, jesus compares the kingdom to a mistard seed. remember the kingdom consists of all believers throughout the world! if the parable of the tares which emediatly precedes this parable deals with the opposition of satan against the kingdom then this parable obviously represents the overcoming power of the kingdom dispite the opposition.
we now come to the most highly debated of the parables, the parable of the leaven. it is true that every other refrence to leaven in scripture hold a negative conotation, but to say that it therefor always should, is to think as the pharasees thought. everywhere in scripture where leaven is refered to it is in reference to influence. it's interesting to note that the parables of the tares and the mustard seed also deal with influence. the first time we see refrence to leaven in scripture is in regard to the exodus. the nation of israel was commanded by god to take nothing with them from egypt as they left not even leaven. thus they ate unleavened bread, thus the reason for the feast of unleavened bread. the purpose of this was not because leaven was evil but because the influence of pagan egypt was evil. after this all bread was leavened, even the show bread in the temple. does this mean that God tolerates evil. i think not. leaven can represent both a negative and a positive influence. to say that the leaven in this parable represents evil is to say that the kingdom has an evil influence in the world. i think that is the farthest thing from the truth. the truth is, that the influence that the church has on the world will be far reaching and beneficial. it doesn't mean that all people will be saved, but that all people will benefit from the kingdoms influence on the world. remember this, when the influence of the kingdom is removed from the world just prior to the tribulation, the world will be a very bad place to live!
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Every hurting person is your neighbor. Many times our concentration is on the good samaritan but what made him a good samaritan was the victim! What was his character, a hurting person and stripped of everything. Would you help or avoid him? They are every where, you do not need to travel to a third world country.

Christopher Lobo
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Thank you so much for all of your comments.
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thats it, brother
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well, tradgically I feel as I was prior to today, a modern-day Pharisee I'm awful ashamed, I used religion to justify being bitter at others...reading Jonah helped...
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Webmaster,
Yesssss! Love it! Like we're all trying to get into that BAD heaven. I used to call that hell!

The operative word is LOGICAL.

If the kingdom of heaven is BAD as Bighouse5 is implying by his statements (if we LOGICALLY state them for him), then what about the BAD heaven that was a BAD man seeking BAD pearls? Matt 13:45 The BAD man that sowed BAD seed so that the really BAD tares could make it worse? Matt 13:24 The BAD Word coming from the BAD kingdom? I don't think that God's Word is BAD! Matt 13:19 The BAD mustard seed of the BAD woman whose BAD branches hide all those BAD birds? Matt 13:31, How about the good seeds of the BAD kingdom? Matt 13:38, The BAD treasure in a field? Who wants to search for a BAD treasure? Matt 13:44 The BAD net gathering all those good and BAD fishes so that the good can be separated forever from the BAD? Matt 13:47

This negativity lacks inspiration. Inspiration is uplifting and GOOD.

No, you're not confused or missing something, Webmaster. Bighouse5 has missed the point and hasn't logically thought this through. You're a scholar and a gentle man. YOU understand.


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Hey, Rick......I don't know you personally, but I saw you were from home town, I thought I would say hello. I go to Spanish River and have lived in Boca 32 years now. How 'bout you?
There are quite a few interesting comments on this web-site. I think it's neat how people break stuff down and look for meanings. Like, "what do the sandals represent?"
I've been the prodigal son recently. got really off track. wheh! I mean really off track. It's so wonderful to be able to come to God with a broken and contrite heart and accept His forgiveness. What a pleasure being back in fellowship. Let me hear from you.
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The elder son represents those who stand to inheriet the kingdom of God,yet are unwilling to follow God's standards on forgiving those who have trespassed against us. God has such a loving heart, He freely shows love to those who have strayed from Him, but come back with a repentant heart seeking His forgiveness. The elder son should take a few lessons that his father practices and learn how to be more forgiving.
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who is the fig tree, isit the nation of Israel as a whole which was born in May14th. 1948 or is it of Jursalem recaptured in 1967 durning the 1967 war
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If you are going to give advice, give the Word of God!
(James-1-5) If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all that ask of Him in faith!
(1Corin-2-13) Not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual!
(John-16-13-15) The Spirit of Truth to guide you to all Truths, and show you things to come!
(1John-2-27) For the anointing we receive of Him, abide in us, and we need not that 'any man' teach us, but the same anointing teaches us of all things and is Truth and is no lie, and even as It has taught us, we shall abide in Him
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What is the scientific name for a fungus on bread? If possible i really need the answer today..it is for a biology project!
Thanx a bunch!
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First, to fully understand what was happening, let's look at why the events in this parable happened the way they did.

