Latest Commentaries

The prophet Habakkuk remains alert to receive God’s answer to his complaint.

Habakkuk complains to the LORD again. He asks the LORD why He will use the Chaldeans to punish Judah, when they are even more wicked than the people of Judah.

The LORD proceeds to describe the military strength and pride of the Chaldeans.

The LORD tells Habakkuk that He will use the Chaldeans as His instrument to carry out His judgment on the people of Judah.

Habakkuk complains to God as he witnesses wickedness and injustice that remain unpunished in his society.

The prophet Habakkuk receives a revelation from God in a vision.

Jesus tells the Pharisees "The Parable of the Rich Man and Poor Lazarus." It is a story about a rich and a poor man who die. Both go to Hades—the place of the dead. The poor man is brought to paradise/Abraham’s bosom and lives on in a state of comfort. The rich man whose master was money (rather than God) is in a place of agony where his riches offer no aid. The formerly rich man calls across a gulf to Abraham with two requests—both of which Abraham denies. The first request is to send Lazarus to him with a drop of water to cool his tongue from the flames. The second request is for Abraham to send Lazarus to his five godless brothers to warn them to repent and avoid the suffering. Abraham tells him it would do no good, because if they do not listen to what God has already spoken through the scriptures, they will not listen to what someone says who has returned from the dead

Jesus continues to teach about the goodness of God’s law and against the self-justified perversions of it by the scoffing Pharisees. He offers a prime example of their detestable manipulation of the law by pointing out how they exploit a manufactured loophole in the marriage laws of Moses.

Jesus affirms the endurability of God’s Law. He says that even though the Age of the Law and Prophets have passed, and the Age of the Gospel of the Kingdom has come, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one part of the Law to fail. In the middle of saying these things, Jesus offers an enigmatic line that everyone is forcing his way into the kingdom of God. 

Luke informs the readers that the Pharisees who had been listening to Jesus teach about money were scoffing at what He said. Luke describes the Pharisees as "lovers of money." Jesus rebukes them as self-justifiers who seek to appear righteous before men and reminds them that God sees the reality of their wicked hearts. He also says that men are terrible judges of what is truly good.

Jesus reminds His disciples that they can only have one master; it is impossible to serve two. He applies this truth to God and Money, again warning them that they cannot serve both. They will have to choose.

Jesus continues His teaching about money. He tells His disciple the faithfulness principle. He who is faithful in a very little thing will be faithful in much greater things. And He who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous in much. Jesus infers this principle to our earthly opportunities to be faithful or unrighteous in very little things now and the consequences this will have for the much greater responsibilities given or denied us in the life to come. Jesus also reminds His disciples that they cannot serve both God and Money.

This last section of the book serves as an epitaph (words written in memory to someone who has died) to Moses. In addition to presenting Joshua as the new leader of the Israelites, the epitaph then describes the unparalleled relationship Moses had with his suzerain LORD.

Having viewed the Promised Land from the top of Mount Nebo, Moses died there in the land of Moab. The LORD Himself buried him in the valley in the land of Moab.

God shows Moses the Promised Land from the top of Mount Nebo.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: "The Closing Remark." Jesus concludes His teaching about the Judgments regarding the Sheep and the Goats with a short summary statement. He explains that the goats will go into the eternal fire while the sheep will go into eternal life. This also concludes His teachings about the end of the age and His return in the Olivet Discourse.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: "The Life Choices of the Accursed." The King will explain how their punishment was for the way they did not serve Him when He was destitute during their lives on earth. The accursed will ask when they ever refused to serve Him. The King will reply that to the extent they did not serve others, it was counted as if they did not serve Him.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: "The Third Judgment: The Banishment of the Accursed" Jesus says that the King will address the accursed goats who were sorted to His left. This judgment will happen after the King rewarded the sheep. He will call them "accursed ones" and banish them into the eternal fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. This is the third of three judgments the parable describes.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: "The Life Choices of the Righteous." The King will explain how the inheritance for the sheep was based on the way they treated Him through various acts of kindness and mercy during their lives on earth. The righteous will ask when they ever served Him. The King will reply that to the extent they served others, it was counted as if they served Him.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: "The Second Judgment: The Reward of the Righteous." Jesus says that the King will address the righteous sheep after they have been sorted to His right. He will call them "blessed of My Father" and invite them to inherit the kingdom that was prepared from them from the foundation of the world. This is the second of three judgments the parable describes.