Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
Luke 17:3 CSB
The first sentence of this verse means to ‘watch yourself’ rather than anything else. The point here is to be sure you do not offend as top priority; and, then only it is your job to rebuke properly.
When offering a rebuke, however, you must stand prepared to forgive. Indeed, that is to be the whole purpose, to obtain repentance and freely give forgiveness.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your forgiveness. You lead us to be what we would never be on our own. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
Luke 17:2
Be careful not to misunderstand this verse. Jesus is not recommending that we haphazardly execute people. He is speaking in spiritual terms here and is helping us to understand that offences against others causing them to stumble from the path of the truth is every bit as serious as a crime.
Intentionally working to destroy the faith of others, or doing so through willful neglect, are serious problems. Jesus does not want anyone to be confused on this point. The purpose of all our actions must be to ‘gain a brother’ as Jesus says in Matthew 18:15.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the humbling influence of Your word. Each day, as we look into its truths, we are reminded of our own pride and sin. Thank You for working in our hearts. We are undeserving, but You are Holy. Only by your grace can we bow before You. Thank you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.
He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
Luke 17:1 CSB
To give offense to those who are weak is very serious. We must consider carefully our actions towards others. Christians who easily and often cause others to feel mistreated, maligned, and even under attack should re-evaluate their lives.
There is a place for authority in the church. There will be the need for rebuke, as we see in a couple of verses. But all too often a habitually offensive individual cloaks themselves as a spiritual leader that is offering a supposedly godly rebuke.
Heavenly Father, thank You for loving the unlovely! We are so very far from You when You reach out to us. Thank You for Your great work of grace, love, and forgiveness! Forever we will awe over the beauty that is the gospel. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’
So many people would cry foul here. There have been many throughout the years who would claim that if Christ had lived in their day they would have believed. Indeed, many have felt that if Christ had stayed on earth and been an ongoing evidence of his life after death, everyone would convert to Christianity.
But this is simply not so. The Bible helps us to understand, that even if there were a whole host of Christian people, and Christ himself, living here on earth (and living eternally), there would still be a group of folks who would not accept the truth. Thus during the millennial reign there will be those groups, Gog and Magog, that will resist at the end (Revelation 20:8).
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth, and Your leading. Without You, we could do nothing but constantly question ourselves. But with Your truth in our lives we have a guide. We can know the truth. Thank You for this comfort! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise you, Amen.
‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.
Luke 16:30
The audacity! This man who is in hell presumes to tell Abraham what it takes to engender belief in the hearts of others? Notice how very pointedly he says ‘No’ on this subject. It is this sort of audacity that landed this man in his current state.
He is here in essence saying that he could not be expected to believe on the basis of the prophets and Moses either. He is insinuating that had he been given a message from one ‘back from the dead’ he would have repented as well.
Oh the height of human hubris! It will cause many for all of eternity to rue God and His plan. Many in hell do and shall spend their time crying foul, but having no legitimate grievance.
Heavenly Father, Your truth is a wonder to us! Every cell in our body, as every grain of sand upon the seashore, teaches us of You. It is a beautiful and glorious picture that is painted every day by Your hands. You alone are God! We will worship You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
Luke 16:29 CSB
God actually expects us to pay attention to His Word. This rich man and his family were exposed to the truth. They could make no excuses.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your truth! You alone know everything. But You have made so much available to us as Your children. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.
because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.
Luke 16:28
Did this new condition cause the rich man for the very first time to think of others instead of himself? Well, at least he thinks of his own brethren after making the request for himself.
Heavenly Father, thank You for this day to serve You. Your great grace is so powerful! It does not give up easily. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.
‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house—
Luke 16:27
In the Gospel of John chapter 8 and verse 44 Jesus tells the Jewish people ‘You are of your father the devil’. And yet, here He tells a story of a man in hell still calling Abraham his father (and Abraham had called him ‘son’). How do we reconcile this?
This shows that on many occasions Jesus is targeting the spiritual state of His hearers. In John 8, he is speaking of their spiritual heritage. And this is consistent with the rich man in this story here in Luke. Though physically a son of Abraham, this man was obviously spiritually ‘of the devil’. We are all born in this state and may only escape it by the grace of God.
So, when interpreting the words of Christ one must be looking for clues that He is working on the spiritual state. For example, ‘if your right hand offends you, cut it off’ or ‘unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no part with me’. These outlandish statements are sensical when we see that Jesus is targeting the spiritual condition.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your comfort. We can know You and Your will and way, in spite of all that this life throws at us. We want a perfect life. But on this plane, we can only find our hope in You. In Your blessings we find our joy. Thank You for all that You both do and are in our lives. We have not a perfect body, perfect mind, perfect wisdom, or perfect sight. But we can rely upon You for all we need in those areas and more, so much more! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.
Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
Luke 16:26 CSB
We do not know a lot about the afterlife, whether in ancient times or now. However, what we do know is very definite. There is a dichotomy, two places to go. This is also confirmed by the passage we have before us.
The wording here is, once again, quite interesting. Evidently this rich man is able to gain an audience with Abraham. But notice what Abraham says to him. Those over in paradise who wanted to reach those in agony could not. And, the opposite could also not occur. But Abraham says nothing of those with the rich man desiring to reach those in paradise. He makes it sound as if Lazarus is indeed willing to try and help the rich man, but cannot.
Heavenly Father, You help us to see our imperfections. Thank You for this! In our human pride we can so easily become satisfied with ourselves. But in Christ we can grow beyond the need to feel sufficient as we are, and find our sufficiency in Him. Oh thank You! It is so helpful and freeing! You are wise and good. I cannot praise You enough. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.
‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony.
Luke 16:25 CSB
The word choice here is quite significant. Abraham calls the man his son because this rich man was indeed Jewish by ethnicity. And also, he says that the man had received ‘your good things’ in life. This doesn’t mean this man had experienced the best life he could have lived. Instead, it signifies that he had enjoyed the best this world has to offer, and that was his desire.
That which Lazarus had would prove to be the best choice for eternity. For whatever else Lazarus might enjoy, he had received the favor of the Lord and been counted among the faithful.
Heavenly Father, thank You for putting Your truth out there for us. I can never get over that. You have revealed Yourself and You work among us. Your church is active and vital. Oh the glory of Your great grace! You are living with Your people, and will be among us more one day. What joy! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray, and praise You, Amen.