Horrifying sayings of Jesus
In an effort to better implement the Great Commission, John Piper is looking at all the commands of Jesus (HT: SmartChristian). Some of what he's found is horrifying:
If you don’t feel them as horrifying, you are not awake. I think they are calculated to wake us up from our domestication of Christ and his book. This one grabbed me because it relates directly to the issue of Jesus’ authority. At the beginning of the parable of the ten minas (or ten pounds) in Luke 19:14, Jesus describes the citizens’ relationship to the nobleman like this: “His citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’” Then at the end of the parable Jesus says in Luke 19:27, “As for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me."It should come as no surprise to those familiar with Dr. Piper's writings that he finds at least ten lessons in the story.
This is horrifying. Jesus says that people who do not want his absolute authority over them will be slaughtered before his eyes. What should our hearts and minds do with this kind of talk in the mouth and heart of our Lord?
posted by Milton Stanley at 7:47 PM
7 Comments:
'Jesus says that people who do not want his absolute authority over them will be slaughtered before his eyes'
Wow, that's weird exegesis. Where exactly does Jesus says that in the parable? That truly is horrifying.
What other exegesis do you suggest for Luke 19:11-27?
The unsaved should be terrified/terrified due to their unbelief. The saved, because He will judge them too. This seems to mirror Scripture parables elsewhere.
Live each day as though it were your last. To those who are in Christ, you know what that means.
It may be your last choice/chance to serve Him before He returns, or death comes and one goes on to meet Him.
There's a lot of Kindgdom talk these days in evangelical circles. I wonder if anyone has a real grasp on it. Here's are a couple good passages to meditate on; Revelation 11:15, John 18:36.
Oh well. Amen to Standing Firm. I agree. Have a great Lord's Day tomorrow!
Peace out.
Thanks for joining the discussion, SF and PF. Peace.
There is something to be said about the "sword" slicing thru the crap that we humans seem to continually apply to scripture. I face this all the time in the area of worship because there are not many believers out there who seem to be eager to honestly face what the Bible has to say about it... instead, we continue to focus on only the "fun" or "comfortable" stuff - and forget other issues... we do this all over the place as believers... if it makes us feel uncomfortable, we dismiss it or bypass it. We say stuff like, "Well, a LOVING God would never... X..." Like we have any idea of what a "loving God" woulr or would not do! LOL...
Hi Milton, I don't think that 'the man of noble birth' is Jesus, at all. In fact, I think that he is preparing the people not to expect someone like that. That's a lesson that the 'triumphal entry' demonstrates that did not fully get.
The context is that Jesus is just about to enter Jerusalem where people are waiting to announce him as the Davidic King. Luke is explicit that this is why Jesus told the parable (v.11). Jesus knew his kingdom would be one of service and sacrifice, not enforced power.
The nobleman does not share God's character and is ambitious and power-hungry. He is harsh and ungracious.
I think that Jesus is opposing the notion of Messiahship (and, by implication, rulership) that the people are looking for. So, 19:26 becomes a negative and actually makes sense: the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. Such an outcome is the inevitable result of the kind of rule that Piper thinks Jesus will inflict.
Jesus seems to use the parable to warn them to reconsider their understanding of – or desire for – a king. Could it be that the servant who challenges the authority of the king is the hero (and thus in some sense a Christ-figure)? Considering the biblical portrait of kingship as often leading to exploitation and oppression it's not too difficult to think that Jesus might be portraying the king as the villain. The parable then becomes a warning against power and its abuses, spoken as the people continue to believe that Jesus will become king by force.
Bless you.
Graham: Thanks for responding to the request to share your exegesis. You may be correct in your interpretation. Of course, majority by no means rules in exegeis. But after looking into expositions from a wide range of sources, I must say that, in fairness to Piper, his exegesis is far from weird--it's pretty typical. Thanks again for adding substantially to the conversation. Peace. Milton
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