All Peoples Church: Recent Episodes
All Peoples Church
Luke 26:6-25 Pas. Ross Tenneson
Jesus takes Barabbas’ Place Introduction: I’ve only witnessed one trial take place in person. I was sitting in the court room as a spectator. The defendant was in the room, she had deeply wronged some friends of mind. Those friends of mine were also in the court room. The judge was asking them questions (the ones who had been wronged), and suddenly, he snapped against my friends. Although my friends has been the ones this other person had wronged, the judge made my friends out as if they were the guilty ones and had actually been the ones at fault. I couldn’t believe it. I was so angry. I remember talking to the prosecutor in the case, explaining why the judge was so wrong, and being in tears I was so angry. We all have moral compasses. Certain injustices especially make us upset. Sometimes it’s almost too much to handle.
What’s crazy is that when you read the Bible, we learn that if God were to forgive us of our sins, it would actually be a greater outrage than anything we’ve ever been outraged against. It would actually be an even greater injustice than what you are imaging. If that’s the case, is there actually a way for God to forgive sins? Is there a way for him to let us go free if it would actually be the greatest outrage? We will get to see the answer in our text this morning: After Jesus’s sham trial by the Jews, they led to Pilate. They lacked authority to put to death… 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. * “Heard this,” heard what? (Jesus started his ministry in Galilee) The mob becoming urgent to execute Jesus. Lacked moral fortitude. * Looks for way out. “Galilean? I’ll send to Herod.” Finds way to offload problem.
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. * Herod is glad Jesus comes; feels like Pilate is doing him a favor. * Luke writes ironically. He was “glad to see” Jesus, sounds like humble poor. * Nothing like those who wanted Jesus: doesn’t want Jesus; wants to use Jesus. (amusement) * No interest in intimacy. He “saw” Jesus, but totally missed Jesus. Unaware of self. * Do you ever relate to Jesus like that? Are you ever more interested in what Jesus can do for you than in knowing Jesus more? We know we don’t get answer we want in prayer. * Herod = sinner. Jesus = savior. Herod’s riches and position blinded to need for Jesus. All beware! * You know you are seeing Jesus rightly when you are asking for him!
9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. * Herod tries to control Jesus; Jesus won’t let others manipulate him. Mob will manipulate Pilate in a few moments: a governor will sway like a reed in the breeze and Jesus not one inch. * Jesus won’t pander. Nor does he have to defend self in insecurity: instead, silent. * God is judge. Doesn’t need to justify himself or condemn Herod. * His silence paints a picture of Jesus (1) knowing himself to be innocent (2) knowing Father rules * Do you want to be free from manipulation? Obey God and trust he’s in control. * How does Pilate and his entourage respond to first truly innocent man they’ve encountered?
10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. * Jesus’s righteous silence provokes. They “accuse” like the “Devil.” * The prophet Isaiah looked forward and saw this scene (Jesus surrounded by enemies):
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. * Soldiers see Jesus is not fighting back. See he’s vulnerable, and they decide to have a little fun. * “Splendid clothing” = king’s clothing. Malicious laughing at most vulnerable moment. Imagine: most innocent, gentle, kind, loving man. * Another irony: while they dress Jesus up as king, he’s becoming king. Needed to:
Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. * There is a victory that Jesus is winning (“divide the spoil with the strong”). Because he suffers. * Humans become king by taking lives; Jesus becomes king by giving up life. Kingdoms different. * If Jesus triumphed amid mockery…not fear mockery. Couldn’t hold Jesus in grave; can’t hold you.
12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. * Herod and Pilate bond over their miscarriage of justice against Jesus. * World makes common cause against Jesus.[1] * Jesus will show his response: die for his enemies. * Crowd who calls for Jesus’s death will soon become some of church’s first members.
13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.” * Pilate has to make decision. Absurd: fallible human being… over the Lord who created him. * Only Verdict: innocent. Could not construe as violent revolutionary. * Innocence before Roman system points to perfect innocence before Father. * Messed up: he offers to have Jesus beaten to appease mob. Imagine if someone you know.
Won’t satisfy mob: 18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. * Another gospel: the governor traditionally releases a prisoner each year (Matt 27:15). * Truly tragic scene. The crowd picked Barabbas so they could kill Jesus. * Who was this Barabbas? Guilty of insurrection + murder = my blood boils. * This is what sin looks like: choosing what is despicable over what is worthy.
20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. * Demand most gruesome death.
- Pilate asserts for a third time Jesus is innocent. Three times = undeniably innocent.
- Crowd doesn’t care. Voices “prevail.” Pilate fails. Under public pressure, condemns innocent.
- Your blood would boil: public pressure (social media) and innocent man condemned.
25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. * Pilate picks appeasing will of crowd over to condemning an innocent man. * This is an outrage: have you ever seen a court case that was decided wrongly? Corruptly? * Promise: this far worse. Worst exchange. Worst miscarriage of justice. + Jesus (pure, innocent, spotless, helper, friend, merciful, healer, confronts evil) + Barabbas (is evil, selfish, murderous, proud, full of sin, guilty beyond a doubt) * What’s the point of all this? Barabbas is guilty of the thing Jesus is falsely accused of. + Luke doubles down: an innocent man will die so guilty can go free. + God arranged events to paint picture: Jesus’s death about setting guilty free. + If this kind of thing doesn’t happen, none of us have any hope. * God wants us to see how outrageous it is that Jesus took Barabbas’s place so we can see how outrageous it is he took our place.[2] + You’re not supposed to walk away from cross thinking, “that’s nice.” + Rather, “that’s outrageous; that’s unbelievable!” * It seems like injustice that Jesus should die so we can live (would be if he did not do willingly). * Sweet Exchange. Have you ever made this exchange? * What difference is this supposed to make? One thing: convince you that you don’t have to look anywhere else for your needs. If this length, then heal and care in every way. * What if you’re heart stopped beating? Use a defibrillator (Like paddles shocking us to life). + We don’t need the bottle, the TV, phone, food, relationship, or apps as our refuge. + We don’t need comparisons with others to make ourselves feel worthwhile * We need to keep experiencing how outrageous and wonderful it is that Jesus took our place. He meant for the craziness of what he has done to shock us back to spiritual life again and again. * Pray.
Benediction: 24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
[1] John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries on the HArmony of Matthew Mark Luke John 1-11, trans. Henry Beveridge (BakerBooks, 2009), 280.
[2] See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E4Pdik0wuY&t=4s.
The Only Innocent One Luke 22:63–23:5 Main Point of the Sermon: We who are guilty are declared innocent because of Jesus. Introduction As a kid I often heard these words, “Daniel, can you come here for a minute,” having been caught in doing or saying something that I shouldn’t have. Slowly I made my way to my dad, trying to consider how to argue for my innocence. I usually didn’t a case, though I certainly tried. Have you ever been caught? Maybe you were caught cheating on taxes or a test or maybe looking at something you shouldn’t have been. Perhaps you were caught at work cutting corners, or caught talking behind someone’s back. Unless you’ve lived under a rock until this day, it’s safe to say that we’ve all been there. But today, we’re going to step into the shoes of the one human being who never got caught for doing something wrong. There was never anything to catch him for. His enemies tried him and led him before the Roman court, but unlike us, we’ll see that nobody had a legitimate case against Jesus. He was innocent, through and through. I want to show you why that matters so much for us today. But before that, let’s talk about where we’ve been in Luke’s Gospel. Context: Jesus spent his last evening with his friends, around a table for a meal and then in his place of prayer, the garden of gethsemane. He prayed in anguish, surrendering his will to the Father just before he would was arrested in the night by a mob of Jewish leaders and officers led by one of his closest friends, Judas. His disciples fled in fear and Peter outright denied that he even knew him (Mk 14:50). As Jesus said to his captors in verse 53, this was indeed the “hour, and the power of darkness.” Though we’ll witness great darkness, Jesus will shine brightly. Jesus Is Mocked 63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. The King of kings was mocked and beaten in the middle of the night. Who were these men? Verse 52 says that it was the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, and verse 54 says he was brought to the high priest’s home, which we know was Caiaphas (Mt 26:57). These men were supposed to be the people’s shepherds. Yet they mocked Jesus as they beat him. He was blindfolded and bound. Doubtless they threw punches to the gut and face and anywhere else they could to inflict pain and shame. They also inflicted emotional pain as they shouted in mockery, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” Imagine being Jesus. Here you are, their Creator and Lord, who loves them and yet knows every sin, every detail about these men. And here they are beating you, mocking you, insulting you. And what do you do? Do you show them who they are messing with? Do you call them out and meet their challenge, "that was John. He just cheated on his wife.” That was Mathias, who is jealous of the High priest.” “That hit was Caiaphas, who is actually deeply insecure.” But what does Jesus do? The Gospel accounts tell us that he just takes it. Silently. Friends, this is not Jesus’ weakness on display. It is an all-powerful man under perfect control. He has authority to summon legions of angels to his aid, but chooses to stand under the abuse silently. Mark’s Gospel account adds that though many stood up to testify about him, nothing stuck, none of their stories held true. They had nothing on him. They were beating an innocent man. The scene gets darker, but Jesus shines even brighter. Jesus Before the Council 66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, After a night of abuse, Jesus was brought before the counsel of the Jewish Sanhedrin for further questioning. These were the most important Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, supposed to be the wisest and most careful judges among them. They should have helped Israel recognized their Messiah. But instead they looked for a way to kill him. Verse 67 says that they demanded: 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” Why is this answer so important to them? They had no evidence by which to condemn him, so they try another route. If Jesus says that he is king, they could try him before Rome as a revolutionary. But [Jesus] said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. Jesus was right. In dozens of interactions with the religious leaders, Jesus openly claimed to be the Messiah, referring to himself regularly as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies (e.g. Lk 4:18–19; 6:5; 20:41-44). Further, his life, his teachings, and the powerful signs that he performed only provided good reason to believe his word. He was prophesied to be king (1:32–33), he was born of a virgin (2:11), he received an affirmation and commission from the Father at baptism (3:21–22).[1] But they did not believe. Likewise, when Jesus asked them questions, they would not answer because they were afraid of the people (Lk 20:5-7). But listen to the rest of Jesus’s answer, verse 69: 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” He says, “from now on…” this is the reality. This is incredible! Jesus is telling his captors that regardless of their unbelief, regardless of their murderous efforts, Jesus was in control of the situation and reigning over them. Jesus says that from this day on he would be seated at the right hand of God. In other words, his earthly ministry was coming to an end, but through his death and resurrection he would soon enter his glory. Jesus is referencing two famous prophecies about the Messiah: Daniel 7, and Psalm 110. Look at Daniel 7 briefly: 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days [that is, the Father] and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him (13-14). This is a complex Scripture, but what Jesus is saying here is that he is the man from Daniel's vision. He was about to ascend to the level of God and take his seat next to God to reign over all creation. His accusers, who doubtless knew these Scriptures by heart, knew exactly what Jesus was saying and pressed on to find a way to get him killed, asking him a follow up question. 70 “Are you the Son of God, then?” Again, they want him to confess that he is a king. The Son of God is the title of Israel’s king found in Old Testament prophesies (e.g. 2 Samuel 7). Verse 70. Jesus answered them, “You say that I am.” Jesus answer seems kind of illusive, but it is simply an affirmation. He is basically saying, “you are right in saying I am”. He gives them what they want it speaks out his identity. “What further testimony do we need?” they said. “We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” What should have been the greatest honor, to be in the presence of the king, and to hear his voice, what should have produced fear and reverence so that everyone in the room bowed the knee before their king, produced even more murderous slander and accusation. Was he guilty of death simply for affirming his identity? Surely, they should have condemned him if he was phony and out for selfish gain. But Jesus had done nothing wrong. He was, in fact, the only one in Israel’s history, in the history of the world, who walked righteously before God. But their hard hearts only allowed them to see Jesus as a threat to their religious system, to their power, and to their nation as they knew it. How can something so clear be so twisted by men? We’ve seen this sort of blindness and rejection throughout Luke’s Gospel, and what it shows us is that humans are not inherently good and just judges. We are often so sure of ourselves, ready to cast the stone. But we don’t see the world, ourselves, or God rightly. Perhaps this is why Jesus said to the adulterous woman’s accusers, “he who is without sin throw the first stone.” We don’t see clearly at all. Why? Because our hearts are dark and sinful. It’s just as the Psalmist says: 2 God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Ps 53 The Bible is not full of stories of good men who just needed a good example to help keep them on the right path. No, it is full of stories of murderers, adulterers, liars, idolaters, and thieves who desperately need a rescuer. Even God’s people. They seem to be the most forgetful and corrupt of all. And though we need a savior like a diseased man needs a doctor, we love our darkness and refuse to come to the light (Jn 3:19-20). Though we find ourselves again and again falling short, instead of turning to God, we turn to everything but him for help, to a new self-help scheme, to new religious regimen, to a new diet, a new haircut, a new relationship, a new medication, a new hobby, a new career, or substances. This book is screaming from beginning to end, you need light to guide you out of the dark, and you and me are not the light. But his name is Jesus. Come to him and live! But these men would choose darkness like the rest of us. The scene gets even darker, but Jesus will shine brighter. Look at 23:1. Jesus Before Pilate 23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. Pilate was the ruling governor over Judea, including Jerusalem. It was against the Roman law for any Jewish leader to condemn someone to death, which is exactly why the leaders brought Jesus before Pilate, who alone could enact the death penalty in Judea. This was the fulfillment of what Jesus told his disciples: he was “delivered over to the Gentiles” (Lk 18:32). 2 And they began to accuse him [before Pilate], saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king. Notice how the focus of the charges change from religious grounds to political grounds. Their first statement is a claim that Jesus is disrupting their loyalty to the Roman empire. We see this more clearly in the second and third accusations, saying that Jesus was “forbidding them to give tribute (pay taxes) to Caesar, and that he claimed to be a king, which would clearly be in opposition to Roman rule. Pilate’s answer shows that this is what most concerned him. 3 [He] asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And [Jesus] answered him, “You have said so.” A second time, Jesus gives a guarded affirmation, saying, “yes, it is as you say.” This is significant. Jesus knows what this affirmation would mean for, but he doesn’t shrink back. Surprisingly, despite Jesus’s open confession, Pilate says in verse 4 to the chief priests and the crowds: “I find no guilt in this man.” His tone, his posture, everything about Jesus caused Pilate to give his verdict, innocent. He didn’t see Jesus as a threat despite his claim. What kind of man could get away with that? Only this king. Though he was a king, his kingdom and his teaching did not oppose the Roman empire as the Jewish leaders wanted Pilate to believe. Jesus openly taught that Israel should pay taxes to Caesar, while also giving to God what rightly belonged to him (Lk 20:20-26). Further, we read in John’s Gospel that he confessed to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews” (Jn 18:36). His kingdom was fundamentally different than the kingdoms of the world. Jesus held this dual identity perfectly in tension. He belonged to the world and submitted to its governing systems, while submitting completely under the Kingdom of his Father. But verse 5 says that the people would not take no for an answer. They wanted him to be condemned as a revolutionary. 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” [2] Jesus healed the sick, diseased, and lame; he fed the hungry; he gave sight to the blind and raised the dead; he delivered those tormented by evil Spirits; he taught a message of freedom and healing and rest to the weary, and liberation of captives. Jesus certainly made waves wherever he went, but it was only waves of the kingdom of God breaking into the hearts and lives of weary men and women. The revolution was in people’s hearts. They had nothing of legitimacy and Pilate knew it. Sadly, as we’ll see in next week’s sermon, though Pilate wanted to release Jesus (23:20), he feared man more than he feared God, which led him to make an utterly unjust judgment to have Jesus crucified. Never, in the history of the world, has there been one wholly innocent like him, yet he was condemned to death. This is the epitome of injustice. Why is Jesus’s innocence so important? In my last few minutes, I want to answer an important question: Why does Jesus’s innocence matter so much to Luke? Why should it matter to you and I? It matters because we need a sinless substitute. Let me explain. Friends, we are all guilty. Knowing myself, knowing us, knowing our propensity to sin and quickly judge others without clarity on a situation, I know that any of us could have been in these accuser’s shoes, mocking and condemning this innocent man. We too would have put him to the cross. Furthermore, if any one of us stood in his place at that trial, and our history was scraped for evidence against us, we would have been found guilty before God and man on many counts. We are guilty of great sin before God, so we desperately need a Savior or we’re justly going to face his wrath. Further, Jesus had to be innocent if he were going to be of any help to us. If he were sinful like us, if he was on the same sinking boat as the rest of us, what good could he provide? But he was not born like us with a sin nature. Though he was fully man, he was born of a virgin. He was like version 2 of Adam, the first man, see Romans 5. We can send rescue boats all day to those who are perishing in sin, but we’re all sinking in the same way. Jesus alone is sufficient. Fully man, yet fully sinless. He is the rescue boat, the refuge, the healing. But he wasn’t just our rescue, as if he could just come and lead us to safety without any cost to himself. He had to be our substitute. He had switch spots with us. The Bible tells a story of God’s plan of salvation, to restore all creation to himself, like it was in the Garden of Eden. But that reconciliation could not come by God just haphazardly saying, “Ok, I forgive you.” In order for it be just, there had to be a sacrifice. So God provided a substitute. Just as the lamb was sacrificed year after year in the place of the guilty sinner and the people, Jesus was sent from heaven so that he could take upon himself the penalty for our sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was slain on the cross so that anyone who believes in him would no longer be guilty before God but rather innocent like him. Jesus is our substitute. Through faith our guilt is transferred to him, while his innocence is transferred to us. This is why Luke goes to such length to declare Jesus’s innocence. He had to be innocent if he were going to take our place. God is a just judge. But he loves you so much that he doesn’t want you to die, though it would be just, so he laid the burden of your sins on the innocent Lamb, so that you and I could be justified, that is declared righteous in his sight. Praise be to God whose love is so rich and beyond our comprehension! But death was not the end of the story. Justice wouldn’t allow Jesus to remain in the grave. Death can’t hold an innocent man! How should we respond to this glorious Gospel today? If you believe this message, then you should rejoice. Yes, it is right to grieve the reality that your sin drove an innocent man to his grave. But it is also right to rejoice that God rescued you! And if you’re here today and do not believe and embrace this message, I want to invite you now to put your hope in Jesus. There is no other rescuer. You must take him at his word and bow to your king. As promised, this Jesus, who looks so helpless in our story, is not in a grave anymore, but a risen and reigning king who will soon come again. He rose on the third day and is now seated at the right hand of God surrounded by myriads of angels and Christians who have passed into glory. Every knee will one day bow and every tongue will soon confess that he is Lord. So, come to him. He is the only way to find forgiveness for your guilt and rescue from the death you deserve. In a moment we will take the Lord’s Supper, remembering the life of Jesus poured out for us. And I want you to remember as you eat and drink that this body which was broken and this blood that was shed was innocent and that it was poured out for you, the guilty. And because of this great sacrifice, we are promised that death now has no dominion on you. No list of sins or guilt or shame that you feel today can stand against the pure and cleansing blood of Jesus. We who are guilty are declared innocent because of Jesus. Let’s worship him. Benediction:
[1] Utley, R. J. (2004). The Gospel according to Luke (Vol. Volume 3A, Lk 22:24). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 13:3–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Pastor Ross preaches from Luke 22:39-46.
