Faithful In A Little

Jesus was faithful in what might be called little things.

produced by static force llc sometimes things don't change.

Transcript

Title: Faithful In A Little

Subtitle: Some Challenges of Family

#GospelAccordingToTheRock

Faithful In A Little

by Eric Engelmann

All content © 2025 Static Force, LLC

Soon I'm going to do a 

SERMON ON LUKE 16:10. 

I thought I'd record some of my thoughts into a podcast episode.

The theme of the sermon is one of those things that doesn't change. Here's what Jesus said in Luke 16:10

Luke 16:10

10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

WHEN ARE WE?

I say about 30 AD. Less than a year before Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. 

WHERE ARE WE?

Maybe east of Jerusalem across the Jordan river.

WRITER OF THE GOSPEL IS LUKE.

He's a non-Jewish writer in the New Testament. He wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. He's mentioned in some of Paul's epistles. Luke's Gospel was probably written while some of the eyewitnesses of Jesus' ministry were still alive on earth.

AUDIENCE

Believers and members of the early church, both Jew and Gentile.

SCRIPTURE (REPEATED AGAIN)

Luke 16:10

10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

I'm going to talk about how Jesus lived this saying, and what He said later in the chapter and maybe some other relevant points.

JESUS LIVED BY THIS

I believe Jesus grew up watching His brothers (and sisters) be faithful and be unjust. He might relate to the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. As you may recall, Joseph's brothers threw Joseph in a pit and then sold him as a slave, but Joseph still rescued them from a famine decades later.

Jesus' adopted father Joseph lived by this saying. He was faithful in going to Egypt to escape Herod, and then was faithful to bring Jesus back from Egypt years later.

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

I believe Jesus was living this advice in front of His Heavenly Father, even when His adopted father -- Joseph -- wasn't looking. 

At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, if Jesus hadn't agreed to humble himself and be baptized by John the Baptist, He wouldn't have received the testimony from John the Baptist that Jesus is the lamb of God.

The thoughts of Jesus' family ring a bell for me. I recently turned 68. I believe the Lord has told me to ask for 90 years. That means for planning purposes, I have a little less than 22 years left in this life. Maybe I should be wise with what God has given me.

LATER IN THE CHAPTER

To illustrate how to be faithful with little things, Jesus amplifies by telling the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. After his death, the rich man finds himself in torment. Here is the rich man asking Abraham to send Lazarus to apear to the rich man's brothers.

Luke 16:27-31

27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

Luke 16:27-31

Note that in this story, Abraham says that if the rich man's familly hadn't been faithful with the writings of the law and the prophets (What they might call LITTLE), they won't respond even if someone does a really great thing and speak to them from the dead.

Jesus often repeated that being faithful with what you have heard helps you be more faithful in what else you will hear. That's how intimacy is grown. Listen for little things.

To give a technical example of listening for little things, pretend that I said, 

"You can make a text file by redirecting the result of a command in a Linux console window."

Some people will say, "Sure. So what?"

There will be other people here who will have very little idea what I said. But they might have enough interest to sit down next to a Linux computer and I could explained a little bit about console windows. Before long,  they might start to get it. Or then they might say, "So What?".

TO SUMMARIZE

The saying of Jesus is worth repeating:

Luke 16:10

10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Jesus followed good examples in Scripture, aimed to please His heavenly father, and overcame to win His Father's will for us.

We can trust that His saying is true.

All content © 2025 Static Force, LLC