Applying the Bible Krystal Craven Christian Music

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)


As this chapter moves along, we shift from direct conversation with the Pharisees to Jesus telling a story about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Now this section of Scripture is interesting because there’s some question as to whether it’s a real story or a parable that Jesus is telling. Let’s go ahead and dive into that real quick before we dig into the meat of it.

Real Story or Parable?
If we look at this compared to other parables that Jesus told, often times we’d see a precursor given, such as in Luke 14:7 where it says, “Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them…” and in Luke 15:2-3, where it says, “And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable…” Yet in this section of Scripture there is no precursory context given.

In the parables that were clearly called out as parables, no names were used; in this section of Scripture, we are given the name of the poor man, Lazarus and Abraham is named.

We are also given context that this place where the rich man ends up is a place of anguish, torment, and flames. In Matthew 13:49-50, after Jesus told the Parable of the Net, He adds, “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And again, in Mark 9:43-48 in reference to temptations to sin, Jesus said, “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” These other times when Jesus references hell, it’s literal.

In many examples throughout the gospel, Jesus would tell a parable and then give some kind of statement of truth or that would provide a bit of understanding afterwards. As He is talking to the Pharisees and has given them many parables in short succession, I believe this story of the rich man and Lazarus

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. (Luke 16:14-18)


Since these last verses on divorce and adultery tends to get sectioned off as its own little segment by those who broke down the section titles in the Bible, I’ve included the previous verses for context. But just like we saw last week where Jesus seemingly took a turn into another topic, He’s actually still on the topic of the heart here. He’s just using another example to His initial point that they were justifying themselves before men, but that God knows the heart.

Before we jump in here to this, I know divorce can be a touchy topic, especially in our culture where the divorce rate is almost half of all marriages. As we look at what Scripture says on this, it isn’t to point fingers at you or anyone else, this is simply the section of Scripture we happen to be in and we’re looking to grow in the Lord and understand His word.

Everyone Who Divorces
Jesus makes a clear claim that everyone who divorces and marries another is committing adultery. As we look at this, we have to take this in context to the rest of Scripture, because far too often it’s verses like these that get used as weapons and chains of captivity and that is not the heart of God here. God never intends for His word to be weaponized to keep people captive in abusive relationships.

We get more insight into what Jesus said on divorce in Matthew 19 where it says, And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:3-9)

Paul also spoke to divorce details in 1 Corinthians 7, with the instruction that divorce shouldn’t happen, but that if a believer has an unbelieving spouse who will not stay married to them, let it be so and let the unbelieving spouse leave.

What we need to remember here is that in the whole context of all these verses is the same thing – these are issues of the heart.

Remember in Matthew 5 where Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) As we look at what Jesus has said about adultery and divorce, we need to remember the true issue of the heart here because that’s where the Pharisees were going wrong, was justifying sins of the heart with a perspective of having purity of the body.

Divorce Exemptions
In the days of Moses and beyond, divorce became an option that was deemed acceptable as long as proper protocols were followed, such as a certificate of divorce. Yet God doesn’t want what He joined together to be separated by man.

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. (Luke 16:14-17)


Jesus had just told quite a few parables about the kingdom of God, God’s heart and perspective, that we can go astray and how much joy it brings God when we repent, and that we cannot serve God and money – really hitting home that the issues of sin are a heart issue, not a ‘how good you can act outwardly’ issue. And even after all that, it says that the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus.

Hearts Motivation
The text gives us context here as to why the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus and it was because they were lovers of money. They had just been told by Jesus that they cannot serve God and money and since they were lovers of money, it apparently hit close to home and they didn’t like it, so they ridiculed Him in response.

That word “ridiculed” in the Greek means to scoff, deride, or turn up the nose at. This wouldn’t be the last time they do this to Jesus either. The next and only other time this Greek word is used is in Luke 23:25 during Jesus’ crucifixion where it says, And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”

Unfortunately, the ridicule or scoffing over the truth that one cannot serve God and money would continue to drive the scoffing at the cross as Truth Himself looked back at them as He died to offer them redemption of their souls.

Hearts Revealed
It’s pretty cool to notice here that Jesus didn’t react with an outburst of upset when they ridiculed Him, He responded again with truth that got to the heart of the matter – their hearts.

Jesus, who we know doesn’t look at the outward appearance but looks at the heart, told them a few poignant truths about themselves: They were justifying themselves before men, God knows their hearts, and what was exalted before men is an abomination before God. These were undoubtedly hard things to hear, but Jesus told them for their benefit because He loved them.

Yet, the specific things that Jesus pointed out were bound to cause one of two responses – either, pushing away due to a prideful heart or drawing near due to a humble and repentant heart. And these are the responses we get to choose from when faced with things Jesus tells us too - push God away or draw near to Him.

The Law Revealed
As Jesus mentions the Law and Prophets, it would seem that He moved into a whole new topic but in actuality, He’s still on the same topic. All of this is in context to the heart and the fact that in our flesh we seek to justify ourselves before men, but that God knows our hearts.

Jesus mentioned the Law and Prophets right before mentioning that the good news of the kingdom of God had been preached. The Pharisees didn’t exactly put this together, not realizing that the Law and Prophets all spoke of Him, but this is what Jesus is telling them. And He adds that everyone forces his way into it – this is speaking of the misunderstanding of the Law and Prophets and thinking that outward observance of the Law would save them.