Outline: Not My Will, But Yours, Be Done Charlotte and I have the privilege of having our grandmother live with us. Earlier this week, we were driving her to a respite home so she could stay there for the week. My wife wanted my help that morning to get her there, and we hadn’t talked ahead or thought through how transporting her there would work. So, it ended up interrupting my plan for the day. Yet, I thought of a way to kind of keep to my agenda. I would bring my laptop and get the things done I had planned from the passenger seat. Yet, when I went to connect my computer to my phone’s hot spot, I discovered that the new phone plan I had just switched to did not include mobile hot spot. At this moment, I was temptation towards anger and frustration. You would hope that I would respond with maturity, patience, and trust that God was in control. Instead, I become sullen and angry. I pouted the way there and the way back. My wife really said these words to me on the drive home, “it would have been better if you had not come.” I failed this test of my patience. All of us are going through different temptations of different magnitudes at this morning. Some of us are in the most difficult circumstances of your lives; others of us squabbled and fought on the way here. Whatever your temptation may be, I want to ask this morning: what is God’s plan for each of us? How does he respond to our failures and how does he want to equip us to succeed? Let’s pay close attention and learn from Jesus’s life, 39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. * Jesus has a habit: stealing away to spend time with the Father, often on an elevated place. * At this moment, Jesus and his disciples reaching a low point: One of the closest followers would betray; the world would turn against; death coming. * When his disciples reached for their swords, Jesus reached for his Father. * What we latch onto shows where our hope lies. Hard moments test of our hearts. What we reach for, shows what our hearts are holding onto. * At great moment of adversity, when disciples reached for weapons, Jesus reached for intimacy. * How? “custom.” Those who consistently spend time with God go to him in hardest times.
40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” * He went to “the place.” Seek God in a specific place. It will help you build a habit. * Jesus gives them a simple prayer. We struggle with insecurity. Jesus welcomes simplicity. * What’s temptation? Same word as “test.” Temptation = a hardship that allures us to go outside of the Lord for comfort or care. * Example, in Luke 4, Satan “tempts” Jesus. Facing test of hunger in wilderness and devil tempts him to find refuge in food or ruling kingdoms rather than his Father. * Jesus succeeds, he retreats till “the opportune time.” That was now. Danger of defecting. * So, Jesus says, “pray…” Do you not find that the times when it is hardest to trust God is often when you hurt, feel sad, or vulnerable?
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, * Jesus shows everyone needs time alone with the Father. If Jesus did… * The way the Father becomes refuge is we spend time with him and draw comfort. * We need brothers and sisters, but most of all, one on one time with our God.
42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” * Requests father removes cup. Cup = symbol of God’s wrath. About to receive for people. * Roman soldiers will nail to tree, he will hang naked, his own people will mock. For us. * Request must have pierced Father’s heart. * Jesus shows it is not wrong to ask God to remove suffering (not calling you be more spiritual). * Yet, we must not make our suffering going away a condition for trusting God. * Utters some of most amazing words. Completely submits his will to his Father’s. * There is nothing more pleasing to the Father than the complete surrender of our wills to his will. Above all, this depicts an attitude of complete trust in his goodness. * Jesus had to die to his desires to come alive to his Father’s. He had to go through a death and resurrection within himself. He had to sacrifice himself before he ever sacrificed himself. God was pleased! * First ancestor Adam failed his first temptation in a garden (also on a high place); Jesus, “last Adam,” a new and better Adam who does not fail like all others; Jesus on a high place that’s also a garden; Adam fails in garden on high place, Jesus succeeds; Adam: “God, not your will, but mine… “Jesus, “Father, not my will, but yours…” * First step towards following Jesus is not passing every temptation and presenting self as righteous; It’s trusting that Jesus passed test in your place and by trusting, you get to share in his acceptance; Jesus passes the test all others fail so that all who trust in him can receive forgiveness; Do you want this? Please, even as I speak, take this step. Next verse, Jesus is human
43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. * The Lord takes care. God may not take away suffering, but will give everything you need. * Jesus takes full humanity and weakness to show God gives strength to weak who trust.
44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. * If you thought Jesus superhuman, no stress, pain, or sorrow, time to rethink. Real human being with real emotions and expresses agony to the Father. Praying so earnestly, sweats like blood.[1] * Where should you go when Father says no? To the Father with all your emotions. When God answers “yes” and “no” they are both invitations to go deeper with him. * “No” is not a rejection, but an invitation to express your feelings. Jesus does himself does this. * Understandably, Jesus wants his companions. What does he find?
45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, * Jesus finds his companions indifferent and disengaged.[2] Sleepiness shows their weakness, vulnerability, and susceptibility to temptation. Kind of sounds like us, doesn’t it? * Jesus had warned to “stay awake at all times,” and sleepiness shows their lack of vigilance. * “Sleeping for sorrow” = the heaviness of the situation had sapped strength. Sadness exhausts and leaves us more vulnerable to temptation. These moments can be the hardest not to give in. * Those of you overcome with sorrow or lingering in depression, don’t stop praying; when you don’t have energy to come up with words, use simple words, use Jesus’s words. * Jesus never says, “don’t be sorrowful,” rather, he says, “don’t stop praying.” When it’s hardest to pray is often when we need to pray most.
46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” * Ends with the phrase he began with. We must be real that we are prone to enter temptation. * Questions: + Do you find yourself spiritually sleepy this morning? + Do you find yourself struggling with a particular trial, pain, hardship, or set or circumstances that’s making it difficult to trust God? + Do you find yourself entering into temptation? That is, wandering towards other substitutes to trusting God? Substitutes like binge consuming entertainment or alcohol, lust, or throwing yourself into work or a relationship as a distraction? + Do you find yourself (intentionally or not) avoiding time being with the Father? * When pressure of this life is on, we will flee to something: our flesh’s tendency is from God. To add, Satan has set his sites on our faith and is doing all in his power to lead us into temptation. * You can see why Jesus says to “pray…” Yet, I have good news: * While Satan has a plan to destroy our faith; Jesus has a greater plan to keep us. * When Jesus prays, “not my will, but yours…” He was not only succeeding for us in our place, he was also showing us the way we too can succeed in our temptations like he did. * Depends on first word, “Father.” (Father= good and wise). * If he did not see his Father this way, he could not utter these next words, Nevertheless… * We join Jesus in calling God “Father,” from our hearts, as seeing him as better and wiser than our own selves and own judgement. When we finally see God as greater than ourselves, then it’s possible for us to say, “not my will, but yours, be done.” * During ministry, received a cut to my finger. Temptation: regret trying to minister in this situation, harboring frustration against God for not protecting me. I have to have a low view of God first, that he doesn’t have a good and wise plan in this set of circumstances to enter into temptation. A high view of God’s character is mine and your pathway out of temptation. * No better example than Jesus on the cross. Things never looked bleaker for Jesus and for the world. This moment above all, he faced temptation to have a small view of God and disobey him for the first time. Yet, since he did not succumb to temptation, now he sits at the father’s right hand, now his global people worship him, soon he will come back and rule over all the nations. * In the same way, there are such good things in store for us if we will believe God is wiser and better than us, and rather than entering into temptation will say, “not my will, but yours, be done.” * How will we become a church that enjoys God’s presence, sees people get baptized, grows into deep and loving family? In our hardships, rather than shrinking back from God, saying “not my will, but yours, be done.”
Pray: As we move toward a time of reflection, where is that one area you are struggling to say, “not my will, but yours, be done”? It may be singleness, infertility, a bodily alignment, a financial situation, or relational brokenness. Please spend time praying: Lord, lead me not into temptation and Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. Benediction: 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
[1] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).
[2] John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries on the HArmony of Matthew Mark Luke John 1-11, trans. Henry Beveridge (BakerBooks, 2009), 235.
In this Midweek Podcast, pastors Sam, Ross, and Daniel try to tackle the question an important question about the Lord's Supper. Is Jesus speaking literally or symbolically of his body and blood (Lk 22:17-20; Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25). This is the first of a two part series. Thank you for listening!
Learning To Rule With Christ
Luke 22:24-30
Main Point of the Sermon: We will reign with Christ, so we must serve like Christ.
Introduction
My wife and I recently had the privilege of going on a cruise without the kids. It was incredible! And every morning, often late morning, we had a spread of food ready for us to enjoy and an abundance of staff at our beck and call ready to grab whatever we requested as we reclined at our table and gazed at the ocean off the back of the ship.
It’s really nice to be served, isn’t it? In fact, many of us spend a lot of mental energy thinking about how to get promoted and earn more so that we can work less and do what we want to do with our time and energy. It’s not my inclination to wake up in the morning, saying, “Yes, I get to change another diaper!” We’d much rather be served.
But when we answered the call to follow Christ, it was a call to serve.
If you’ve been around All Peoples Church for a while, you may be familiar with our identity statement. We aim to be a “A beloved family of missionary servants”.
We believe that the Bible teaches that one of the defining marks of a Christian is serving others.
How then do we relate our desire we have in us to be served with Christ’s call to serve?
I’ve titled this sermon “Learning To Rule With Christ.” We’ll see today that Christians are promised future reign with Christ in glory. But like Jesus, our path to glory is a path of sacrificial service.
Context:
So here we are in Luke in the last few hours of Jesus’s life. Jesus has just shared his last meal with his disciples and he is giving them final instructions as he prepares them to continue his ministry after his ascension.
The King Came To Serve
Verse 24:
24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
This is not the first time they’ve argued about this. Luke records another instance in chapter 9. Interestingly, in each recorded situation, the argument comes after Jesus speaks of his death (Matthew 18:1-4; Mark 9:33-36; Luke 9:46-47).[1] They wanted to know who would be Jesus’s successor. Who will be most important in the kingdom.
I wish I could say that this is an old problem, that we adults in the twenty-first century never fight over such things. But I can’t. This is a human heart issue. It’s how the world has always operated. We want to be recognized as attractive or smart or valuable. Our hearts inherently long for power and significance. We claw our way towards it, making others the door mat as we enter our glory. Instead of rejoicing in others accomplishments we withhold honor and instead harbor jealous and covetous thoughts. We gossip or slander others to try to make ourselves look better. The result is broken relationships, church division, divorce, and on and on.
Now, you would think that the Twelve, who had walked so closely with Jesus and who had already been corrected by him on this issue would get it by now. But even to the last hour, they had a twisted and worldly understanding of the kingdom of God.
Jesus is going to turn their worldview upside down with his response. I’m going to read from the New Living Translation for clarity. Verse 25:
In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ 26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
Jesus compares two groups of leaders. Leaders in this world and leaders in the kingdom of God.
He says, the kings of the nations exercise lordship over their people, that is they demand complete submission and servanthood from the people – others serve them. At the same time, they demand titles of honor like “friend of the people”, “benevolent lord” or “generous one”.
We have plenty of modern examples of this. Like North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, whose image flies high in major cities, or Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, who touts his agenda as creating “a world without naziism,” or United States Presidents who we’ve seen so confidently assert their great successes for the people in public debates.
Jesus says, the world’s leaders demand to be served and to be highly spoken of.
But Jesus says, in contrast, “Not so with you.” Among you it will be different. You must not think this way. That’s not how you’re going to lead. Instead, the greatest among you must start to behave as if he were the youngest, or the lowest in rank, and the leaders in your community must act like the one who serves, like the one who takes the orders.
Rather than demanding the service of others or titles of honor, you must take the lowest position.
Jesus gives another example in verse 27: For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table?
His question obviously implies that the one reclining is the greater, not the one serving. But Jesus says,
But I am among you as the one who serves.
He says, look, you all understand how the world operates. But look at me. Look at my behavior towards you and towards others. It’s not like the world.
Jesus is certainly not saying to his disciples that they ought to think less of him. Rather, he is redefining greatness. He is showing them what rule and authority looks like in the kingdom of God. God’s King has the identity of a servant-leader. Friends, the King of kings, the Lord of lords came not to be served but to serve. He is already great positionally, worthy to be loved and served, but his character, his identity as servant, is what highlights his true greatness.
If you are familiar with the Bible these words of Jesus may bring to memory the startling scene of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples just before the last supper. We’re told in John 13 that… From memory
3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. This set up always blows me away. He knows who he is, yet he got up…
He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him (13:3-5).
Jesus, the Son of God, the King prophesied to rule on God’s throne forever and ever began to act like the least at the table. Rather than reclining at the table and being served as was fitting, he served, even washing feet! The one John the Baptist said was too great in rank for him to be able to unstrap his sandals, was at his disciples feet unstrapping theirs. And if he were here in person he would do the same with each of you, one by one. Could there be a better example of servant leadership?
Jesus’s greatness is shown not first in a display of power and assertion, but in his humility as he became a man, grew from infancy to adulthood, learned and worked and served like all of us in blood, sweat, and tears.
He taught daily, often morning to night; he healed the sick from sunrise to sunset; he traveled great distances and at risk to his safety and honor into the most unlikely places to set captives free.
He lived like a servant, from beginning to end, not like a king.
Even to this hour he is aware of your needs and is before the Father representing every single one. He comes to you now to serve you, to know you, to listen to you, to love you in the most radical ways imagined by man.
Our God’s kingdom could not be further in character from the kingdoms of this world, and from the selfish inclination of our hearts.
Jesus shows us that in the Kingdom of God, honor is gained through service.
If you want to be considered great in God’s eyes, become like Jesus.
The kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. The way up is actually down. If you want to be great, you must serve.
Learning To Rule With Christ
Now, in our last few verses, Jesus is going to show us the future glory awaiting his people, and I want to try to show you how our future in Christ’s kingdom should empower us to serve. Verse 28:
“You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus says, you who have remained with me until the end, who didn’t abandon me when it was hard, are being assigned, or given, a kingdom. This is crazy! Jesus compares what they are about to receive to what he received from his father. As my Father decreed a kingdom to me, I now assign to you a kingdom!
These words doubtless would humble these men who so craved worldly authority and honor. They would soon realize that their arguments were no less silly than children fighting over who gets to sit in the front seat of the car. Jesus lays before them a destiny that none of them could fathom.
He says they were being handed a kingdom, so that they could 1) “eat and drink at [Christ’s] table in [his] kingdom and 2) sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus was giving them a spot at his table. He was giving them an unfathomable place of honor. This is a place of intimate fellowship, a place of feasting and joy.
