Friday Focus..."Now He said to the disciples:..."

The above picture is taken outside the Seattle Public Library in 1915 of the children gathered to hear a story from the librarian.  "Story-time" is what we call these gatherings. 

We find Jesus telling many stories in the Gospels.  Many times we are given who Jesus is directing the story to.  In the 15th chapter of Luke, Jesus is speaking to two groups of people and we assume His disciples are by His side also.  One group is the sinners and tax collectors who have come to listen and the other group is the scribes and Pharisees who have come to complain and catch Jesus is some type of wrong saying or wrong doing.  

Jesus launches into the storytelling of the trilogy of the lost shepherd, the lost silver, and the lost son.  These stories called parables relate to all who are listening.  They are relatable, easy to understand, and applicable to life.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said of the Parable of the Lost Son said from the lips of Jesus was the greatest short story ever spoken or written and Charles Dickens agreed.  A retired English professor friend of mine told me that it was common to use this passage of Scripture even in secular universities and included in the textbooks to teach of the principles of a good short story. 

We move from chapter 15 of Luke into chapter 16 and it starts with the words,...

Now He (Jesus) said to the disciples:... 

What is coming next is another story from Jesus directed to His disciples but this one is hard to understand.  It seems to be rewarding someone who was taking advantage of his boss and then his boss praising him for it.  Jesus says in verse 8 these words of the story....

"The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly.  For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people."

The point of this blog post is that some things Jesus shared were for the larger crowd and some things were for His inner circle.  Even some of the things He shared with the inner circle had to be explained in greater detail later like the Parable of the Soils.  I think about this when people gather for church on a Sunday morning.  We have a mixed crowd.  Some know of Jesus and some know Jesus.  Some have come out of religious duty and some has come out of righteous devotion.  

I have heard some say that they don't understand the Bible.  Me too, at times, and therefore much study is needed.  Could it be that this is a part of the Bible that is only understood by those who know Jesus rather than just those who just know of Jesus?  Some parts of the Bible, even to those who know Jesus, could be "clear as mud" as my mother used to say.  This passage in Luke chapter 16 is one of those sections that make the "know Jesus" crowd scratch their heads.

For the Christian, in rides the Holy Spirit on His metaphorically said "white stallion" to save the day.  The Holy Spirit, the third of the Trinity, aids us in understanding and applying God's Word.  1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verses 11 and 12 say,

For who knows a person's thoughts 

except his spirit within him?

In the same way, no one know the thoughts of God 

except the Spirit of God.

Now we have not received the spirit of the world,

but the Spirit who comes from God,

so that we may understand 

what has been freely given to us by God.

The Apostle Paul goes on to say in verse 14,

But the person without the Spirit

does not receive what comes from God's Spirit,

because it is foolishness to him;

he is not able to understand it

since it is evaluated spiritually.

The challenge for me each Sunday is to speak to both crowds gathered.  I "teach" to those who know Jesus and I "preach" to those who know of Jesus.  I do the speaking physically but the Spirit of God does the speaking spiritually into their souls toward greater knowledge of God's love or the saving call of God on their lives to repent and believe.  I speak of salvation but God is the One who saves through the sacrifice given of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Writing this truth out helps me to seek God in prayer for those whose eyes would be opened and hearts softened by Him to go from one crowd to the other.  I pray this Sunday that there would be some who would transfer from the "know of Jesus" crowd to the "know Jesus" crowd.  I pray there would be representatives of both crowds coming and I would be faithful, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to teach His word to the believer and the unbeliever.  

From a simple preacher who finds himself scratching his head at times - Adam