So currently i am reading through the book of Luke and am in chapters 19,20,21. As i read some of jesus's words and the stories that he tells, they are not very comforting and peaceful all the time. I know that this is something that we hear quite often about how Jesus's words weren't always reader friendly but it is totally true. Especially to the culture that we are in where we don't want to offend people or not being 'loving' in the way that we think of (acceptance). I am not sure if this makes sense but check out the passages:
***His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
24"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
25" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
26"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."*** Luke 19.
This has a bit of a twist from my usual interpretation of the parable of the Ten Minas. The master is requiring that when he gives his servants money that interest is made from it, and that we should not fear him to the point of being afraid of having to deal w/ the authority. He wants us to deal well w/ what is around us and move forward to him and to others. But the end seems super harsh "bring them here and kill them in front of me" wow that is intense. It seems like he could have ended the parable much earlier but this is here for a specific reason. Any ideas?
The second parable is such:
***14"But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
"What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!"
17Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone[a]'[b]? 18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
19The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.*** Luke 20:9
Another twist as Jesus says, they what they will do is kill the tenants and give the vineyard to others. I think that my reaction was the same as the Chief Priests. But he brings the heat again. This is something that has been on my mind since i read it. "i need more grace than i thought"
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5 comments:
those verses mess me up... it's hard to reconcile.
there is this vein of thinking that gives some perspective. jesus sometimes tells these crazy parables with very violent, powerful, and unhappy endings - in a sarcastic way (but of course we can't pick that up because most of us don't speak aramaic!) to show the people what would happen if he was the kind of ruler that they expected him to be. he tells them of a violent, destructive ruler to show that he is different for a reason. the people who followed him really, really wanted a revolution - so did he, but he had to let them know that it would come about a different way, not by force.
i don't know, maybe it sounds like a cop-out. that makes a lot of sense to me, but i still, as always, need to give jesus more credt than i usually do. oh boy.
I like what the Bible says. I like what you say. I especially like what you say about the Bible. You search for the truth within the truth. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else but me, but I swear it applies.
Please keep writing good things.
thank you kelsie for that, i appreciate it. so i talked to my roommate ivan about the second parable and he was telling me that he looks at it in comparison w/ the people of israel and their unfaithfullness to accepting him as their savior and telling them that it is to be offered to all. and the capstone comment by Jesus is referring to the acceptance of the people and that they will be crushed into 2 (which is a good thing) but those who reject will be ground into dust and obviously won't be entering the Kingdom.
I think the kicker of this parable comes before verse 14. We see that it was not the man's first intention to send his son. No, he sent two servants, both of whom were beaten and sent away by the tenants. As a last resort, the man sends his son- certainly the tenants won't treat his own son so poorly... unfortunately he's wrong.
going back to the kicker - these people had chances. they had the opportunity to be kind to the first servant sent to them, they had the chance to be kind to the second. They just kept screwing up.
So i suppose i'm saying that along with that grace i didn't know i needed, there's a fair amount of wisdom i wasn't aware i was lacking. I need that wisdom- the wisdom to recognize the first servant, and to welcome him, feed and clothe him. To be faithful enough to recognize those whom God has called me to love. I don't want the 'land owner' to get to that point where he sends his own son... because chances are, i'll just kill him - again.
Jesus really does have a way of throwing in a yanker at the end of his parables, especially with the "Ten Minas". I've always been concerned about the ending ("I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me." v. 26-27) Ouch!
I've always been given the impression that this was about the End Times with the following cast of characters:
Jesus = the nobelman who goes away to be appointed king
God = the appointer of kings
Unbelievers = the subjects who hate the nobleman.
Believers = the servants
Spiritual Gifts = the minas
In the end, it was suggested, Jesus returns to punish the unbeliever hence his command to "kill them in front of me".
I don't buy it.
I think it helps to look at what comes right before the parable and what comes right after. Jesus tells the parable because "he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once" (v. 11). Were the people wanting/expecting an "at once" violent revolutionary uprising to defeat the Romans in Jerusalem with Jesus as their leader? Maybe.
If that's the case, Jesus may just be showing them what they'll get if they actually get what they want; a vindictive, violent king who makes the rich richer, makes the poor poorer and kills those who disagree with him.
What seems to cement this interpretation for me is what happens right after the parable. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt. This situation reflect a passage from Zechariah (9:9)
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Jesus is gentle. This doesn't sound like the mad slasher-king of the parable so maybe it's not. Maybe the parable is really an indictment of those who would want to replace one system of domination with another.
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