He was also giving them a place on judgment thrones next to him in his kingdom, where they would rule over the twelve tribes of Israel.
From fishing boats to thrones. From noisy fish markets to glory at the table of the King. From poor men, to judges.
Now, I can’t spend as much time here as I’d like, but I want to say a few things about the Apostles’ rule over the twelve tribes of Israel and also how we fit into this promise.
First, as best as I can tell, the “twelve tribes of Israel” is not speaking literally of Judah, Benjamin, Reuban and so on, but rather symbolically of all the people of God. We see this truth explained in Ephesians 2, 1 Peter 2, and in Galatians 3 that both Jew and Gentile have been united as one in Christ. Every Christian is a child of Abraham through faith in Christ. This is why James greets both Jew and Gentile Christians as the “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (James 1). There is no question, Israel is and always will be dear to God’s heart, but he always intended that his people would expand beyond the borders of Israel to encompass people of every nation in Jesus.
Second, I believe this text shows us, along with other hints in Scripture, that the twelve Apostles are given a higher place of rule and authority in the kingdom of God. They will have a prominent place amongst his people. Revelation 21 shows this by depicting the church as a great city with twelve foundations, and on the foundations are written the names of the twelve Apostles. On the one hand, these are simply brothers who have clung to Jesus like us in faith. On the other hand, Jesus has given them a unique place over his people in the kingdom.
But how does this promise relate to us? Though this is a description of the future rule of the Apostles, the Bible speaks similarly of ALL CHRISTIANS.
I could mention many, but I’ll give a few examples: Lk 19:17: “Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities’. Or 2 Tim 2:11-12: “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. Or Rev 2:26 “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—".
Church, these are promises for you. Our destiny is nothing less than joint reign with Christ in the kingdom of God.
Slow down. Friends, the positions and places of honor we care so much about in this life pale in comparison, look silly in comparison to the destiny Christ holds out to his people.
But here is what we need to remember: the path to this future reign is no different than our Lord’s.
Jesus understood that his glorification was coming through an act of service, his death on the cross. And he invites us to glory, saying, go and do as I have done, love one another with the same sort of sacrificial service that I have..
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
(John 13:34).
As I have loved you. That is, all the way to death. Jesus went to the cross as the greatest act of service because of his love for us. He died so that all who believe in him would not perish, but live; so that his enemies could be reconciled to God through him, and brought back into his kingdom.
“... the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).
Our King is motivated by his love for us. This is what drives him to serve.
I want to bring some specific application. What would it look like to serve and love like Christ?
I want to speak to a few different groups of people.
Pastors – What if we measured our greatness not by how many people are around us, but by how much we’ve poured out our lives for the body of Christ?
May we never lord over the flock like the leaders of this world, but be the chief servants in the church. That is true greatness.
Singles and Retirees - What if instead of measuring your greatness by your career or where you’ve traveled or by your financial portfolio, you measure it by how sacrificially you’ve been on mission or supported missionaries or orphans or widows?
What you do with your time matters to the Lord greatly. Wholly devote yourself to the Lord. Oftentimes, singleness or retirement affords the opportunity to move around and give more freely. If you have capacity in this season, don’t waste it on yourself. Give yourself away for others' good. That is true greatness.
Husbands and Fathers – “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25). For you! Yes, God has given you a position of authority in your household, but never take advantage of your position. Be the chief servant of your home. Let your spouse and your children see you run first to take out the trash, to change the diaper, to meet the need. Train your children with your teaching and your example. That is true greatness.
Wives and mothers – Serve your husbands and your children. Serve faithfully in the small things when it feels unseen. Your role as help-mate to your husband is so beautiful, especially in light of Christ’s service. Many of you serve tirelessly. Fight to do it cheerfully with all respect for your husband as you do the Lord. That is true greatness.
Spouses, what if instead of keeping score of all that you’ve done or comparing your spouse's work to yours, you aimed for the glory of serving without getting anything in return?
With one another – Be generous towards one another. Outdo one another in showing honor, in listening to one another, in praying for one another, in serving the lowly in our community. It’s never glamorous to serve kids, but Jesus said, whoever receives a child in my name, receives me (Mk 9:37). Don’t try to be great in this community by knowing the best looking and influential, but give your attention and energy to the least.
We must think less of protecting our belongings and time and more about ways to share with others for the sake of the kingdom. We must be the best employee or boss you can be, not as a people pleaser, but because we are ultimately serving Christ our Master.
This is true greatness in God’s Kingdom.
Is this how you see the world today? Is this how you operate?
Friends, we desperately need a worldview shift and we need to be reminded of these truths daily.
You are royalty. You are heirs of the Kingdom by virtue of your union with Christ. Many of you put that on display daily. Let’s do it all the more. This life of service is preparation for future glory. We learn to rule with Christ by serving like our King.
I want to leave you with this. The call to live out this servant identity is often hard, but you are not alone in the fight. Not only has Christ given us an example in his broken body and shed blood, he has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us for this great task and to remind us of these great promises. So let’s fix our eyes on the Servant of all when we face each difficult hour of service this week.
Benediction: The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat (Lk 12:37)!
[1] Utley, R. J. (2004). The Gospel according to Luke (Vol. Volume 3A, Lk 22:24). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 13:3–7). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Ross Tenneson Luke 21:20-28
Summary Text: Luke 21:20-28 MP: Jesus is coming back soon to rule heaven and earth so we should have a sense of assurance rather than distress. Sticky: We remain courageous disciple-makers as the world falls apart. Heading 1 Introduction I remember in the early days of COVID thinking that it was a big exaggeration. Then, I remember reading news stories about people losing their sense of smell and some cognitive function. I wasn’t scared of death because of my age group, but began to have a fear of getting physical complications, possibly life long, if I caught this virus. Around this time, I was in a Target parking lot (when COVID was everywhere in 2020). And a man approached me to ask for some money. He was large and his face was right up in mine and I remember feeling his hot breath against my face and thinking, “I definitely have COVID.” I would wake up several mornings and smell something with a strong smell just to make sure I still had my sense of smell and thinking “oh, good, I don’t have it yet.” At this time in my life, there was a sense of fear that was influencing me. It was influencing me so much that I didn’t want to converse with the man in the parking lot who needed my help, and I felt tempted to walk away from him (by God’s grace, I didn’t). Fear has the potential to influence and even control how we live. I want us to ask this morning, how does Jesus want us to respond to the things that make us fearful? In particular, how do we respond to the inevitable chaos in the world as the return of Jesus approaches? Let’s hop into our text. Jesus is continuing to talk about his return and the end of this age. Heading 1 Revelation Luke 21:20 ESV 20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Our text this morning begins with Jesus describing the worst case scenario: armies surround Jerusalem and are about to bring devastation to it. The word “desolation” means , “devastation, destruction, depopulation.”[1] Why is this the worst case scenario? Because this is the opposite of the Old Testament’s hope for how God would rescue the world from sin and suffering. The Davidic king was supposed to rule from Jerusalem over the nations in the power of God and bring peace. Through his righteous rule, more and more people would become worshipers of the God of Israel. So, for Jesus to predict that armies would surround and devastate Jerusalem would have been devastating for his disciples to hear. It’s the opposite of what they were hoping for: instead of the king ruling over the nations, the nations would surround the city of God and inflict destruction upon it. It’s a complete unraveling of what the people hoped for. We have here in this text exhibit A that sin ruins everything it touches. The reason the Romans would surround and destroy Jerusalem is the people’s sin against their God, specifically in their rejection of Jesus. Their sins had piled up over the centuries and come to a head in what will happen in the next few days: the people will reject Jesus as king and put him to death instead. Whatever sin we may give into, it all has the same core: a rejection of Jesus and serving someone or something else. Next Jesus says, Luke 21:21 ESV 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, Jerusalem was supposed to be the fortress where God’s people could flee for refuge in times of danger. Now, it would be the place of danger and the people of Judea and Jerusalem would need to flee from Jerusalem and into the mountains. When we reject Jesus, we position ourselves against God, like the Jewish people did. Positioning oneself against God brings about the wrath and punishment of God. There is nothing more frightening than facing the judgement and wrath of God. Verse 22 now gives us the reason God brings such devastation on Jerusalem, Luke 21:22 Luke 21:22 (ESV) 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. The word “vengeance” means “full justice or satisfaction.”[2] The desolation of Jerusalem is God’s righteous judgment for the people’s rejection of Jesus, it’s his “vengeance.” We should not think of his vengeance as uncontrolled rage (as we tend to see depicted in popular media), but rather a steady commitment to righteousness and uprightness. After generations of idolatry, exploiting the poor, and sexual immorality, and now their final rejection of God in rejecting Jesus, God’s judgement is the right and true response. Yet, in this same verse we findthe first ray of hope piercing through. Jesus does not say that these “days of vengeance” were an accident, or an unforeseen event, but rather that they, “fulfill all that is written.” Even the devastation of Jerusalem was according to the plan of God. Our God has a plan to do good and to bring life to his dying world, and not even our sins or the sins of others can ultimately thwart his plan. The consequences of our sins are great, yet the goodness and wisdom of our God’s plan is greater. No matter how scared, sorrowful, or hurting you are this morning, you can hope in the God whose plan both encompasses the sorrow we experience and provides a way out. Though the coming destruction of Jerusalem would have been horrific to think about, the Scriptures clearly predicted it would happen. Jesus is reminding his listeners of this truth so that the disciples could have confidence that the plan of God had not failed. People had failed, but the plan of God had not. Here is something important to keep in mind: Even though history is unfolding according to our God’s plan, the pain and suffering that human sin brings in the world is still worth grieving and weeping over. Here’s how Jesus puts it: Luke 21:23 ESV 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. Next, Jesus says “Alas for women who are pregnant or nursing infants!” He means that they will suffer especially during this time. The thought of such people suffering likely contributed to Jesus’s tears over Jerusalem a few chapters ago. When a society rebels against God, often the worst of the resulting suffering lands upon the weak and the vulnerable. Then Jesus says, Luke 21:24 ESV 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Jesus reiterates again that the city of Jerusalem and her temple will fall. The nations God had raised up Israel to rule over will rule over them. Their sin and rebellion against their God had undermined God’s purposes for them and the exact opposite resulted. Jerusalem was trampled “underfoot by the Gentiles.” The gentile king Titus brought this reign of destruction upon Jerusalem just a few decades later, just as Jesus had said. The destruction of the temple and Jerusalem marks the beginning of the era called, “the times of the Gentiles.” “the times of the Gentiles” is a mysterious phrase. It likely means the era in which God’s kingdom is not present on the earth in the way it was when God established Israel and ruled through the king in Jerusalem. Instead, it’s a time in which rulers opposed to the kingdom of God and his purposes exercise their dominion. The era in which we live is the “times of the Gentiles” when wicked rulers like Putin cause warfare and bloodshed. The full expression of God’s kingdom remains not yet present, and we await the return of the king Jesus to make it so. This is where Jesus is going to go now: he’s going to talk more about these “times of the Gentiles” and what they will be like until the time Jesus comes back to make all things right: Luke 21:25–26 ESV 25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Heading 3 The Symbols Jesus Uses The Signs in the Heavens Here is a very mysterious verse. What could Jesus mean by there being “signs in sun and moon and stars”? One option is that it could be referring to rare astrological patterns that point toward chaos on the Earth. However, I tend to think differently. I believe that Jesus is using creative imagery to refer to chaos in the natural and spiritual realms as they both continue to deteriorate. From our Western perspective, we tend to look at the world in an analytical manner. For example, when we see stars in the sky, we tend to think of them as suns that are blazing millions of miles away. That’s a true and correct perspective, but it is not the only perspective. The ancient, biblical perspective tends to have a more enchanted view of creation. Their view would not contradict any scientific facts about the sky, but it would have a different emphasis in what it focuses on. Rather than focusing on the distance or material makeup of stars, the ancient Biblical perspective focuses on what the stars represent. In the Bible, stars and luminaries in the sky symbolize spiritual rulers and authorities in the spiritual realm. God made a human family and gave them authority and rule over the earth. God also made a spiritual family and gave them authority and rule over the spiritual realm that overlaps with and influences our realm. Here is one example of stars representing spiritual rulers: When God questions Job in the book of Job about the creation of the world. He asks Job if he was there… Job 38:7 Job 38:7 (ESV) 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? The “sons of God” is a biblical term for angels. Right alongside it, “morning stars” is another term for angels who were witnessing and rejoicing in God’s act of creation. Here’s another example for those to whom this may be a strange concept. In Isaiah 14:12, God refers to a rebellious spiritual being as a “fallen star,” 12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 14:12. When Jesus says, “the powers of the heavens will be shaken,” he is probably defining what these “signs” will be: namely, chaos and disorder in the spiritual realm. While we can’t perceive that chaos with our naked eye, we can feel its effects in our world. The evil, the chaos, the confusion that is increasingly present in our society and the world is partially owing to the continued deterioration of the spiritual world and its influence on rebellious leaders and nations. The Flood on the Earth That’s the first part of the puzzle of this verse. There is a second. Jesus says, “and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and waves.” Is Jesus here referring to oceans and bodies of water that overflow and wipe away human cities? He could be. Yet, I take another perspective. In the Bible, chaotic bodies of water can symbolize chaotic armies and human civilizations destroying and wreaking havoc. In Daniel 9, when Daniel is speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem, he prophecies, Dan 9:26 Daniel 9:26 (ESV) 26 Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. In this verse, the image of a flood depicts the chaos and destruction of war and other disasters in the natural world. So, if we put these images together, the picture Jesus is painting for us is that there will be chaos and destruction in spiritual and natural realms as the end approaches. Jesus speaks first of the “heavens” and then he speaks of the “earth.” Jesus uses poetic, symbolic language to make a concrete point: there will be destruction, death, and chaos in the world (in both its spiritual and natural aspects) as the end draws near. The war in Ukraine, the prevalence of the pornography and abortion industries, the presence of COVID, and the struggles and pain you have in your own life are symptoms of the fallen spiritual and natural worlds to which Jesus is referring here. Passages like these show us: these things have not caught Jesus off guard. This world is unfolding according to his plan and his plan includes overcoming all of this evil and chaos and making all things right. The Point Behind These Symbols Now, that we have a better grasp of what Jesus is talking about, let’s try to understand his point. Jesus’s concern here does not seem to be about whether there will be this chaos and destruction in the world: he simply asserts it will be the case. Rather, he describes two different ways of responding to it: We see the first one in verse 26. He says there will be “distress of nations in perplexity…people fainting in fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.” Jesus says that fear and confusion will define this age. Could you think of better words to describe how people feel in our society today? Never have I witnessed such fear and never have I witnessed such fear and confusion in people as I have in the last two years. The emotions are things we each feel in varying degrees: Has COVID created a sense of fear or confusion in you? Has police brutality, riots, and political unrest in our city created a sense of fear or confusion in you? Does illness in yourself or a loved one or depression or anxiety disorders create a sense of fear or confusion in you? Chaos in our bodies, our relationships, and the world consistently provoke these kinds of responses. This is not a unique age or time: it is sadly a typical one in our fallen existence. The description Jesus gives here is not simply of people who experience a sense of fear and confusion, but of people who are overwhelmed and controlled by these emotions. He says people will be “fainting with fear and with foreboding at what is coming on the world.” You may not be to the point of fainting, but does fear dominate your thoughts or your life choices? Do you have an anxious demeanor? Friends, I know this is my natural disposition apart from the help of God, I constantly face the distraction of anxious thoughts that threaten to dominate my mind. Do you avoid people because of fear of illness, social anxiety, or the cost of interacting with others? Never before has it been more normal to isolate and separate yourself from interacting with others. Please visit my apartment building and you will observe this in five minutes. And I suggest that a sense of fear contributes to this phenomenon. Yet, our Lord Jesus calls us into a different response to an unraveling world. He begins to explain why in verse 27, Luke 21:27 ESV 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. There will be a sudden moment when the things that people found so fearsome and worthy of their attention will suddenly seem insignificant. Everyone’s eyes will become locked on the returning king. Church, please picture this: suddenly everything and everyone stops. There is a man descending from the sky. He radiates with beauty and power. He is returning to the world he made to assume all authority and rule for all of time. You understand that all suffering and all evil is coming to an end in the world. Here finally is the one you have been waiting for. That’s the picture Jesus is painting of himself. When Jesus returns, it will be clear there is no one more glorious, more wonderful, more authoritative than him. All the world will come to a sudden stop, and all the things they were focusing on and worrying about will seem insignificant. Then, the Son of Man will occupy the full attention of every human. There are some of us here who love him and anticipate his return who will respond with joy. Sadly, unless they repent, there are some here who are rejecting Jesus and will respond with terror. Christians, we want to strive to help others recognize this reality now, so when they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, they respond with great rejoicing with us rather than an even greater sense of terror that they have made a terrible mistake. Now, Jesus is going to show us an alternate response we should have, in the present, to help one another and our neighbors keep everything in perspective of the return of Christ: Luke 21:28 ESV 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Jesus talks about how a Christian should respond to the turmoil and chaos in the spiritual and natural worlds. He says, “when these things begin to take place… straighten up and raise your heads.” That means, grow in confidence that God has a good plan and that your obedience to Jesus is part of that good plan. When the world experiences chaos, they begin to sense that “their plan” is falling apart and hopelessness and fear set in as their lives lose a sense of purpose behind the things that are happening. On the other hand, when Christians experience chaos in the world, it’s a signal to us that we are closer than ever to seeing Jesus. That’s what Jesus means by “your redemption is drawing near.” We just got through a very hard year on many accounts, and we are one year closer to seeing Jesus. What can possibly give us such an unwavering sense of confidence that endures in every situation of chaos? That we worship the king who will return to this world to rule over all of heaven and earth. It is meditating on this reality that frees us from fear in this age to be courageous followers of Jesus. If we meditate on the things the world meditates on, we will find ourselves to be fearful people. If we meditate on Jesus coming back, we will find ourselves to be bold and courageous people. In moments of great turmoil, at the next wave of COVID, at the next instance of social unrest or a chaotic election, at this present moment, we straighten up and raise our heads. That means, our body language reveals the disposition of our souls. It’s not one of defiance or carelessness, but rather of confident expectation that God has got this. That we would have a demeanor of calmness and trust in the midst of chaos and continue to move toward people rather than away from them. Imagine what our neighbors would feel like if at the next catastrophe, when everyone else is panicking, you are calmly reaching out to them to love and serve them. We could even start to live like this now. More than ever, our world has normalized isolation and avoiding others. Yet, this way of life is not the way of Jesus. There are likely very few people engaging your neighbors, family, and friends. Let’s be the exception.We have not bought into society’s narrative that isolation is a good thing for society. We pursue people intentionally like Jesus did. Gospel Connection Now, a fundamental building block of our faith is that evil, suffering, and death do not indicate that there is no good plan for things or a good God we can trust in. Rather, we trust that God in his wisdom and goodness takes the evil and death that we sinful people cause and uses them to accomplish his good plan. God uses evil and suffering as a part of his good plan, and never do we see that more clearly than when Jesus of Nazareth dies on the cross. Luke writes about this very thing in the book of Acts 2:23-24 Acts 2:23–24 (ESV) 23d this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Was there ever a greater moment of chaos and evil than when the Roman and Jewish authorities nailed the savior of the world to a cross? Would any moment have ever felt as chaotic and disheartening than that if you were a follower of Jesus? Yet, was there ever a moment where was God accomplishing more good? At the very moment it seemed as if the world was falling apart, Jesus was rescuing the world from its sins through his death. The moment that looked like the plan of God had fallen apart was the moment that the plan of God was triumphing, as becomes clear a few days later when Jesus raises from the dead. Church, we can trust this Jesus in the moments and times of crisis we face. He already walked through the greatest crisis imaginable. The plans of our God don’t. ever. fail. This same Jesus is quickly coming back to rescue us from sin, despair, and death, so the fear of those things don’t control us like they used to. We can be courageous disciple-makers as the world falls apart. And if you don’t yet have a relationship with this wonderful savior who is quickly coming back, please talk to me or anyone else who is following Jesus and ask more about how you can know and trust Jesus.