It was common practice in these times that if a person owed somebody else, the person they owed was allowed to sell him, and his family, as servants until the debt was paid off. Here's another example of where it happened, this one in the old testament. 2 Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. A more detailed description of this practice is found in Leviticus:

LEV 25:39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

LEV 25:40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee.

LEV 25:41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

LEV 25:42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

LEV 25:43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor; but shalt fear thy God.

LEV 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

LEV 25:45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

LEV 25:46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor.

So this is what we see happening at the beginning of this parable. There was the servant of a man who owed his master a debt, and he was unable to pay it. The master did what was common in that time....prepared to sell him, his family, and his possessions in return for the payment owed. The servant begged for more time, and his master had compa/s/sion. He could have just had *some* but and gave him more time to come up with what he owed, but instead he had TOTAL compa/s/sion, and forgave the amount owed.

The amount forgiven was approximately $16,180,000.

After he was forgiven, this servant then went to one of his fellow workers who owed him (approximately $14). He choked him and demanded his payment. His fellow worker requested the same thing the servant had requested.....more time to pay what he owed.

You'd think that a man who'd just been forgiven an amount that nobody at that time would have been capable of paying off would understand and be compa/s/sionate towards another in the same position...and this wasn't even CLOSE to the same amount! Yet he didn't...he was angry and unforgiving, and had the man imprisoned.

When his master found out what he had done, he reminded him of his previous debt, and wondered that the servant didn't have the same compa/s/sion on his fellow worker.

The master then reinstated the debt. I'm not sure what the tormenters were...I'd guess it was worse than being sold, unless it means the same thing. Someone else can jump in and explain this part.

Anyhow, the moral of the story? Do unto others as you'd have done to you! Christians, you have been forgiven a debt you could have never paid. In comparison to that, how hard can it be to forgive your fellow men offenses against you?

Chrys _________________ Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth.


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hello there,
in respose to your question Jesus Christ is how i am doing, living
and breathing acts 17:28 and john 14:27 let not your heart be
trouble or let it be afraid. my friend i pray you are baptized
in Jesus Christ acts 2:38 and not his titles matt 28:19 pay
close attetion to in the name of (single not plural )

J E S U S C H R I S T is the father , son ,and holy ghost in one name

and if you are in the name of Jesus Christ ask the father(Jesus Christ)
any thing in his name and he will do it. believe and have faith in

God(Jesus Christ) come ye that are heavy laden and daily give your
cross to him
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What happen to Barabas after Jesus Christ death.
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Often times when we stray away from the Body of Christ, we feel as if we can't return. We are often embarrassed and ashamed of our actions. Sometimes we feel as if God has somehow revealed to everyone the dirt that we have done. In similarity to the Prodigal Son for a while he rather stepped down from returning to his father because of the wrong he had done. He had went out and had a worldly time with his share of the wealth. He felt bad about his actions,but he knew his father, he didn't know what to expect but he knew his father. Just the same as we know the "FATHER", if you are saved, and you have fallen short, you still know God and can identify with his fogiving and loving spirit. You may not know the consequence, but you know that through the blood of Jesus, you are saved and forgiven if you go to our Lord with divine, and sincere repentance. All you have to do is call on the Father and we will restore you to your rightful place, just as the Prodigal Son was restored to his.
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This is so true. this is a perfect parable to relate to life today. when we sin we have to go through the consequences of that sin but we can still go to our father in heaven and ask his forgiveness. i just wanted to give up major props to you, this is one of the best articles i've ever read on this subject! Thank you.
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I've heard it said this way "Use your time, talent and treasure for God". The scriptures support this:

TIME:
1 Peter 4:1-3 ...he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have SPENT ENOUGH TIME in the past doing what pagans choose to do...
(Peter is exhorting us to use our remaining TIME to do God's will, not to fulfill the evil human desires of our will. Don't jump to hasty conclusions or be moved by other peoples condemnations, read the scriptures thoroughly to discern God's will).

TALENT:
1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use WHATEVER GIFT HE HAS RECEIVED to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. (Peter then goes on to list some of those 'various forms')

TREASURE:
2 Cor. 8:7 ...see that you EXCEL IN THIS GRACE (gift) OF GIVING.
(In light of all the scriptures there is no reason to think this only applied to the Corinthian church he was speaking to.)

