Day 306: Luke 16, 17 and 18

If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:31).

 

In the familiar story of The Rich Man and Lazarus the rich man, languishing in hell, asks Abraham to send Lazarus with a message for his brothers to change their ways and avoid ending up like him! While many have read into this account a treatise on the theology of hell, that’s not what the story is about.

In Matthew 12, following on the heels of Jesus healing a demon possessed man born blind and mute, the crowds put two and two together and question if Jesus could be the Messiah. The Pharisees emphatically respond, No!, and then request from Jesus a sign.

In John 6 after the five thousand are fed, Jesus and his disciples head for the far side of the lake but looking for their next meal, the people find them again. Jesus asserts they are only there for their bellies’ sakes. They ask, What must we do to do the works of God? (v. 28) Jesus replies, Believe in the one he has sent (v. 29), after which they, too, promptly ask for a sign.

The message of all three stories is the same: You don’t have enough information to make a decision? Your problem is not having too little data; you’re problem is not acting on the information you have.

Still analyzing the data? Isn’t it time to make a decision?