As the people read/heard the Law and Prophets, they had a desire for their Messiah to come set them free physically from their captivity under the Romans, not really understanding that He would come to set them free spiritually from their sin under death. When Jesus came and John the Baptist had made straight His paths, they both preached repentance and that the kingdom of God had come. But the people tried to force their misaligned pe

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:13-14)


In our walk with Jesus, we come to know and understand a profound truth – our freedom in Him is both a gift and in part a battle we continue to fight for. When we first encounter His grace and receive salvation in Him, we are liberated from the bondage of sin and death. It’s a moment of joy and relief as we realize that through Christ’s sacrifice, we are indeed set free.

Yet, as we walk by faith, we soon learn that our freedom is not passive – it’s free, it just costs the rest of our lives. Just as a nation must defend its freedom against external threats, we too must fight the demonic threats and temptations that come against us. The apostle Paul clearly describes this struggle: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other” (Galatians 5:17). Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces that seek to ensnare and destroy us.

Jesus has already won the ultimate victory over sin and death through His death and resurrection. His triumph on the cross secured our freedom once and for all. But the battles we face daily remind us that we live in a fallen, sinful world where temptation and trials are a daily thing.

In these moments of struggle, we are called to remember the truth that sets us free – Jesus Christ. He is not only our Savior but also our source of strength and victory. Through Him, we find the ability to resist temptation, the wisdom to discern right from wrong, and the grace to forgive others and to seek forgiveness when we all fall short.

The freedom we have in Jesus is not just a one-time event but a continuous journey of transformation and renewal. It requires discipline, prayer, and a deepening relationship with God. As we immerse ourselves in His Word and surrender our lives to His will, we experience the freedom found in the truth of His word.

Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Let us hold on tight to this promise, knowing that in Christ, we have the strength to overcome every single obstacle we face AND the assurance of eternal life in Him.

As we celebrate our nation’s freedom, let us never forget the freedom we have in Jesus. It is a precious gift that empowers us to live boldly, love deeply, and serve faithfully. May we continue to fight the good fight and run our race well, knowing that our ultimate victory is assured through Jesus who loves us and gave up His life for us.

[Jesus] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Luke 16:10-13)


The few verses above are the end to the section on the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, or rather the takeaway of the parable. The parable is about a rich man who had a manager that was wasting his possessions, so he called him to confront him and fire him. Being the dishonest manager that he was, and it notedly said he felt he was not strong enough to dig and ashamed to beg, he hatched a plan to short his now previous master of the debts owed to him by others.

The Dishonest Manager
The only thing the dishonest manager was commended for was his shrewdness. How sad that the only thing commendable about this man were his sharp-witted ways when it was used to prove his character and integrity was severely lacking. Being shrewd, or clever and sharp-witted may be deemed a good thing in the world’s eyes, but when it’s used for evil it’s certainly not a good thing at all in the eyes of God. Take a look what God not only says about a false balance (or in essence, shorting what is due like what this dishonest manager did), but also look at the contrast to those who are upright before the Lord versus the prideful and crooked:

A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
    but a just weight is his delight.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with the humble is wisdom.
The integrity of the upright guides them,
    but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
    but righteousness delivers from death
(Proverbs 11:1-4)

Jesus’ Conclusion:
Now we can come up with our own conclusions and opinions about the dishonest manager, but really the only conclusion that matters is God’s in this and He laid it out pretty clearly here for us.

There are two aspects to this:


You should be a faithful steward with what you’ve been entrusted with by God.
If you can’t be honest and faithful in handling a little, you won’t be any better with a lot.

When it comes down to it, our level of faithfulness is not dependent on how much or little we have to be faithful in. So, the hard truth is, if you’ve been waiting for God to bring something bigger and better along for you to

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” (Luke 15:25-32)


The parable of the prodigal son continues and now we get to see the older son’s perspective. Now the older son’s perspective seems understandable from a human only perspective, but that is the point; we shouldn’t be looking at things from a human only perspective, we should be looking at things from God’s perspective.

The Older Son’s Anger
The older son was in the field as his younger brother came home. This was undoubtedly because he was serving in the field, and as he approached home, he heard music and dancing and obviously there was some kind of celebration going on. Totally understandable to wonder what’s happening but he ended up angry at the reason.

The older son heard the words of the servant, but did he truly hear the heart of his father in what the servant relayed? By what we read, it seems that he didn’t. Instead of hearing the father’s heart that his younger brother has been found and everyone was celebrating that he was now home, the older son heard it through a jealous and selfish lens – that his reckless, disobedient brother was getting rewarded after blowing his half of their dad’s money. His thoughts were instantly on himself. In that moment of selfishness, he felt it unfair that he never got even so much as a young goat to celebrate with his friends, but his dad just killed the fattened calf for his dumb little brother who had messed up. The older son missed the big picture and the purpose of the celebration altogether.

James tells us for good reason to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20).

The Father’s Entreat
In the older son’s anger, he refused to even go inside where the celebration was happening, yet his father came and met him where he was at and entreated him. How often do we get angry over something and decide to self-isolate and stew in our anger? It doesn’t ever help, yet in our flesh that’s a go to. However, our heavenly Father also meets us where we’re at, even in our anger, and entreats us to come into his home and see things from His perspective, in which our anger would fade away in as we align ourselves with God.

And even when the older son snaps back with his argument of fairness, the father spoke kindly to him, reminding him that he is always with him and shares in what he has always. Then his father spoke words to right that wrong perspective – the right perspective being that the celebration going on in the father’s house was indeed fitting because the big picture was that his brother was alive and found. The focus was on celebrating where his brother was at currently, not condemning where he had blown it previously.

Notice that even in the older son’s anger, he tried to diminished his relationship when talking to his father when he said, “But when that son of yours came…” He didn’t say his brother, he put space between him, which would make it easier to stay angry. It’s much easier to try to justify our sin when we rationalize