[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 392.
[2] Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 1 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 418.
Pastor Daniel preaches from Luke 21:5-19.
Not A Hair of Your Head Will Perish Luke 21:5-19 Main Point of the Sermon: We must endure by standing on the promises of Christ. Introduction Pray Human beings avoid risk. But not just physical risk. We tend to avoid almost any confrontation, even an awkward conversation. But Christians throughout history are kind of an anomaly in this area. Christ’s followers have been known to get on ships and planes that take them to remote and unreached areas at great risk to themselves in an effort to preach the saving name of Jesus. In nearly every corner of the earth, Christians have faced danger preaching the Gospel. Even some of our members have moved their families overseas or are preparing now to go. Though it is not usually at risk of our lives, our Missional Community Groups have gone into the Mall of America, into the parks of Minneapolis, into the Somali Mall and onto the streets at risk of being maligned. What gives Christians the peace and boldness to put themselves in risky situations? I hope to answer that question today. This is the first sermon of two where we will unpack Jesus’s teaching on the end of the world and the time leading up to it. Today’s text focuses on the time from Jesus’s ascension to the destruction of the temple in 70AD. Next week, we will focus on Jesus’s teaching about the current age we are in and his second coming. Let’s dive in. Verse 5: And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Context: This passage starts with the conjunction “and”, which should cue you in that Luke has a flow of thought in the stories he is stringing together. Sometimes chapters, headers, and verse divisions can make you miss that. But if you look back you’ll find that Luke’s narrative has slowed down significantly since Jesus entered Jerusalem and that Luke repeats several themes. One of those themes is the removal of the current religious system, which had been perverted by greed, hypocrisy, and a neglect of the outcast and gentiles. Most of all, Jesus says that it would be removed by God because of the people’s rejection of him. So, Jesus was teaching these things daily in the temple. One day, while he was there, the people in the temple were marveling at the great stones and all the “offerings”, that is the beautiful curtains and instruments of worship around the temple. This temple was constructed by Herod the Great. The temple mount was larger than most of the seven wonders of the world, with a perimeter of about 1 mile. The stones that still remain today are approximately 45 feet wide x 12 feet tall and 12 feet thick, weighing around 570 tons. You could probably fill about half of this space with one of them. The temple was a place of grandeur and beauty. Though Israel was ruled by a foreign pagan nation, the temple provided a sense of security and strength. But Jesus took that moment to teach. He told them, verse 6, there are days coming when it will all be torn down. This is, frankly, a startling claim for those who saw the temple as the epicenter of all Jewish life – their festivals, their hope. So, naturally, the people asked Jesus, verse 7, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” The Jews, who were versed in the Old Testament knew something about the end of time and the signs pointing to it because of Old Testament prophesies, like those found in the book of Daniel. They knew about the desolation of the temple from Daniel 9:27, but they believed that it would coincide with the end of time. If the temple was going to fall, it was going to fall just before God came and victoriously rescued them. But Jesus corrects their thinking with his answer. Verse 8. And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” First, Jesus warns them. Jesus is concerned for their hearts. Make sure you aren’t led astray. Many will come in that time claiming to be the Messiah and saying that the end has come. But “do not go after them.” Next, he says, you’re going to hear of wars and great uproars. When this happens, “do not be terrified”, thinking that the end is here. All these things will happen but “the end will not be at once.” This phrase is key. This would be an extremely unsettling time, making many think that the end has come, but Jesus says, it’s not coming all at once in the way you think. Jesus continues in verse 10. Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Chaos will increase. Wars, natural disasters, famine and disease. But not just in the physical world. He says “there will be terrors and great signs from heaven,” which I think points to turmoil in the spiritual world. All of reality seems to be shaking. But then he says these important words in verse 12: But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. In verse 12, Jesus zones in with these words “but before all this”. As if he hasn’t already said enough to get us shaking, he goes on to describe the persecution coming on the followers of Jesus. This seems to be what Jesus is most concerned about communicating here. The people want to know about their beloved temple and the end times, but Jesus focuses on something more important: the faithful witness of God’s people in the face of a coming persecution. Repeat. The world is going to feel like it’s about to end. But not yet. Things are about to get life threatening for you because you bear my name. You are about to suffer. Why? “For my name’s sake.” Because you bear my name you will be put on trial before kings. But get this. Jesus says, “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.” Man, we who were live in the land of opportunity need a reorientation to this word opportunity. When we think of opportunity, we think job opportunity or promotion, or adventure. But Jesus speaks of this moment, when our very lives and reputations hang on the line, the very thing we are inclined to run from, as an opportunity, an opportunity to speak of the precious, saving, delivering, healing, resurrecting name of Jesus. This is what Jesus is concerned about for his followers. Times of great terror and chaos are coming, persecution is coming. But this is your moment to tell the world about me. Jesus is saying to them, “You are about to follow in the footsteps of the prophets. You are about to follow in my footsteps as you bear witness about me. What they have done to me, they will do to you. Verse 16 says, You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest friends. Hear this, church. He said, some of you will be betrayed by your parents or siblings, maybe by friends. Imagine, even perhaps some of your friends sitting close to you! Following Jesus may cost you your family or closest friends. Further, Jesus was about to be beaten and executed on a cross, and he says, it will happen to some of you too. Jesus was hated by all, condemned by the crowds to death, and he says, you too will be hated by all for my name’s sake. This is the second time Jesus says that they would suffer “for my name’s sake”. If you are a Christian, you bear the name of Jesus. You are united to him and represent him on earth. You carry the exclusive saving message! What a joy that is! But what a cost that comes with that treasure. Jesus says that his followers must take up their cross in order to follow him. Now, I recognize that many of you hearing this today surrounded by many like-minded friends in this beautiful space probably feel a sense of peace and security, like I think many of Jesus’s hearers were. But Jesus wanted them and us to understand something important: suffering is part of our identity as Christians in this age before his second coming. All who bear the name of Jesus will be persecuted. The Apostle Paul echoes this same truth: “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12) Jesus wants them to be prepared for what the end of the world will really be like. It will not come at once like they expected. It will not feel like a time of triumph. They are about to enter an age where the kingdom spreads through their witness, and that time will require great endurance. But he doesn’t stop with doom and gloom. He encourages them with two powerful promises: 1) I will be with you and help you in these trials 2) not a hair of your head will perish. Let’s unpack these. 1) I will be with you and help you in these trials Verse 14: Jesus said, 14 Settle it therefore in your minds [that is, when you are put on trial because of me] not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 FOR I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. No matter who you face, you don’t need to worry about what to say because – here is the promise – “I will give you a mouth and wisdom.” In other words, I will be with you to help you and speak through you such that your enemies cannot withstand you. Jesus provides a far greater foundation than a physical temple. This is a promise of God’s personal presence going with us to help us bear witness to his name. Is this not what God has given to us in the Holy Spirit? We read over and over in the book of Acts stories of God’s people testifying boldly before tumultuous crowds and rulers. How? By the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has fulfilled this promise in sending his Church the Holy Spirit. This is so encouraging to me. How many times do we shake in our boots just thinking about talking with a neighbor or co-worker about Jesus? Friends, it’s not just when you stand before kings that he is present to help you know what to say. Don’t you think God cares about your witness to your neighbor too? He will give you a mouth and wisdom. Let’s look at the second promise. 2) Not a hair of your head will perish Jesus says, though some will be put to death, and though you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. Verse 18: Not a hair of your head will perish. What?! Jesus, you just said that some of us would be killed! How can you say that? Jesus is not contradicting himself, but is highlighting an important Gospel tension. Enemies of God may kill you, but they cannot ultimately harm you, not even a hair of your head. Jesus knew better than all. He was about to have a crown of thorns thrust into his head and have his hair and flesh torn from nearly every inch of his body. But he KNEW that he would also rise from death and be given a resurrected body, completely restored, down to the last hair. In the same way, all who are united to Jesus, though you may be mocked, imprisoned, and perhaps killed, it can cause you no lasting spiritual harm. You may have all the kingdoms of the world standing against you, but if God is with you and for you, you cannot lose. Jesus said elsewhere, “Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). And in another place, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25). With this promise Jesus offers his followers a much more lasting and solid foundation than a physical temple. Just as the temple would fall, you too will die, and may die for Christ. But if you believe in him, if you are in relationship with Jesus, you cannot truly die. Not a hair of your head will perish. Many have been killed and will be killed because of the name of Jesus, but it is by clinging to that Name that they live. This is the main point of Jesus’s teaching. Verse 19 captures it: By your endurance you will gain your lives. You will live if you endure. The Christian life can in part be summed up with this word, endurance. An older friend of mine wrote to me for my 34th birthday. He reminded me how long and hard the Christian race and challenged me to be steadfast. There is no question if the race will be hard for Christians? It will often feel like the final few reps in a workout or the final lap in a race. And I need you to know Church, reaching the end of the race is just as important to Jesus as the beginning. Salvation is not as simple as saying a prayer once or being baptized. The Bible teaches that we know we are truly Christians if we hold fast to the end. Hebrews 3:14: “We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.” It’s hard enough to try to withstand our flesh on a daily basis. But we face another great temptation to run or hide or be silent when the world breathes intimidating threats. We think, run and hide and you will live. But Jesus says it’s just the opposite. Jesus says, stand before them all. Stand before the devil’s threats. Endure and you will gain your lives. How do we endure? By clinging to Jesus and his precious promises. YOU This word is so important for us today because here we are two thousand years later preaching Jesus and trying to make sense of these words and events. It’s easy to lose faith when things just seem to keep going on as usual. I need you to know that all that Jesus promised came to pass. You can read for yourself, even in secular historical documents. The temple was, in fact, destroyed by Rome in 70 AD in a gruesome way. Further, in the years leading up to that, there were famines and wars and false prophets who led the people astray. Further, all of the Apostles but John were killed preaching the Gospel around the world as the Gospel spread. Countless thousands of Christians were burned at the stake or fed to lions in the Roman colosseum and in similar places under various Roman rulers. The book of Acts records Paul being led before kings and Peter before Jewish leaders. And what we see in each moment is men and women emboldened by God’s promised presence and power to preserve their lives in a future resurrection. In the same way, church, we need to be prepared for persecution and strive to walk in the same boldness. Jesus's words to his disciples in the first century are not just about what would happen in the days leading up to 70 AD, but about what always happens for Christians until Jesus comes. We are living in the overlap of the ages. The kingdom has come in Jesus, but it has not fully come. This is what theologians call the already/not yet kingdom. I was shocked as I researched “persecution of Christians” on google and found nation after nation listed with stories and examples of atrocities committed against Christians. Even to this day, Christians are persecuted: 1. In 1999, Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two sons were burnt alive in their station wagon by a group of hindu anti-Christian activists. 2. I read about Somali man named “Billy” who was converted to Christ as he studied the Bible alongside the Koran. He started a small church with the first Christian he met in Somalia, but as it grew persecution began. Twelve of their members were executed and Billy narrowly escaped death. Do you know what’s crazy. He still returns to Somalia regularly at risk to himself to help strengthen the slowly growing underground church.
I could tell you a dozen more similar stories. I’m convinced that we too are on the precipice of more intense persecution even here in the United States. Not only because neighboring countries are making laws forbidding Christians from teaching particular truths, but because there is a growing hostility and hatred towards Bible-believing Christians in this nation. We who are labeled intolerant are now the intolerable. The world’s war against absolute truth has ironically claimed as absolute truth that the Gospel of Jesus is intolerable. So how should we live in light of this reality? What else? This is our opportunity to bear witness. We ought to boldly live and proclaim the saving name of Jesus to the world. We are tempted daily to shy away from speaking about Jesus. Sadly, we often fear man more than God. We often want our comfort, our reputation, our lives more than we want Jesus’s name to be known. But we must endure, believing that life is more than these 80 years. More than peace and safety. My hope this morning is that we would be emboldened to bear witness to the name of Jesus. Why? Because Jesus says, 1) I will be with you and help you as you go 2) not a hair of your head will perish. I want us to stand on these powerful promises that Jesus has spoken and have our great great grandchildren along with the disciples we made tell stories of our faithful witness in the face of danger. Church, we have a solid foundation. Our security is not a place like the temple. It’s not a religious system. It’s not a denomination. It’s not a church building. It’s not a particular leader. All of those things could fall. But foundation is Christ, whose death gave us life, and whose rejection purchased our acceptance with God. I don’t know when or how persecution will come to you. But it will come for all faithful Christians. And if you aren’t now in the thick of it, hear this challenge from Hebrews: “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3). Many of our brothers and sisters around the world ARE suffering. Remember them in prayer. So Church, in the confidence that Jesus has provided us, let’s go this week and boldly proclaim the Good News that there is eternal life in Jesus. Go proclaim that there is hope for this war-torn world in the risen Jesus. He lives to strengthen us and help us through every fiery trial, and to remind us like he has today that not one hair of your head will perish. Let’s pray Benediction: Great Commission: “Behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 19:44). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 19:46). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 20:15–16). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles. [4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Lk 21:5–19). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
In this Midweek Podcast, member and Missional Community Group leader, Michael Patterson, leads a discussion with some of the pastors of All Peoples Church on a relevant topic – Civil Disobedience. Thank you for listening!
- Why this podcast? Daniel’s sermon + the particular historical moment we just lived through.