As our character becomes more and more like Jesus's character we will become more and more productive in the things that Christians do. In
2 Peter 1:5-7 Peter lists the qualities of Godly, Christlike character. Then he goes on to say in verse 8: "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, THEY (these qualities) WILL KEEP YOU FROM BEING INEFFECTIVE AND UNPRODUCTIVE IN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST." (Godly character is what will equip you to 'produce', and bring 'increase', the very things we are exhorted to do in the parables.)

The seed sown and the talent entrusted is the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our responsibility is to let that knowledge grow and increase into active, visible deeds as God himself gives increase.

God develops the very character of Jesus within us, character that can't help but to be expressed in the righteous deeds of the Spirit. God changes WHAT we do by changing WHO we are.

Hope this is what you were looking for.






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our theater group has been staging passion plays for the past 30 years. Our theme for this year is about faith, we need to know more about the mustard seed and mustard plant. if you could possibly give us a picture of the plant and seed and what is its significance to faith perse as described in the parable. thanks and more power. God bless
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Hello, God's great blessings to all......I found a page in the back of a bible that had the prodigal' son's ring on it. It had 8 stones, each signifiying a different thing, such as love, peace, hope, etc. Do you have any more info on this? or the sandals? Im letting the Lord lead me into making a banner of the ring. Also, it must mean the same thing about the reconcilliation of the Jews to Israel.!! This is a new revelation of the Lord, as I am also very interested in our role as Christians to the Jews.As the Messianic movement is the bridge of reconcilliation , bringing the Jew's to Jesus. Therefore, the restoration of Israel. Please answer soon, this is quite powerful in the Lord.................Love in Christ.......Chris
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I agree with you! The fowls of the air are from Gen 1:20-21, 31 where God, who is Love, brought forth the fowls of the air to fly in the firmament of heaven and God saw everything that he made and behold it was very good. (Why would a good, loving God create evil birds to fly in His heaven? He did not.) Why would anyone want to take a symbol of inspiration, love and protection such as birds reflect and want to see them as they are described but once in the Bible as unclean, foul and hateful? There are so many inspired references to wings, brooding, flying, nest, eagles that are beautiful in the Scriptures. I'd rather take the inspired Word of the Bible. Mustard seed and leaven are synon. and both small but growing and changing into good, useful things. The woman hid the leaven in three measures of meal---modes of human thought. Meal in the Bible stands for healing. The leaven is NOT that of the hypocritical Pharasees but of God's Christ, Truth. This leaven of Truth is changing the whole of thought until the whole of evil thought is leavened--changed into Truth. The grains of mustard signify this growth of Truth too, until the leaves of the tree of Truth are used for the healing of the nations--knowing the Truth that makes us free----free from what? A lie. Truth always frees us from lies. Truth never frees us from itself! Only, only from lies. The devil is a liar and the Father of it and abides not in truth. John 8:44
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At this page I believe that you will find the most excellent explanation of Parable of the Ten Virgins: http://www.egwestate.andrews.edu/col/col29.html

Claudia
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I think you've seized upon something that isn't a part of the parable of the sower. The context is the kingdom of God. The place where we're sowing the seed is into the realm of the spirit, our hearts. Jesus said that the kingdom of God is within you. Did you notice that Jesus never addressed the issue of watering the seed? Well don't seeds need to be watered? Then why not address such a critical thing? Because if you go back into the Garden of Eden, you'll recall that a mist watered the plants of Eden, the watering was already provided for in this garden. In this realm of the kingdom within, the watering is already provided for. And lets not forget that the seed were talking about is the Word of God. "Being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seed, by the word of God which live and abides forever. If the seed is planted it will grow! God will provide the increase. The curse that has come upon the earth and our physical bodies has not contacted that place where these seeds are sown. It's infinitely easier to produce in the realm of the spirit for "he watches over his word to perform it." The tough part is in having enough scriptural knowledge to be able to plant the seed and turn loose of it for long periods of time. Being patient. But I wouldn't seize upon the curse that IS in this earth to allow the enemy to say why ever bother. Maybe your just saying that God has the final say. But then what about dope and poppy plants? If seeds are planted in the realm of the kingdom of God inside us they will grow. Good or bad.
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Does anyone have an opinion on what the sandals represent?
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Sounds like a very interesting view but I don't know how to make a connection to the original story. Are you saying all 100 sheep were actually "lost" but only 1 was willing to admit ?
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I am sorry. I thought this was about the prodigal son. This is indeed the complete text for this parable.
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