PART 15 A

CHIEF OF THE P'RUSHIM HOUSE

As Yeshua went into the house of one of the chief P'rushim on Shabbat to eat, some Torah experts and P'rushim were there and watched Him. A man oozing water from his pores stood in front of Him. Yeshua asked the onlookers, "Is it proper Torah to heal on Shabbat?" They said nothing. Then Yeshua took the man and healed him, let him go and said, "Which one of you who has a donkey or an ox, if it falls into a pit, would not quickly pull it out on the Shabbat?" They could not answer Him concerning these things. Then He called some of them to Him and pointed out to them that they chose the chief places and then He gave this parable: "When you are invited to a wedding, do not sit down in the highest place, because a more honourable man than you may have been invited. Then the one who invited you will come and say to you 'Give this man your place.' Then with shame you must accept the lowest place. So when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place. That way when the one who invited you comes, he can say to you, Haver [Friend] go up higher. Then you will be served in the presence of those who sit at the dinner with you. For whoever lifts himself up will be put down and the one who humbles himself will be lifted up." Then Yeshua said to the man who had invited Him, "When you prepare a dinner or a supper, do not call only your friends or your brothers or your relatives or only your rich neighbours. They will also invite you, so a return payment will be made to you. Rather, when thou prepare a banquet, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame and the blind. You will be blessed because they cannot return payment to you. Instead you will be returned payment at the resurrection of the righteous." When one of those who sat at the dinner with Yeshua heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the Kingdom of Elohim." This prompted Yeshua to say, "A man prepared a sumptuous supper and invited many guests. He sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' They all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground and I need to go and see it. Please excuse me.' Another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen and I must test them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I got married and therefore I can't come.' So the servant came and showed his adon these things. Then the house-owner became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind. The servant said, 'Adon, it is done as you commanded and still there is room left.' So the adon said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and fences and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I assure you, none of those who were invited will taste my supper."

PRICE OF COMMITMENT

Yeshua turned and said to the large crowds of people travelling with Him, "If anyone follows Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry his own execution stake and follow behind Me, cannot be My disciple. For whom among you plan to build a tower and does not sit down first and consider the cost, as to whether you have enough funding to finish it? What if after he has built the foundation he cannot finish the project? Everyone who watches will begin to make fun of him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' What king who is making war against another king, does not first sit down and consult as to whether he will be able with ten thousand to fight the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he can't fight him, he sends ambassadors and negotiates conditions of shalom, while his enemy is still far away. So likewise, whichever one of you does not forsake all he has, he cannot be My disciple. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavour, with what can it be seasoned? It is not fit for the land or for the fertilizer heap. Instead people throw it out. He who has ears to shema, let him shema."

LOST THINGS FOUND

Then many tax collectors and sinners came near to hear Yeshua. Some P'rushim and Soferim murmured and said, "This man accepts sinners and eats with them." He spoke this parable in response, "What man among you who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them does not leave the ninety- nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he finds it he celebrates and lays it on his shoulders. When he comes home, he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which had been lost.' I tell you that just like, this there is celebration in heaven over one sinner who does t'shuvah. Even more than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no t'shuvah. Consider the woman who has ten pieces of silver. If she loses one piece, doesn't she turn on a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which had been lost. I tell you, in the same way there is celebration in the presence of the messengers of Elohim over one sinner who does t'shuvah." "A man had two sons," Yeshua continued. “The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give to me the amount of the possessions which is my inheritance. So the father divided up the inheritance to his two sons. Not many days after that the younger son gathered all his inheritance and travelled into a distant country. While there he squandered his inheritance with wasteful living. After this son had spent all he had, there arrived a devastating famine in that land, so he began to be destitute. He went and joined himself to a citizen of that territory and the citizen put the young man into his fields to feed the hogs. The young man's mind was constantly on filling his stomach with the husks that the hogs ate, but no one would give it to him. Then he said to himself, 'How many of my father's hired servants have plenty of bread to spare? And, here I am dying from hunger! I will get up and go to my father and will say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me the same as one of your hired servants.' So he rose up and travelled back to his father. While the young man was still far away his father saw him and had compassion for him. The father ran to him and hugged his neck and kissed him. The son said to his father, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' However, the father said to his servants, 'Bring the best robe here and put it on him. Also, put a ring on his hand and shoes on feet. Bring the well-fed calf here and kill it. Then let us dine and celebrate, for this son of mine was dead, yet is alive again. He was lost and now has been found!” So they began to celebrate. "The father's oldest son was in the field and as he came near to the house he heard music and dancing. So, he called one of the servants and asked what was happening. 'Your brother has returned!' said the servant, 'and your father has killed the well-fed calf because he has returned to him safe and sound. Then the oldest son was angry and would not go in, so His father came out and invited him in. The oldest son said to his father, 'Look, many years I have served you and I have not transgressed your commandment at any time, yet you never gave me a kid so I could celebrate with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours comes, who has devoured your provision with prostitutes, you have killed the well-fed calf for him.' The father said to him, 'Son, you are always here with me, so all that I have is yours! It was right that we should celebrate and rejoice, for this one, your brother, was dead and he is alive again. He was lost and now has been found.'"

PARABLES CONCERNING MONEY

Then Yeshua spoke to His disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward and the rich man accused the steward that he had wasted his possessions. So he asked the steward, 'Why have I heard this about you? Give me an account of your stewardship, for you may not be any longer my steward. Then the steward thought to himself, 'What should I do? For my adon removes me from the stewardship. I am not able to dig. I am too ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do! When I am put out of the stewardship others will accept me to work in their homes.' So he called every one of his adon's debtors and said to the first one, 'How much do you owe to my adon?' He said, 'a hundred measures of oil.' So the steward said to him, 'Take your bill and sit down quickly and write on it fifty. Then the steward said to another, 'and how much do you owe? And he said, 'a hundred measures of wheat.' So the steward said to him, 'Take your bill and write on it sixty.' Then the adon commended the unrighteous steward, because he had done wisely. For the children of this world are wiser with their own kind than the children of light are with theirs. I tell you, make friends for yourself by using unrighteousness wealth, so that when you fail they will receive you into everlasting mishkanim [tabernacles]. The one who is faithful in the least amount is faithful also in the large amount and the one who is unrighteous in the least amount is also unrighteous in the large amount. Therefore, if you have not been faithful with unrighteous wealth, who is going to turn over to your trust what is to be remembered? If you haven't been faithful in what belongs to another person, who will give you something for yourself? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both Elohim and wealth."