- What’s the purpose of this podcast? To equip our people to think through individually how a Christian man or woman should relate to the state and how we will think through relating to the state as a community.
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Questions:
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we will get into specifics in a little bit, but in general, when should we obey God rather than the ruling authorities?
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Romans 13:1-7: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. (Romans 13:1-7)
- Basic disposition of submission to the state.
- It’s a way of submitting to God.
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Acts 4:18-20: So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
- Needs to be a second category of civil disobedience since Jesus and his Apostles were in frequent conflict with the governing authorities.
- One way I’ve heard it put: We should obey the government except when they command us to do something God has forbidden us to do or the government forbids us from doing something God has commanded us to do.
- Hence, there is a category for civil disobedience when there is an explicit command from Scripture that contradicts the command of the government.
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now specifics, the ruling authorities commands us to not meet on Sundays because an infectious disease what do we do?
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First, we should ask whether this command forbids us from doing something God has commanded us to do (since they are requiring us not do do something).
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We find that in fact, this command does forbid us to do what God has commanded us to do:
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 10:24–25.
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Unfortunately, our response can’t be as simple as, “God commanded us to meet, so we will meet no matter what the government says.”
- Falling out of a “habit” does not happen by missing one or two gatherings.
- There is a category for temporarily pausing our gatherings in the event of a particularly deadly or dangerous situation (Luther talked about staying home during severe waves of the black death).
- However, while we can situationally pause our gatherings in a dangerous situation, we cannot continue to pause for a long period of time such that our habit becomes not gathering together (in violation of Hebrew 10).
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What if they keep saying don’t meet to the point that it seems unreasonable, like no gathering whatsoever?
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Alternatives? It depends on your church family size? Meet in homes as J.D. Greer did?
- Does obeying God in this situation necessitate that we keep gathering in the same exact way that we have been meeting.
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Is it ever right for a local church to appeal to the courts if it seems that the governing authorities are overstepping their sphere of sovereignty? (Keep this shorter)
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Believers should not be quick to resort to courts. There is something distasteful about resorting to coercion and a combative stance against others.
- Yet, when we have exhausted other means of resolving conflicts when it comes to obeying God’s word, appealing to the law and our citizenship is a valid step. Paul does something similar (but not identical):
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 16:35–40.
- Similarly, we can appeal to courts when the civil magistrate is violating the law he is supposed to uphold and it is keeping us from obeying God’s word in its fullness.
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One example: Capitol Hill Baptist sued the district of Washington, D.C. to overturn their mayor’s prohibition on public gatherings and won after a prolonged prohibition on meeting and her selective decision to allow other public gatherings to occur.
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in what ways as a church should we honor our ruling authorities?
5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
- We should seek to have a posture of obedience and deference to the government, which God has instituted.
- We should pray earnestly for government officials that they would follow Jesus:
2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Ti 2:1–2.
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We must avoid speaking disrespectfully or disdainfully about elected officials.
- I have heard Christians say disrespectful things about both presidents Trump and Biden.
- Francis Chan at Pascon in 2019: 5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Sa 24:5.
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Bill c4 was passed late last year in Canada banning conversion therapy, and criminalizing the practice. In the US 20 states have already banned the practice and it seems to be growing. What are we to do? Here's a link for you to read: https://www.npr.org/2021/12/09/1062720266/canada-bans-conversion-therapy
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This question could apply to a whole different range of issues of how the government acts: from abortion to their war policy, issues the Christians may have legitimate moral qualms with.
- I (Ross) will admit I’m not very familiar with conversion therapy or this particular bill in Canada, so I feel underequipped to give a full answer.
- However, I would pray for my government and, when it comes to election season, at least take it into consideration on how I cast my ballot. However, none of my heart’s affections or hope for God’s purpose in the world will come down to whether or not this bill passes here.
- If it is legal here, I would consider the wisdom of this approach if some family in our church community were considering it. It may be a good idea, but it could just as easily be a bad one.
- In the church community, no matter what regulations the government passes on speech regarding human sexuality or any other topic, we should keep calling people to repentance and obedience to the way of Jesus, even when the area of repentance relates to sexuality or gender.
- Jesus said,
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18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 28:18–20.
- We have authority from Jesus to call any and all people to repentance regardless of what the state requires.
Self-determination. What if they determine that they want help? Is it wrong for the government to pass laws in that case?
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At first glance, we should note that receiving a vaccine does not violate any command of Scripture and we should seek to have a posture of submitting to the governing authorities.
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However, there is another level we need to consider: there is a certain point where the government transgresses against image bearers and treats them in such a denigrating way, that the government is no longer “God’s servant for your good,” but the wrongdoer itself.
- Some examples: Nazi concentration camps and the Tuskegee study where our government unwittingly exposed African American men to viruses to see how they would react.
- There does not seem to be the same level of malice behind the vaccines as these examples, yet the government forcing you to put a medical treatment in your body at the very least approaches this category of violating human dignity and their status as image bearers.
- We don’t have to determine gray areas like this in a one-size-fits-all solution! Rather, we should let church members act according to their consciences. We should reserve calls for compliance to the civil authorities where they clearly have domain to enforce their authority, such as paying taxes which the Scriptures clearly affirm.
- The church must keep meeting and individual members must determine how they will respond to vaccine mandates.
Give God Your Allegiance (Even When You Pay Your Taxes) Luke 20:19-26 Main Point of the Sermon: Give God your allegiance, even when you pay your taxes. Introduction Maybe you remember getting your first paycheck when you realized that 30% or so was taken out in taxes? You probably weren’t saying, “Man, I’m so happy to be contributing to my government!” I’ve been through a couple tax seasons that I got caught off guard with large tax bills. It was tempting to try to get by without paying, and shamefully, I admit there were times when I wasn’t totally above board with my taxes. But as I came to surrender my life and allegiance to Jesus more and more I realized that becoming a citizen of heaven should never diminish my ability to be a good citizen on earth. Just the opposite. I learned that it is not just my worship on Sunday or the bigger issues of morality that mattered to God. He cares about smaller details like my taxes and how I respond to the government I live under, even one’s I disagreed with, even unjust ones. You don’t have to look very long in the news to find that to be the case everywhere you look, including the Russia/Ukraine situation. I’m thankful for this text. There’s some practical wisdom for us in it. 1) The Scripture is going to challenge us on where our true allegiance lies. 2) It’s going to show us that sometimes loyalty to God actually demands loyalty to human governments. Context: But before we get into our passage, I want to remind you of the context. Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and while many were eagerly receiving him as king, the Spiritual Leaders rejected him and actually tried to trap him in his words so they could condemn him to death. So in response to them we heard Jesus’s parable last week directed at the religious leaders. In it, he showed that these religious leaders were the culmination of generations of leaders who abused and killed the prophets whom God had so generously sent to them. So, the kingdom would be taken from them. One of the striking points Ross made from that parable is that having allegiance to anything over and above God is not neutral ground, but actually opposition to God. Though these religious leaders appeared very religious and God-focused, their own position of power and their ideas of what Israel and God’s kingdom should look like had their ultimate allegiance. Ironically, these leaders with fallen allegiances are going to challenge Jesus’s allegiances in their next attempt to catch him in his words. So let’s look at verse 19 as we get into our text. Spies 19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. If they could have, they would have taken him out right then, but they couldn’t because they feared the people who held Jesus in such high regard. So what was their next plan? Verse 20 20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor [that is, Pontius Pilate]. They sent spies to try to catch him. When I read this I get an icky feeling in my stomach. They are so full of murderous hatred towards Jesus they send spies who can trap Jesus. Friends, sin makes us do slimy things. Sin will lead us to deceitful and manipulative behavior. When we oppose God by making allegiances with our sin or our agenda, we will find ourselves looking more and more like the deceptive serpent Satan than like the image bearers of God we were made to be. Let’s see what the spies say. Verse 21. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. They first try to appeal to Jesus’s ego, they try to butter him up, something that typically has great persuasive power to humans. They insincerely praise him for not being moved by culture or people’s opinions, but for teaching truly and rightly the way of God. But then comes the million dollar question: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” Taxes to Caesar? What about this question is a set up? It may seem like a simple question that we can all relate to, “does God require us to pay taxes or not?” But it’s so much more than that. This loaded question was meant to challenge Jesus’s allegiances and hopefully expose something that could get him killed. The question behind this question is “Are you allegiant to Yahweh and his everlasting kingdom or to Caesar and his Roman Empire?” Either answer would have put Jesus in a predicament. If Jesus says, “Yes, it is lawful,” then they have grounds for questioning his allegiance to Yahweh and his lordship. Some Jews believed that paying any tax to a pagan ruler contradicted God’s lordship over his people (ESV Study Bible, 1869). So he would lose favor in the eyes of those burdened by the taxes and perhaps be seen as no better than the tax collectors, worthy of death in the eyes of the Jews. If Jesus says, “No, the Roman Empire is subservient to God alone,” he could be guilty of insurrection, of being a revolutionary who was leading the people to revolt against the empire. Either answer has the potential to get Jesus killed. So what does Jesus do? Look at verse 23. 23 But he perceived their craftiness… A similar word was used of the serpent in Genesis 3:1. They are acting like God’s chief enemy, the serpent, showing their true opposition to God. Jesus recognized their serpent-like deceitfulness. and [He] said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” The denarius was a Roman coin worth a day’s wages, used throughout the empire. One side of the coin was the profile of Tiberius Caesar, with the Latin inscription “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus” around the perimeter. On the other side was a picture of the Roman goddess of peace, Pax, with the Latin inscription “High Priest.” (ESV Study Bible, 1869). When they presented a coin to him, Jesus asked them, who is stamped on it? “Caesar”, they said. Verse 25: [Jesus] said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Verse 26 shows the spies' response. 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent. They were speechless. They had nothing on Jesus’s answer. In his wisdom, Jesus diverts their attempt to trap him in his words. He doesn’t choose one or the other, but shows that we can be faithful to God’s Law as the first priority while also paying taxes. Let’s dive deeper. 1) Jesus doesn’t delve into discussion on whether Roman rule was just or unjust. Rather, he appeals to the reality that the image on the coin shows who rules over that current social order and thus to whom taxes are due. Simply put, Caesar rules over the current social order. So give him what is due. 2) On the other hand, there is a superseding principle in Jesus’s second statement, “Give to God what is God’s.” You may give taxes to an earthly ruler, but there is a kingdom and a God that transcends every kingdom and ruler on earth, who demands far more than taxes. He demands our very lives. 3) Jesus’s answer doesn’t allow us to reduce God’s kingdom to something that can be compared to another human kingdom. Jesus says in John 18:36, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” Obedience to the Roman (or American) government, therefore, does not ultimately determine who your allegiance goes to. The bigger question is, do you give yourself to God? Does he have your allegiance? Do you surrender your entire self, every nook and cranny of your life, to God? Who Has Your Allegiance? Last week, we saw that the spiritual leaders' challenge of Jesus’s authority ended up putting their lives on the line. In this second challenge, as they challenge Jesus’s allegiances, their own heart allegiance was put to the test. Jesus is revealing that their eternal lives are on the line. Jesus’s response actually brings a challenge to his opposers: “you challenge me on where my allegiance lies, but who really has your heart allegiance?” The problem with the spiritual leaders and those who would follow them in rejecting Jesus is that their allegiance was not ultimately to God, but rather to self-preservation, to money, to social status and position. So often this is the reason that people reject Jesus today. It is not so much that his works or his message are inadequately displayed or argued, but rather the reality that one must surrender their desires, their behavior, their thinking to God. Yes, there is work to be done to defend the faith and give an answer to those who challenge it, but you need to know that the core issue is usually a problem of allegiance. Is sexual freedom or orientation more important than God? Is money or power more important than God? Is control of your future more important than knowing Jesus? What matters is who has your heart allegiance. Do you give to God what belongs to him? YOU Why is this so important? In order to answer this question, I want to take you back to the beginning of human history for a moment. When God made humans, he made us, male and female, in his image. If you want to know what God is like, you can look around at anyone in this room and get a decent glimpse. We are all made to be little representations of God and his character on earth, kind of like your children bearing your image, who will grow up to be representatives of your family name. Everyone of us was born with that great purpose, to be fruitful and multiply the image of our God on earth. Like the silver coins marked with the inscription of Caesar, God has always intended for his people to be marked by his name and character. Their entire lives, all they do and say, is meant to look like God, to be given back to God. Our lives, then, do not belong to ourselves ultimately, but to the God who gave us breath and purpose in this world. Even more, who purchased us with his blood in his great mercy! In his letter to the Romans, The Apostle Paul helps us understand what total allegiance to God and his purpose for us looks like. He says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”(Romans 12:1). Because of all that God has done, because of his great mercy towards us, chiefly through Jesus, all of our lives, body and soul, ought to be lived for God. A living sacrifice. A sacrifice can’t be half-hearted. A sacrifice in the Old Covenant looked like an entire animal dead on God’s altar. In the same way, our whole being is meant to be presented to God daily, where we are dead to self but alive for his purposes. Paul says, that is worship. It's the only appropriate response to his generosity. Whether you are working, playing, raising kids, paying taxes, or whatever you’re doing, we ought to live holy lives, for his glory! But the problem with the world is that humanity has not given to God what truly belongs to him. Though every human bears the image of God, we have rebelled against him. So, rather than spreading the image and glory of God on earth, we have become twisted and distorted images that look more like the serpent than God. You might be thinking, “Daniel, I’ve never given allegiance to Satan.” Listen, Satan is crafty in the way he gains our allegiance, like he was with Adam and Eve. He uses anything – whether money, or food, or people, or government, or sex or even religion – to turn our allegiance away from God. It doesn’t matter to him ultimately because heart allegiance to anything other than God is submission to him. A person’s life and everything we do, both big things and small things, prove who has our allegiance, our worship. The truth is, at one time all of us by our sin gave our allegiance to Satan. When Paul was sent to preach Jesus to the Gentiles, God said to him, “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:18). That is why Jesus had to come. No human that has ever lived gave God full and total Lordship, so we were all under the power of Satan and deserving God’s wrath. But God didn’t leave us there. He sent his son, God took on flesh and walked on earth flawlessly, sinlessly, as a living sacrifice so that through his death, the death we all deserved, he could deliver us from the power of Satan to God, so that we could be forgiven for our rebellion and so that our marred image of God could be transformed again into the image of Christ, who is the perfect image of the Father. What about you? I ask you today, who has your heart? Who has your allegiance? Who do you belong to today? Sitting in these seats today doesn’t prove you belong to God. Not even a simple confession of faith. Your everyday actions must prove your faith and allegiance to God because faith without works is dead. And when I say this, I do not mean that any of us have fully arrived. I don’t stand here as someone who has confessed Jesus as Lord once and that’s it. Done deal. No! I’m still learning every day what areas of my life are surrendered to God. The important thing is that you are not resisting God when he brings something to your attention that you must surrender to him. Should I Pay Taxes? Now I want to get practical. What are the implications for how you and I interact with government systems today? 1) Should we pay taxes? a. Jesus says, yes. Pay your taxes. His words give us a mandate to pay taxes to whom they are due. Even more, they give us freedom to do so with a clean conscience, even if to a pagan or corrupt government, like the one Jesus was living under. 2) But you might ask, how is it possible to be loyal to both God and human governments? a. Paul helps us again here in Romans 13 as he expounds on this teaching from Jesus. i. *It will be on the screen. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. [WHY?] For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 1. What this means is that God appoints ALL government authorities for his purposes. Jesus himself said to Pontius Pilot, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). ii. Let's continue in verse 13:2. “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them [Don't these words sound a lot like Jesus]: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. 1. Surprisingly, we’re told that appointed government officials are “God’s servant for your good.” “The Servant of God.” “Ministers of God”. This is shocking considering that Paul is writing these words while they are under a corrupt and brutal Roman rule. Yet Paul sees that God’s kingdom rules sovereignly over and above every other kingdom and that he is able to use earthly kingdoms to accomplish his purposes. 