I am writing this today for a friend of mine. We had been discussing Luke 19:27 and he read all of Luke and wanted a little more clarification on why this verse shows that Jesus wasn't the hero Christians make him out to be, but rather just a maniacal tyrant and wannabe dictator that the god of the old testament was.
Luke 19:27 reads "But those, mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. KJV
Now, reading that alone completely justifies that Jesus surely was a close minded, unforgiving adjudicator on matters of ruling.
But one may be confused if you read the entire chapter of Luke 19. It seems that Jesus is talking about an unnamed king. This is when you have to remember Matthew 13:36-43. After numerous requests from his followers to tell them his messages in parables he begins to by telling the the parable of The Weeds.
Matthew 13:36-43
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears let them hear.
This parable isn't actually talking about seeds, weeds, and harvesters. It's an allegory. He is using this story to describe what happens to evil people and what happens to the good or righteous people. The same thing happens in Luke.
Luke 19:11-27
11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, We don’t want this man to be our king.
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.
17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.
21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.
25 “‘Sir, they said, ‘he already has ten!
26 “He replied, "I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.”
So, what does that parable mean?
First he is talking about an unnamed man of noble birth who went to a distant country to be appointed king. Noble birth (Jesus) Went to a distant country (Nazareth to Capernaum) to become king (king of all men, son of god). He then says he calls on ten servants (followers of Jesus) to take money from him. In this parable the money is considered the gospel of the lord. So, he tells them to take the money (gospel) to work (spreading the word) until he returns (end of days). He says that his subjects hated him (Jews, non believers) but he was made king anyway (crucified and rose from the dead to heaven). Then he speaks of when he returns (end of days) that he calls upon his servants to see what they had done with their money (gospel). Some of them had done very well while others did not trust him and did not invest (spread) his word. This is where that very terrible verse of slaying anyone who would not have the unnamed king (Jesus) reign over them comes into play.
Now, let me show you what he was actually saying.
"I had a noble birth and had to travel to a distant country to gain my birthright as king. I then called upon ten of my followers to spread the word of the lord. I wanted them to spread the word to as many as they could until I returned to claim them at the end of time. At first there were many among them that did not believe I was their king and should not rule over them. I then returned to find out how many people my followers spread the word to. I was very pleased with most of them. There was still the non believers. I will not tolerate this and demand them to be brought before me and killed at my feet.
That is roughly what is actually being said. The character of Jesus is made out to be this ultimate liberal loving person. Yet, there are man verses in the new testament that contradict this very sentiment.
Matthew 5:17-19, 8:12, 8:21-22, 8:32,
5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So, all the terrible commandments of the lord from the Old Testament are to be fulfilled not cast aside? Slavery, child torture and murder, rape, incest, homophobia, misogyny, banning of shellfish and pork, genocide and many other terrible things are apparently to be fulfilled by Jesus not abolished.
8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So, the Jewish kids should be cast out into the darkness, where they will cry and grind their teeth? How is that moral? All because these children are taught a different fairy tale?
8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 22 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead. The guy couldn't even go bury his father? How cruel is that? How caring is that?
8:32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. Casting devils into a herd of pigs, making them run into a sea to their death from fear is moral and just?
These were just a few from Matthew alone. There are numerous more. I may elaborate more on this topic (maybe in a book). I just wanted to show why Luke 19:27 was such a bad verse and how it is Jesus referring to himself and not some unnamed king. Thanks for reading and post any questions below.
