for, there was one of the same name ­ Lazarus, who was raised

the same here, in Luke 16. He neither denied nor admitted the

from the dead shortly afterward, but their reply was to call a

truth of their tradition when He used their own teachings against

Council, in which "they determined to put Lazarus also to

themselves. These are the "offences" of chapter 17.

death", as well as Himself (John 12:10). And when the Lord rose

It was the same in the case of the parable of the "pounds" a

from the dead they again took counsel, and would not believe

little later on, when He said, "Out of thine own mouth will I

(Matt. 28:11-15). Thus the parable is made by the Lord to give

judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an

positive teaching as well as negative, and to teach the truth as

austere man, taking up what I laid not down, and reaping that I

well as to correct error.

did not sow" (Luke 19:22). The Lord was not, of course, an

In the Talmud we have those very traditions gathered up

austere and unjust man; but He uses the words which those to

which the Lord refers to in His condemnation. Many are there

whom He was speaking believed to be true; and condemned

preserved which were current in our Lord's day. We can thus

them out of their own mouth.

find out exactly what these popular traditions were.

We believe that the Lord is doing the very same thing here.

"Paradise", "The carrying away by angels", "Abraham's

The framework of the illustration is exactly what the Pharisees

bosom", etc., were the popular expressions constantly used.

believed and taught. It is a powerful and telling example of one

Christ was not the first who used these phrases, but He used the

of their distinctive traditions, by which they made the teaching of

language of the Pharisees, turning it against them.

God's Word of none effect. It is, of course, adapted by the Lord

Take a few examples from the Talmud:

so as to convey His condemnation of the Pharisees. He

represents the dead as speaking, but the words put into

(1) In Kiddushin (Treatise on Betrothal), fol. 72, there is

Abraham's mouth contain the sting of what was His own

quoted from Juchasin, fol. 75, 2, a long story about what Levi

teaching. In verse 18 He had given an example of their

said of Rabbi Judah: "This day he sits in Abraham's bosom", i.e.

PRACTICE in making void the Law of God as to marriage and

the day he died.

divorce; and in the very next verse (19) He proceeds to give an

There is a difference here between the Jerusalem and the

example of their Doctrine to show how their traditions made

Babylonian Talmuds ­ the former says Rabbi Judah was "carried

void the truth of God; using their very words as an argument

by angels"; the latter says that he was "placed in Abraham's

against themselves; and showing, by His own words, which He

puts into Abraham's mouth (verses 29 and 31), that all these

Here we have again the Pharisees' tradition as used against

traditions were contrary to God's truth.

them by our Lord.

They taught that the dead could go to and communicate with

(2) There was a story of a woman who had seen six of her

the living; the Lord declares that this is impossible; and that

sons slain (we have it also in II Macc. vii). She heard the

none can go "from the dead" but by resurrection; "neither will

command given to kill the youngest (two-and-a-half years old),

they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" (v. 31). Note,

and running into the embraces of her little son, kissed him and

these latter are His own words; He knew that their traditions

said, "Go thou, my son, to Abraham my father, and tell him

were false, and in this very parable He corrects them. He

'Thus saith thy mother. Do not thou boast, saying, I built an altar,

distinctly declares that no dead person could go to the living

and offered my son Isaac. For thy mother hath built seven altars,

except by resurrection; and that if one did go it would be useless;

and offered seven sons in one day", etc. (Midrash Echah, fol.