2. Secondly, it’s often the case that when we are resisting government officials, we are resisting God. Verse 5 says, therefore, you must be in subjection to avoid God’s wrath AND for the sake of conscience. It also says that we pay taxes so that we can have a clean conscience before God and man. You see, when we submit even to unjust governments, we submit to God. When we pay our taxes honestly behind closed doors, entrusting ourselves to a faithful and just Creator, we put our faith in God on display. That is worship. It’s important to say that there is also a time to resist the government, like if they try to silence you from speaking the Gospel or worshiping God. We see Peter and the Apostles opposing their Jewish leaders in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.” b. This is the conclusion, because God is ultimate over everything, he commands us to give moderate allegiance to human authorities, even unjust ones, while giving ultimate allegiance to God. What does that look like? It looks like paying taxes or obeying other government laws where their commands don’t contradict the command of God in the Scriptures. We need one another in these trying times we live in. That’s why the church exists in part to help us make it safely to our heavenly home. We need to remind each other of what God has said when we are tempted and despairing over the challenges life throws at us, like Corrie Ten Boom needed her sister Betsy to remind her to give thanks to God in all circumstances and to pray for her enemies when they were being brutally mistreated in German concentration camps during World War II. Now I want to remind you of the good news. Church, this world and its government systems are finite. Yes, a single human like Nero, or Hitler, or perhaps even Vladimir Putin can inflict great pain and suffering on the world. But I need you to know that God is sovereign and his kingdom and his purposes transcend all of it. My wife reminded me this week, even these men only have a single lifetime to inflict evil. God is eternal. His purposes remain. As we read earlier, “The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth” (Psalm 135:6). Even Job, who endured great suffering at the hand of Satan, confessed, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). So, take heart. Do not fear or be anxious right now, whether over what is happening in Russia or what is happening in the United States. Put your faith in Jesus. Remember, he defeated his enemies by dying on the cross. And God raised him to the right hand of God, where he is ruling now. Every enemy will be placed under his feet. Do not, therefore, try to take matters in your own hands and do things your own way with taxes or otherwise. Make your requests known to God. Is any government, even unjust one’s, outside of his hands? I assure you he will in his time, take down any and every evil power when the time is right. Just a few short days after this interaction, Jesus would be betrayed and marched before Pontius Pilate. The people of Israel, incited by the Jewish spiritual leaders, would cry “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Though Pilate tried to release Jesus saying, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests would respond, “We have no king but Caesar.” And Jesus would be turned over to them to be crucified. The Jews bowed to Caesar in order to uphold their positions of power. But Jesus, though he was led to slaughter by his authorities, willingly submitted himself to God even unto death. Through his death on the cross he triumphed over Satan, sin, and death, over every evil power. I challenge you today, when you feel like you are unjustly treated by human governments, cling to God in trust and submit to him in all things like our Lord Jesus, and he will also raise you up to eternal life in his kingdom as he did the Son of God. He is worthy of our trust and worship. Give God your allegiance, even when you pay your taxes. Let’s pray*
Luke 19:28-40
The Triumphal Entry (or "The One Mighty King who was Humble") Ross Tenneson / General Summary Exegetical Main Point: Jesus enters Jerusalem to begin his reign with all authority and all gentleness, making him worthy of all worship. Sticky: We must worship the one mighty king who was gentle. Introduction In our modern world, some things are easier than ever and some things ar harder than ever. It’s easier to get food than ever, easier to get shelter than ever, easier to get education or access to technology than ever. On the other hand, it’s harder to guard your attention and focus than ever. Even twenty-five years ago, there was not widespread cable television with any kind of channel for every kind of person. Fifteen years ago, there was not computers in our pockets programmed to consume as much of our attention as possible. They’re so addictive we can spend hours on them a day (and many of us do). In light of this age of distraction and diversion, I want to ask this morning: what does our worship of Jesus look like on a day to day basis? Am I hungry for him? Am I seeking him? Am I praising him both regularly and spontaneously? The Scriptues are calling us into a whole life of worship (not just on Sunday mornings, but daily). And in some ways, in our modern world, this is harder than ever. So, let’s go into our text and see what kind of heart the Scriptures are calling us to have towards Jesus. We have been on a journey with Jesus together for the last two years. In our text this morning: he arrives at his destination, the capitol city of Israel: Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, he is going to accomplish the most important deeds of his life— and of all history. These deeds are at the center of what he came to do and give meaning to everything else he did and taught. Revelation Luke 19:28 (ESV) 28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. The last several chapters of Luke captured a couple years of Jesus’s life as he journeyed around the Judean countryside, teaching and performing miracles. In these remaining chapters of Luke, narrative time will slow way down as they focus almost exclusively on the last week of Jesus’s life before his death and resurrection. The slowing down on his death and resurrection is saying to us: this is what matters most. For these events to unfold Jesus must first enter the city of Jerusalem. It sounds rather routine to enter and leave cities: we do it all the time. I can hop on 35W and be outside of Minneapolis in about twelve minutes. Yet, what we are witnessing here is not so ordinary. You see, Jesus has this title in the gospel of Luke that starts with a “C.” We tend to think it’s his last name but it’s not. Does anyone know what it is? Christ means “messiah.” The “messiah” is the king like David who is going to defeat Israel’s enemies and rule from Jerusalem. Jesus’s disciples are making these connections. Later in this passage they call him a “king.” In Israel, Jerusalem was the city where the king ruled from. Jesus is not just any old guy entering Jerusalem. He’s doing so as the rightful ruler of Israel and Jerusalem is the seat of power where the king rules from. What we are seeing here is Jesus is taking steps closer to beginning his rule by taking steps toward Jersualem. There’s a sense of tension as he approaches the city. Jerusalem and her people have not been loyal to him or his father for generations and generations. As we have travelled through this gospel, one thing we have seen are that the religious and political rulers of the people remain opposed to Jesus (even in this story the Pharisees oppose him as king). What typically happens to people who oppose kings who come into their city to rule? It doesn’t take long for them to find their way into a dungeon or onto a nuse. Yet, what we will see in this story is this is not how Jesus acts at all, and it’s going to reveal something precious about his character. So, let’s keep reading and see what we learn about Jesus, Luke 19:29–35 ESV 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. First, Luke shows us a picture of Jesus’s authority. He sends two of his disciples to villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem. He is just arriving at the mount of olives, a mountain that sits just East of Jerusalem and looks down upon it. He tells his disciples to go into the village ahead of him and where they will find a colt tied up (basically a young horse or a donkey). From other parts of the Bible, it’s pretty clear that the animal Jesus rides is a donkey. He says “no one has ever yet sat” on it, which could point to the purity of his mission.[1] He also gives them authority to retrieve it from their owners: all they need to say is, “the Lord has need of it.” Then verse 32 says, “So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.” Events like these show that our Jesus has all authority: no questions. What’s distinct about a king is that others obey his words. He commands and others obey. Yet, this King’s words go beyond those of mere earthly kings. He commands not only people to obey, but all of creation and different circumstances. He can command his disciples to fetch a colt from those who had never met him, and they will obey. More than that, they found things just as he told them. In all that we are about to witness in Jesus’s life, we should not fail to see that he always has all things in control. Moreover, this interaction shows us all of our possessions are just on loan from him. When he asked for this donkey, he was only asking for what was already his own. Church, you should be prepared: at any time Jesus may tell you to do something or require something from you. You belong to him and so do all your possessions. So, his disciples go and find the colt Jesus had told them about. The owners of the cold ask, “why are you untying our property?” They reply, “the Lord has need of it.” And it works: they hear that and release their colt. While I wouldn’t recommend you trying this, “the Lord has need of this,” we should have the same trust God can give us anything we need when we need it. What does Jesus mean by, “the Lord has need of it?” Was Jesus tired of walking, did he need a beast to carry him the final leg to Jerusalem? I doubt it. The necessity for the colt was not so much for any inability or lack Jesus had, but rather to communicate a message. What message is he communicating? First, it is common for kings to ride on beasts of burden and for their animals to carry them places. A young colt or donkey isn’t the only animal Jesus could have chosen. Yet, Jesus’s choice of a young colt is meant to communicate something incredible to us about his character: What is it showing us about his character? First off, when Jesus comes back soon, he won’t be riding a donkey. Revelation 19:11 says, Revelation 19:11 ESV 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. Jesus will be riding a great war horse. His war hourse symbolizes that he will come to bring righteous and final judgemeng against sin. Yet, that’s not what our king chose to ride as he enters Jerusalem in his first coming. Rather than a war horse, he came on a young, gentle, peace-time animal. The prophet Zechariah captures what Jesus is signalling to his people by riding this colt. Zechariah 9:9 Zechariah 9:9 ESV 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. When Jesus comes not on a mighty war horse, but on a donkey. Zachariah uses the word “humble” to describe him. That word also means “without property” or “poor.”[2] Jesus does not come to Jerusalem seeking wealth, prestige, or power. He does not come seeking to associate with powerful people. He comes as a poor man for poor men. The cloaks thrown over the donkey would have been how the poor would have made a saddle.[3]
What does Jesus’s humility change about the way he approaches the city? In humility, this king does not come to immediately assert his complete rule and judge his enemies. Instead, he comes to serve and help needy sinners. There’s a character trait that goes along with deep humility: gentleness. Jesus pairs these ideas together in Matthew when he says he’s “gentle and lowly in heart.” Pride leads us to be brutal and impatient with others, especially our adversaries. On the other hand, Jesus has a patience and gentleness with people that’s unmatched. Kings with unquestioned authority fill history: yet few if any of them were ever gentle. Brutal, merciless rulers fill the pages of the Bible (as we studied the book of Daniel we saw that being proud and being violent went hand in hand). Yet, there was one king with all authority who somehow also possessed all gentleness: Jesus of Nazareth. He is the one mighty king who was humble! So, when he came into rebellious Jerusalem, the city that had spurned his and his Father’s rule for centuries, he came not to tear it to the ground brick by brick and destroy its people. He would have been righteous in doing so, yet his character is humble and gentle. He came to the city of Jerusalem not to kill his enemies, but to die for them to make them friends instead. Friends, this is unspeakably good news for us. Like the people of Jerusalem, we have lived with opposition and defiance against the rule of God in our lives. We, like the people of Jerusalem, deserve the sentence of death. And yet, this morning, Jesus comes to us just as humbly. As I speak, he is inviting you to come to him as the one who shed his blood for you so that he could forgive all your sins and welcome you as a son or daughter. If you don’t know him yet, he is welcoming you this morning to turn from your sin and trust him. Because Jesus is a gentle savior, we as sinners can flee to him rather than fleeing from him. Whether your just wanting to start following him this morning or have followed him for decades, you can flee to him rather than from him because of his humble heart. Here’s what Dane Ortlund writes, “When we sin, we are encouraged to bring our mess to Jesus because he will know just how to receive us. He doesn’t handle us roughly. He doesn’t scowl or scold. He doesn’t lash out, the way many of our parents did. All of this restraint on his part is not because of a diluted view of our sinfulness. He knows our sinfulness far more deeply than we do. Indeed, we are aware of just the tip of the iceberg of our depravity, even in the most searching moments of self-knowledge. His restraint simply flows from his tender heart for his people.”[4] Now church, we love to hear messages about Jesus’s gentleness and humility. We love far less being humble like he was. Yet, the Lord’s call on us to be gentle like Jesus is never more important times like ours. We live in a time of harshness and impatience. We tend to see those we disagree with not as friends with different perspectives, but foes. Yet, situations where we disagree with another or feel hurt by another test our gentleness like nothing else. I tend to be gentle with others until I believe I’m clearly in the right and they are clearly in the wrong and I have the “right” to overpower them. To my shame, I remember evangelizing once in a park and talking to some kids about Jesus. A man came up and threatened to call the police on me if I didn’t stop. Instead of a humble approach to him like Jesus, I asked him if he had ever read the bill of rights. As I’ve reflected more on this incident in the years that followed, I’ve seen more and more how in the wrong I was to be harsh with this man. Even though legally I was “right,” my heart and my manner before the Lord was dead wrong! In any dispute, the person you are in conflict with is more important than winning. And even if we “win” an argument, yet do so in an un-christ-like way, we lost. And never is our gentleness more important church than when we disagree with each other. How is our church family any different than the world if we are harsh with each other or avoid one another and relational divisions separate us? The one mighty king who is gentle, the Lord Jesus shows us, this is the way.
And now as we get to these last verses, these poor disciples who follow Jesus are going to show us what a proper response to the humility and authority of Jesus: Luke 19:36–38 ESV 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” “they spread their cloaks on the road.” These disciples at this moment are showing the reverence to Jesus that he is worthy of. He is riding on a young colt, with nothing but a cloak for a saddle (this would be how the poor would ride their animals). Around him, are all kinds of poor folks and outcasts who had begun to follow him.[5] We are seeing here a clear picture of the Christian faith: a king with all authority who has humbled himself to be a poor traveler and the poor and outcasts surrounding him to give him worship. He’s the king who is vastly above all, yet somehow all are welcome to come and adore him. We see in verse 37 that he’s approaching Jerusalem, riding down the mount of Olives toward it, and expectation is building. The disciples at this time remember all the mighty things king Jesus had done, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead. To what degree they understand that Jesus is going to become king by giving his life (rather than taking the lives of others) is unknown. Yet, their response is still right and appropriate for this moment: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” The earthly presence of God’s king turns their worship and praise upward to God in the heavens. Because of the gift of Jesus, they can’t help but praise God. This is what experiencing Jesus intimately should produce: passionate worship for God. As we experience this human king who brings the presence and rule of God into our lives, and does it so patiently and lovingly, the only proper response is worship. “Peace in heaven” means that the kingdom of heaven is now at peace with God’s people on Earth because of what Jesus will do.[6] Church, our main point this morning is, We must worship the one mighty king who was humble. As the next verses show, when we worship Jesus passionately as he deserves, it will make people uncomfortable and even offend them. The Pharisees won’t acknowledge that Jesus is this worthy of worship, so they oppose those who do: Luke 19:39–40 (ESV) 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” First point here: never fail to worship Jesus passionately because you think you will make someone else uncomfortable. When we pray and sing, raise your voice loud and give him the worship he deserves. I think Jesus’s answer to the Pharisees underlines this very point: he is worthy, deserving, and due all worship. To be the one king with all authority who is also humble puts Jesus in a category of his own and demands that we respond to him with worship. “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” That means, Jesus will inevitably receive the worship he is due. You can silence these particular people here and now, but make no mistake, there will be passionate worshippers of Jesus. And we can see this in history, after two thousand years of persecution of the true church, Jesus is still receiving passionate worship from all kinds of people. The last thing we want is to be silent and not praise king Jesus and for mere stones to out worship us! Church, we should feel a deep burden to worship Jesus because we are aware of his worth. Sometimes we can love our spouse or our child so much it hurts in our guts. We should feel this way about Jesus, and I confess that many times I don’t and need God to keep changing my heart! We should sense he is so worthy of worship that even the stones would have to praise him if we don’t. Application I’m sensing a tension in my own lives and ours as a church family: While Jesus is completely worthy of all our worship, we struggle to passionately praise him daily as he deserves. What do I mean by passionately praising him daily? Worshiping Jesus looks like reading Jesus’s words, praying to to him, singing to him, and thinking about him (he should be on our minds). You may be thinking that I’m talking about duties you should do just because they are the right thing. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about ways to spend time with the one your soul adores. If I were to say, “here are some sweet ways to connect with your spouse or your best friend.” You wouldn’t think, “Great, another to-do list!” But, “that’s exciting to me because I want to find ways to be closer to that person.” My plea is that we would daily take advantage of these different ways Jesus gave us to know him! This will mean finding out what idols or distractions are getting in the way. We can’t both worship Jesus daily as he deserves and spend hours on apps, streaming, and media. We can’t both worship Jesus and watch endless sports or movies. None of these things are wrong on their own, but when they consume large chunks of our schedule, they become our priority and choke out our greatest priority: worshipping Jesus. My plea this morning is that as you see a king who is so mighty yet so gentle and therefore so worthy of worship that we would give him more and more of our daily attention, more of our focus, and more of our hearts.
Psalm 119:20 says, My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 119:20. In a holy heart, there is a burning and a yearning for God on a daily basis. I’m not there yet, and I believe many of us are not there yet. Right now, Jesus is coming to us humbly through the preaching of the gospel and presence of his Holy Spirit. Let’s respond to him with the hearty worship he is worthy of! Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:17 PM February 2, 2022.
[1] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1554). Baker Academic.
[2] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 856.
[3] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 447.
[4] Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers (Crossway, 2020) 54.
[5] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 447.
[6] I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 716.
Your Faith Has Saved You Luke 18:31-43 Main Point of the Sermon: The path to more faith is the path of the cross. Introduction There have been seasons in my life that I felt particularly weak and needy. Like just recently when I was sick with Covid just after having an unexpected surgery. Or during an intense and trying time of ministry last year that threatened the unity of our church. Or when I was a little younger and I had made a mess of many relationships because of my sin. Or when I didn’t know how I would pay my school bills or rent while training for ministry. In each scenario I felt my need for God acutely. My situation required faith because I couldn’t see what I needed in front of me. I know many of you have been in similar places in this last season. Stress with sick kids and family, health issues, financial struggles, sin battles, scares in pregnancy and childbearing, just to name a few. It’s hard to understand sometimes what God is doing in these moments. But what I didn’t understand, and I think we often fail to understand, is that these sufferings are actually part of God’s design to show us our need for him, part of his design to increase our faith in him. You see, when the table is spread before us with abundance and we have all we need, faith doesn’t seem as necessary. When you have all you need it’s hard to feel like you are needy, especially for an unseen God. The truth is all of our security in this life, all that we hope in to keep us safe and happy comes from God, but sadly, our sin nature, what we all are born with, keeps us finding our hope in things we can see rather than having hope in the unseen God. It’s often when we are wealthy, and happy, and fed, that we are most faithless. Well, today’s text is going to highlight hindrances to faith and show us the true path of faith. Let’s get into the text. 31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. This is now Jesus’s third prediction of his death in Luke. (c.f. 9:22, 43b-45). He and his disciples are headed for Jerusalem. If you were to study Luke closely you would see that he structures his book around Jesus’s travel journey, particularly as it relates to his journey to Jerusalem. Why? Because Jerusalem is the path to the cross, the climax of Jesus’s ministry. Further, Jesus tells the disciples that in Jerusalem all that the prophets had written about him would be accomplished. Notice the title he uses for himself, Son of man. What have the prophets written about the suffering of the Son of Man? Jesus sums it up in verse 32. For he [the Son of Man] will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” Jesus is most likely alluding to Isaiah 53 and Daniel 7:13, which most explicitly point to the suffering of the Son of Man, but I believe Jesus is referring even more broadly to the entire prophetic witness of the Old Testament. All of Scripture, even back to Genesis 3 points to Jesus’s death on his path to victory. Though the Old Testament lays out many specifics, Jesus himself prophecies in even greater detail about what’s coming. Delivered to the Gentiles. Mocked. Spit upon. Flogged. Killed. But resurrected on the third day. The detail with which he speaks of his own death and resurrection is incredible. Even more amazing to me is the fact that Jesus keeps pressing forward to Jerusalem though he knows what is about to happen to him. Jesus’s love for us is put on display in his determination to rescue is. Now, focus on the response of the Twelve. We’re told explicitly that the disciples… 34 understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. Three times Luke mentions that the disciples didn’t understand. Jesus is abundantly clear. So what’s going on? There was utter disbelief that something like this could happen to Jesus. The Jews understanding of the Messianic role was not death, but triumph. We would find this hard to believe too if our leader told us that his path of victory was a path of death! Why would Luke emphasize this? I think Luke is highlighting the blindness of disciples in order to show that the foolishness of the cross cannot be received through natural sight and with human logic. This plan of God requires faith to understand. Transition: We’ll come back to this. But as we transition to the story of the blind beggar, you need to know that Luke wants us to connect the blindness of the disciples and even the blindness of the rich ruler from last week to the blindness of the beggar. Let’s see. Look at verse 35. 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. Historically, we know that Jericho was seventeen miles from Jerusalem. So they were getting close. In fact, this was the last recorded miracle of Jesus before his death in Luke’s Gospel. Luke introduces us to a blind beggar who is known as Bartimaeus in the parallel account in Mark 10:46. The Greek literally says, “a certain blind man”. This is very similar language to our story from last week where Luke introduces us to “a certain ruler” (18:18). Luke wants you to compare the responses of these two men. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Imagine this moment. This man’s life was probably relatively simple and slow. He couldn’t do much. He likely spent most of life being led by someone, if even that, to the same spot where he would wait upon the mercy of others for his daily needs. They didn’t have the same support system that our government offers the disabled today. When I was in Bangladesh a few years ago I saw something that would have been comparable. Crippled beggars would literally lie face down in the dirt with their hands out as countless thousands of people passed by. Even more, this blind man was rejected by society, which made his situation all the more miserable. He was the least. But this day would be different when he heard the name of Jesus. He began crying out. Mark’s Gospel adds that the man tossed aside his garment and leaped up and began shouting “Jesus, Son of David. Have mercy on me”. He was making such a great commotion that verse 39 says that, 39 “Those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Society offered no help or pity to this poor and outcast man. But they could not silence him. He cried out all the more! His faith was strong. His persistence shows it. The story is never over when humans are persistent in prayer. Even when it seems like no one is listening, no one is helping, and Satan tempts you to despair, keep crying out to God because he listens, he is compassionate as we see in verse 40. 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus is not ignorant to what the man wanted. He rather was eliciting faith. God is moved by persistent and faith-filled prayers. God knows what you need at every hour, but it moves his heart when his people turn their attention to him and come near him in relationship and make our faith-filled requests. The blind man said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” He calls him Lord. This is more than “sir”. It is a word of submission to his Lord and King. 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” Recover your sight. In Greek this phrase is actually just one word, ἀνάβλεψον. “See”. He responds with one word of command. Verse 43 says, 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Immediately. One word from Jesus and the man was healed! Divine power meets human faith. What a story that should cause us to Praise God too! We will praise him together soon, but before we do, I want us to focus on these profound words of Jesus, “Your faith has made you well”, or more literally “Your faith has saved you.” What did Jesus see that proved the man’s faith? First of all, his declaration of faith in Jesus' identity as the “Son of David”. This is the first public declaration in Luke that Jesus is the Son of David. What’s significant about that title? In 2 Sam 7:12-16 we learn that Yahweh promised to David that one of his descendants would reign on his throne forever, and that this descendant would be Yahweh’s son. These are not careless words from the blind man, but a confession of faith in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and king. Further, he cries out “Have mercy on me” (Psalm 51:1). In these words there is a recognition of one’s neediness before God. Like the tax collector who beat his chest and cried, “Have mercy on me, a sinner,” this man is desperate for God to intervene. His faith is not in self, his wealth, his social status, but in God! Notice also the difference between the rich young ruler and this blind beggar. The first comes to Jesus trying to prove that he is worthy of eternal life, while the other says have mercy on me, Son of David. One seems almost nonchalant in his approach to Jesus while the other is relentless to get to the one he knows can help him. The rich ruler comes with wealth and self-righteousness, but the blind man came to God with empty hands like the old hymn says, Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; Naked, come to thee for dress; Helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die. That is saving faith. We come to Jesus with nothing to let him provide us with everything we need. But let’s dive even a little deeper. What is so important to God about our faith? It says in Hebrews 11:6 “without faith it is impossible to please God.” God has always been the source of life, the fountain. The first sin was a lack of faith in God to be enough. Adam and Eve looked to knowledge outside of God to be fulfilled. They believed the lie of Satan that there was lack in God. Ever since that day, humanity is prone to put our faith in everything but God for healing. We self-medicate with work, sex, hobbies, drugs, alcohol, our own self-righteousness. We build towers of security with possessions and plans thinking we are so wise and rich. But listen to Jesus’s words to the church in Laodicea. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Revelation 3:17-18 If you want to know true riches, come to Jesus. He is like gold refined by fire. If you want to know true righteousness and freedom from shame, come to Jesus. He is like pure white clothes that will cover your nakedness. If you want to truly see, come to Jesus. He is like a healing salve for your eyes. Come to Jesus. If you have never surrendered your life to him, come now and find healing! It’s only when we see how poor, how helpless, how truly blind we are that we will come in simple faith to the one who is able to save us. This is what moves the heart of God, when we stop trying to be God and let him be God. When we stop pretending to have it all together, that is when we find healing. One Luke scholar writes, “The irony of ironies is that the blind now see and the unrighteous become righteous, whereas the seeing have become blind and the righteous have become unrighteous because, boasting of their own self-righteousness, they will not accept the only real righteousness, “the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Phil 3:9).” [1] Isn’t this what Jesus meant when he said that many who are “first” will be last, and many who are “last” will be first. The firsts, the Pharisees and the rich ruler would not receive Jesus because they were blinded by riches and self-righteousness. But this blind man and the tax collector who is “last” received healing. The blind man followed Jesus joyfully praising God. The rich man who was called to follow Jesus went away sad. Church, this word is not just for unbelievers today. It’s for you and me. The reality we face daily is that we are forgetful. We are so often no different than the Pharisees and the rich ruler. The reality is we are all desperate blind beggars in need of Jesus, but we allow our security towers of self-righteousness or wealth or other things to keep us from coming to him with persistent and desperate cries for mercy. What is hindering you today from coming to Jesus with the same desperation? May I suggest to you that like the disciples, you may be failing to understand and embrace the path of the cross. Perhaps you need to be reminded who you are as a follower of Jesus. John’s opening address to the churches in revelation was just that, a reminder of our identity in Christ. He says, “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus” (Revelation 1:9). Companion in the suffering, and in the kingdom, and the patient endurance that are ours in Jesus. Part of our identity as disciples of Jesus is that we are sufferers, patient endurers in this kingdom. We live in a culture steeped in the American Dream that chases wealth and prosperity with desperation, not that embraces an identity of suffering and patient endurance! The crazy thing is, that destination is often a hindrance to our faith. We just saw this play out in the last stories in Luke. Wealth and prosperity often hindered people’s faith! How do we as wealthy Americans keep from falling into this trap of faith-killing prosperity? Embrace the path of the cross. Daily. Give yourself to others through service, hospitality, and generosity. Adopt. Consider going to the least reached peoples of the earth. Give yourself away for the sake of Christ. The path of the cross is a path that requires desperate faith in the unseen God who raises the dead. When we are spent beyond ourselves serving others, we won’t be saying, “look how awesome I am, or how much I’m doing!” No, we’ll be crying out to God in desperation. When you find yourself looking at your life and seeing health, wealth, and prosperity at every turn, yes, praise the Lord, but let that also be the moment you gear up to take something more on for the sake of Christ. It’s time to give more. Sacrifice more. Finally, I want to speak to those who are looking at their lives not seeing health and prosperity, but rather suffering and pain everywhere they look. I need you to know that you are not alone. Our God entered your pain as he walked a long path of suffering on his journey to the cross. Countless men and women through the ages have suffered patiently as they awaited their third day resurrection. Yes, you and I have a few short days to endure in this life, but the promise is sure, you will be raised from the dead never to suffer again, never to lack understanding again. Until that day, I need you to remember what the author of Hebrews says so well, “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons…he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:7, 10b, 11). This week I found myself despising my weakness, despising the trials even many of you are enduring right now. Most certainly, I don’t want them for you or for me, but I do believe that God had a lesson for me this week in this text. It’s when we are weak, when we lack, when we can’t see what we need in front of us that we have an opportunity to stop trusting in self and start putting our faith in God. It’s in these moments that God is growing our faith. The path to more faith is the path of the cross. If we come to realize this profound truth, I believe that God will give you joy even in your suffering. You will consider yourself blessed even in your poverty. So, whether you are feeling poor today or feeling prosperous, let’s come to Jesus as the desperate beggars we truly are right now. Come to “Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Let’s pray: God, increase our faith. We believe. Help our unbelief. We want to see how desperately needy we are for you and we want to find healing in the only one who can save, Jesus Christ, the Son of David, our Lord and King. We love you King Jesus, and we invite you to come and mend us as we look to you in our pain and suffering. In your mighty name we pray, Amen.
[1] Stein, R. H. (1992). Luke (Vol. 24, p. 465). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Isaiah 65:17-25 Pastor Tenneson
Longing for the City of God Will Help Us Get There Intro We have had a sweet time in the book of Isaiah hearing about Jesus from different passages. We heard two sermons about the birth of a promised child who would set the world right. Then, last week, Daniel preached a sermon about how this child, now an adult, would act to rescue his people through the shedding of his own blood. So far we have the identity of the king, Jesus. We know who his people are: the one’s who trust in the king and his shed blood. What’s missing is the place. A kingdom consists of a king, his people, and the place where they live. We hear many sermons about Jesus and about how we relate to him (which is great!), yet we hear too few sermons about the place Jesus opens for us by his death and resurrection. We get to hear about this place this morning. Unfortunately, many of us probably don’t think of heaven or the after life often. If we do, we might think it sounds boring or even scary. We might imagine ourselves floating on the clouds or trapped in a never ending worship service. How sad that we tend to think this way about the place God has prepared for us. Do you want to have a different perspective than that? Do you think God wants you to have a different perspective than that? Then let’s dive into his word and see what it says: Revelation Isaiah 65:17 NIV 17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Right before our verses in this chapter, God had just declared that his people would receive great fullness and joy from him while his enemies would receive pain and judgment. In our passage, God is giving the reason for what came before. These verses explain why his people “eat…drink…rejoice… and sing for gladness of heart” (Isa 65:13-14). Why is this the case? Because, God said, “Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Let’s talk more about what it means. When Jesus returns, God will will create the world all afresh again: he says, “I will create a new heavens and a new earth.” This language takes us back to the first words in the Bible, Gen 1:1 Genesis 1:1 NIV 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The heavens and the earth describe the upper and lower limits of creation, so what should come into mind is the sky above and the earth beneath and everything in between, a whole world. To create a “new heavens and a new earth” is to create a whole new creation. This includes everything we see, touch, and feel except made new again without any of the old sin and death that our first parents brought into God’s good creation. Before we go any further, we need to have an expectation adjustment: the final state of God’s people will not be disembodied spirits far, far away. It’s true that after we leave this Earth and before Jesus returns, we will live with God as spirits without bodies. Yet, that’s only temporary and not God’s ultimate plan. Rather, when Jesus comes back, God will create this brand new creation, give us new bodies, and we will live with him in a world much like this one, yet without sickness, relational brokenness, or anything that brings us sorrow. This is what God means when he says, “I will create a new heavens and a new earth.” God’s renewal of us and this place will be so complete that he can promise, “The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” What an amazing hope for us, especially for those of us who feel trapped by the pain and shame of the past. This doesn’t mean we won’t have any recollection of the things that happened in this life, but that painful memories won’t continue to harm or sadden us any longer. I am aware that there are people who have been traumatized in this room. There are probably people in this room who have traumatized other people and you struggle to get over that shame. Physiologically, we now know that even if you forget about your trauma consciously, you often carry it around in your body and it manifests in physical symptoms like head aches, body pain, and insomnia.[1] Other traumatized people will think repeatedly or compulsively about their trauma (many of us have harm and pain in our past that is like this that we compulsively think about). Not in God’s new creation. He will so completely renew and deliver his people “the former things will not be remembered nor will they come to mind.” These verses would have brought such sweet relief to God’s people who in a few generations would have experienced unimaginable pain. The Babylonian armies will besiege and overthrow the city of Jerusalem. A siege is the worst kind of ancient warfare. First, the besieged city suffers hunger and starvation (during this time some people would even eat other people they were so hungry). Then the army breaks in and unrestrained bloodletting follows. Some of the first readers of this book would have known the meaning of trauma as they sat in Babylonian captivity. The words we are about to read about a restored Jerusalem would have been so precious to those who had seen the worst evils imaginable committed in it.[2] And if you are here today wondering if you will ever fully heal from a sin done against you or from a horrible sin you committed against another. Here is what God’s word says to you who are trusting in Jesus, Isaiah 65:17 NIV 17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. As we go further into this prophecy, God’s message keeps getting better, Isaiah 65:18–19 NIV 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. As the Hebrew Scriptures often do, they repeat themselves to give us a fuller image of what they are communicating. God is going to give us another image to fill out our understanding of his new creation. “I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.” God says both Jerusalem and its people will be happy: a happy city with happy people! As I mentioned before, this will soon be a ruin and filled with mourning and weeping. What a comforting image to those whose memories of Jerusalem were only pain and death to hear that the new creation God will create will be as their beloved city but completely made right. When God sets the world right, he will heal even your worst pain and sorrow. We should not think of the new creation as some kind of disembodied realm where we float around with harps, but as concrete as life in a city except everything is set right. There’s a theme that runs throughout the Bible of the city of God, that is, the society and culture God is building in his people and will fully bring into being when Jesus comes back. Another word for this city of God that Jesus will build when he comes back is “the New Jerusalem.” It contrasts the city of man which characterizes our current society and world. Sinful people build the city of man on the value of personal gratification at the expense of others. The city of God rests on the foundation of self-sacrifice for the good of others. That’s why in this passage when God talks about his new creation, he calls it “Jerusalem.” It will be as tangible, as concrete as a city made right. Just as a city made right should have encouraged these sorrowful Jews in captivity, so it should bring comfort to us as we experience sin and brokenness in our city around us. More than any time in recent history, we here in Minneapolis are in a position to appreciate the hope of living in the kingdom of God. No one in this room would deny that they have felt sorrow over the things that have unfolded here. The brokenness of Minneapolis and her people show that we are not yet in the city of God, we still live in the city of man. Yet, this disappointment with our world should serves a purpose. Our discontent should fuel a deep longing to live in the city of God. Our hearts were made for and desire a city where, as Isaiah puts it, “the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.” I want you to pause and imagine Minneapolis for a moment, except... there is no homelessness or joblessness there is no mental illness or drug addiction there is no racism, segregated neighborhoods, or political division there is no more car-jacking or shootings that kill little children. there is no more police brutality or riots. no more sex trafficking or abortion Church families where all kinds of people of different backgrounds come together to worship Jesus fill our city. Families and singles come together to recreate and there’s not a single lonely person. Would any of you care to move to this city? The crazy thing this text is saying is that you will. That’s what God means when he says, Isaiah 65:18–19 NIV 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. You will get to be the happy people of God living in the city of joy. None of the things that break your heart will ever happen again and you will get to be with Jesus. We will get to say along with Sam from the Return of the King after he finds out that his friends survived and they had defeated their great enemy, “will everything sad come untrue?”[3] And amazingly, in Jesus, yes it certainly will. Now, the Lord is going to provide a handful of images that will further capture what life will be like in the city he will create: Isaiah 65:20 NIV 20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. In the ancient world, infant mortality was a common occurrence. Though we have sadly lost some children to miscarriage, by God’s grace, we haven’t lost any of the babies that have been born in our church community. However, this would have been far different in Isaiah’s day. Infant mortality would have been a consistent reminder of the curse of death. This reminder of death will vanish in God’s new city because sin and death will vanish. Isaiah also says someone dying at 100 years old will be considered a “young child.” What a sweet picture that there will be no more premature or unexpected death. It always feels like a gut shot when someone you know dies, even if you were expecting it. Death is so unnatural that our minds always struggle to comprehend what even happened. One more sweet detail about this city: no more gut shots, no more grief, no more trying to comprehend and accept death. There will be no more comprehending death because there will be no more death. These images are not suggesting that there will be death in this city (as that would contradict other parts of Isaiah that say there will be no more death at all). Instead, they are images that would connect to the imaginations of the original hearers in concrete ways. These are imaginative ways of saying, as one author says, “over the whole of life, the power of death will be gone.”[4] What more do we learn about this city? Isaiah 65:21–23 NIV 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them. It seems as if the New Jerusalem is a simple place. What will be there? Houses, gardens, people, good food. It says, No longer will we build houses and others live in them,” that is, there will be no enemies or hostility. “As for the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people.” It will go on for a really, really long time. “They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune.” No one will ever have to worry that you’ll lose something you worked for or your children will have to face hard things in life. It sounds like the ultimate family or friends gathering in a warm house with warm people and warm food. Perhaps you have had one of those evenings you just wish would never end. You will get one that never ends, child of God, and it will be far better than any you’ve ever experienced here. The descriptions of heaven are far different than our imagination of floating in the sky in an unending worship service. Instead, the Bible paints a picture for us of a new creation, filled with all of the good things God made for us to enjoy with our bodies and without any of the things that cause pain and harm. And still, there is something far, far better than what Isaiah just taught, Isaiah 65:24 NIV 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. Can you imagine if you were praying one morning in your room, telling God you loved him and asking him for help, and suddenly Jesus himself was standing beside you, answering you. Would you want that? Well, you’ll get that in the city of God. You will get to have perfect intimacy with Jesus. He won’t ever seem far off again, and you won’t ever close yourself off from him again. In the city of God, you will have perfect relationship with God all the time. Then comes our last verse, Isaiah 65:25 NIV 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. There’s a saying that goes, “nature is red in tooth and claw.” It refers to the constant violence and death that marks the animal kingdom, which points to the sin and death in us. God’s restoration of the creation will be so complete even the animals will live at peace with one another. The wolf (the predator) and the lamb (its prey) will feast beside one another. The lion (a terrifying hunter) will eat straw instead of animals. A serpent (a killer of men and animals, dating all the way back to the garden) will only eat dust and harm no more.[5] God says, “they will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” a phrase that takes us back to Eden, which God had likely situated on a mountain. The New Jerusalem will be a new garden of Eden where we will enjoy all the same delights and provisions from God. Church, as I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, understanding these things about the place God is preparing for us is essential for our lives in this broken world. What we believe about the future shapes how we live now[6]. The longer we live here in the broken city of man, the more we need the promise of the city of God. As life wears on, and we experience the inadequacy of this world at new levels, we can have one of three responses: (1) despair and distraction: we can become depressed at the state of things and flee to distractions like substances, entertainment, or anything to get our minds off our sorrow. This response does not fill us up with the presence of God, but empties us of it. If we respond to this world like the rest of society does, we should not expect we will have more joy or hope than they do. (2) finding a false savior: we can give ourselves to political and social movements with the false hope and ferver that we can set the world right without Jesus coming back. There’s nothing wrong with making the world a better place, just with living with the commitment to a cause other than Jesus as if it’s the thing that could set the world right. This kind of life leads to bitterness and despair. (3) What alternative is there to these responses? Longing for the city of God. Not despair or detraction but desiring. Instead of fixing our attention fully on the brokenness here, or numbing ourselves to it, we can meditate on the city God is building. Does this describe you? Do you think daily about God’s promise to remake the world for his people after Jesus returns? God is inviting you to the hope in his promise to remake the world. I confess to you that looking forward to the new creation is not a daily part of my thought and prayer life as it’s meant to be. God means for me to be more full of joy and more full of himself than I am. I keep myself from greater fullness of God by distracting myself from the pain of this life with empty entertainment. To be blunt: looking at my phone instead of meditating on and anticipating life with God robs me of more of God’s presence. Church that leads to our main point this morning, Longing for the city of God will help get us safely home. It’s the act of anticipating life in this city that God will use to supply us with strength to not fall into despair or trusting a false savior and instead safely arrive at the New Jerusalem. You could give up on following Jesus if you become too discouraged or too numbed and distracted, or too devoted to something else besides him, but not if you’re thinking often of the place he is making for you. There’s a song the elder team enjoys. We actually all jammed out to it in Dale’s minivan when we were driving to our last retreat together. The song is Citizens by John Guerra and in it, he expresses his despair to God over the brokenness of this life, and then responds by hoping in the city of God. The chorus goes like this, Coming to you ‘cause I’m confused Coming to you ‘cause I feel used Coming to weep while I’m waiting Tell me you won’t make me go I need to know there is justice and it will roll in abundance (and here it is…) and that you’re building a city Where we arrive as immigrants And you call us citizens And you welcome us as children home Do you marvel God is building a city and will welcome you? Church, the thought of life forever with God is not meant to bore us, but to so fill us with hope that we can faithfully suffer well and arrive at home with God. You may wonder how you might become a citizen of this city if you have not yet. Please stick around and talk to myself or any of the members. You need to know the man who is king over it, Jesus, who shed his blood so that all who come to him could live in this place. One final word on this text. This image of a city as the new creation of God appears again at the end of the Bible in Revelation 21:9-10 Revelation 21:9–10 ESV 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, Verse 10 which describes the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven onto a high mountain is what our church logo is depicting. We deeply long for the Lord to make the world right and the place where he dwells with his people. Our logo is a call for us to think about these things often. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:38 PM December 13, 2021. Benediction: 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Re 22:20–21). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
[1] I gained these references from “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma - Kindle Edition by van Der Kolk, Bessel . Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle EBooks @ Amazon.Com.,” accessed December 17, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma-ebook/dp/B00G3L1C2K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VUYJEPJTGWAQ&keywords=the+body+keeps+the+score&qid=1639761584&sprefix=the+body+keeps+the+%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1.
[2] John Calvin helped me see that these words would have addressed those in exile. John Calvin: Commentary on Isaiah - Volume 4 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org)
[3] “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism - Kindle Edition by Keller, Timothy. Religion & Spirituality Kindle EBooks @ Amazon.Com.,” accessed December 17, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism-ebook/dp/B000XPNUZE/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+reason+for+god&qid=1639761988&sr=8-1, 33.
[4] Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 451). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[5] Cf. Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 451). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[6] Dr. Jason DeRouchie quoted Scott Hafemann as saying that in a lecture.
Pastor Daniel Simmons preaches from Isaiah 52:13-53:7.
Christmas In Isaiah: Jesus Heals Our Suffering Isaiah 52:13-53:7 Main Point of the Sermon: Jesus heals our suffering by suffering in our place. Introduction I love Christmas. I love the pizazz of the season. The music, the lights. People seem to get nicer, more generous. [Sing] “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Right? But not for everyone. For many, Christmas is just a time that reminds them of a lost loved one, that their family is broken apart, that their bank accounts are still low or overdrawn, that their depression or physical pain still holds fast. It doesn’t go away because it’s Christmas. Even if it’s not pain for you, it might be anxiety. The bills, the health issues, house issues, car issues, the stock market, your job… it doesn’t stop. The last couple weeks were some of the most challenging of the decade for me. I had a very painful injury and emergency surgery. Then My family got Covid. And I was dealing with anxiety from a number of things. It was rough. Yet, I’m here to tell you today, Christian, that you and I still have a real reason to rejoice this Christmas. Today’s text, one of the most phenomenal prophecies in the Bible, shows us how Jesus came to heal all of that suffering through his own suffering. Prayer: Let’s pray once more. Father, would you show us yet again the beauty, the glory of Jesus, who was lifted high on a cross of wood for us? Let your Spirit open our eyes to give us new revelation of your goodness and love, and would you cause it to produce in us an unshakable hope and an unexplainable peace in the midst of our pain today. In Jesus name, Amen. We will begin in 52:13. THE DIVINE MESSIAH WOULD SUFFER [Slide] Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. “Behold” is another way to say LOOK! It draws attention to what’s following. Isaiah is about to lay out some shocking images. The subject is “my servant.” Who’s servant? God’s servant. Notice the first person possessive here. This is God talking through the prophet Isaiah about his servant. And who is God’s servant? Anytime you come across a title, or really any confusing thing in the Bible, it’s always best to look at context. Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. Where else has Isaiah spoken of this servant? Where else do we see this language in the Bible? Well, Isaiah actually has four prophecies which scholars call the servant songs, but I will show you just one, 42:1: [Slide] “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” What we see here and in the other servant songs is that this “servant” is God’s specially chosen and Anointed One. He is the promised Messiah. The servant is the boy from chapter 7 and 9 who would grow up to reign on David’s throne forever. Any Jew who knew the storyline of the Bible was longing for, looking for this Messiah. So, they would have been especially interested in texts that talked about him. Isaiah says, “my servant shall act wisely.” Or as the footnote in your Bible may say, he will prosper. In other words, he will be a good and prosperous king. We are told that he will be “high and lifted up.” He will be “exalted”. The general meaning of these phrases is that this king will stand far above the rest in the quality and length of his reign. This is very much in line with what we heard preached last week from Isaiah 9. But there is something more to this phrase “high and lifted up” that is important to see before we move on. Isaiah uses it another place. Isaiah 6. [Slide] 6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah’s vision goes on to describe the heavenly creatures surrounding the throne who cry to another day and night saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” What’s crazy is the connection that Isaiah draws from God on his throne “high and lifted up” to his servant “high and lifted up.” This servant is not just some guy that God shows favor to. This servant is himself divine. The Apostle John doesn’t think this is a stretch either. He makes this explicit when he says of Jesus in [Slide] John 12:41 “Isaiah said these things because he saw [Jesus’s] glory and spoke of him.” Wait! Though Jesus was born 700 years later, he was seeing HIM on the throne in his vision?! Yes! This servant, which we now know to be Jesus Christ, is the divine king that Isaiah saw the angels worshipping. Church, Jesus is Yahweh, the second member of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Transition: But what is so clear to us today was a mystery to Isaiah and his audience. If you were reading this for the first time, what would you expect to come after this description of his exaltation? Let’s look at verse 14: [SLIDE] “As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.” Our text today starts and finishes showing the Messiah’s glory. I think the reason is that Isaiah wants to set up the stark contrast next to the intense and unimaginable suffering of this individual. From the image of a divine king, worshipped by the angels night and day, that Isaiah himself cannot even stand before because of his sinfulness, to the image of a man marred beyond recognition. He didn’t even look human. How can this be? This was unfathomable to the Jews. Still to this day! This is what Jews stumble over, even what Muslims stumble over, that the glorious Messiah could suffer in this kind of way. He was supposed to be the one putting an end to suffering, not the one who suffers. But by his suffering, he would sprinkle the nations. What does the sprinkling of many nations refer to? It refers to the shedding of his blood. This suffering servant would be wounded and shed his blood not just for Israel, but for many nations. In other words, the thing that the Kings of the whole earth would see and understand about God that they had never heard or known before was that his exaltation was coming through his suffering. In these few verses we see laid out for us a summary of the history of our Lord Jesus, which Isaiah 53 will unfold in greater detail, that 1) many would be astonished, confounded, even offended by him 2) but by his death many would be healed by him These two realities provide a structure for our remaining verses in chapter 53. MANY WERE ASTONISHED 53 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Verse 1 points out the reality that this message would not be easily received. That’s because it’s a scandalous message that we so often take for granted! One commentator I read says that Isaiah sounds like someone present during Jesus’s ministry who is shocked at how few believe in him. Throughout Jesus’s ministry in the Gospels we see very few putting faith in Jesus. In fact Acts 1:15 says there were only 120 present in the upper room after Jesus raised from the dead and ascended into heaven! It’s not because God didn’t show his power. This phrase “the arm of the LORD” is referring to the powerful working of God. This mystery was the work of God that should have been believed on by everyone because of all of the miracles performed by Jesus, even his resurrection! But still, few believed. Why? Look at verse 2. 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. What this is saying is that Jesus was not an impressive and powerful person! He was an average Joe. He grew up like any child would grow up. Out of “dry ground” gives an image of a plant that sort of struggles. He didn’t grow up in a royal palace or with wealth, but in poverty to a blue-collar dad and a teenage mom. Further, verse 3 says: 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth,” they said. People in that day in age were obsessed by power and prestige just like we are today. But he wasn’t the Harvard grad, best-selling author, good-looking and charismatic guy that we so often pawn over. He was more like the guys you see working on the side of the road in small town Minnesota. “A man of sorrows”. What a title for a king! Grief was like a faithful friend to him. Jesus probably lost his dad when he was young and spent much of his teenage years and twenties helping support his family. Isaiah takes it so far as to say that he would be like one whom men hide their faces from. Isaiah can’t stress it enough, the servant would not be named amongst the rich, powerful, and famous, but among the despised, shamed, rejected. MANY WERE HEALED But there was purpose to all this. Look at verse 4. Though many were astonished to the point of rejecting Jesu, many would be healed. [SLIDE] 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. The text takes a surprising turn. Isaiah makes sure you hear him loud and clear when he says “surely.” Though the world judged Jesus and believed that he was being punished by God, his suffering was for a very different reason. What does verse 4 say? Say the first line with me. HE HAS BORNE OUR GRIEFS. Wait. He was suffering because he was carrying our suffering?! Yes. It was actually “our griefs” that he bore, “our sorrows” that he carried, not his own. It was not because of his own sin or fault that he was called a man of sorrows, but because he came to take others’ pain, diseases, and sorrow upon himself! Verse 9 makes this point explicit. [SLIDE] “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. This was a faultless man, the only faultless man, yet he suffered like he was a sinner, he died like he was among the wicked. Why? Verse 5 and following shows us why. [SLIDE] THE SUBSTITUTIONARY LAMB 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Praise the Lord for his great mercy! These words contain the best news in the world for suffering sinners. Isaiah moves from more general suffering and sorrow to specific suffering. He speaks of the servant being “pierced”, “crushed”, and having “wounds”. What other event in the history of Jesus’s ministry can capture this kind of suffering than the cross on which our Savior died? How do we know this is talking about the cross. This is how the Apostles interpreted it! Look with me at 1 Peter 2:24 [SLIDE]: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree [that is the cross], that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Do you see that? Peter is basically summing up these verses in Isaiah. He helps us be sure we are moving in the right direction. The sufferings of the Servant laid out in Isaiah was a prediction of the sufferings of Jesus on the cross some 700 years later! And why? Why would God come in the form of man to go to a cross? Isaiah says He was pierced “for our transgressions”. He was crushed “for our iniquities.” Isn’t this exactly what Peter says? “He bore our sins.” Church, our God took on himself intense suffering, even death, not because he had done something wrong, but because YOU AND ME HAD. PAUSE You and me had done something wrong. Since the time of the first man and woman, we all had. The Bible could not be more clear about this. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; We are the guilty and he was the innocent. If you were to go out and talk to anyone on the street today you will find that most people shake their fists at God for their suffering in some way because they believe that they are fundamentally good people who deserve a good, happy, and long life. So when people suffer they rarely acknowledge the reality of their sin, but quickly blame God for dealing them a bad hand. Maybe you feel that way today. But it’s just the opposite. We dealt ourselves the bad hand! I’m certainly not implying that all suffering you experience is your fault, but what I am saying is that humanity has strayed like sheep running after our own path, our own control, our own gods, and the Bible says that is precisely why we lack peace and are dying in our sin. But he came to take all of that pain according to the great love of God for humanity. Look at verse 7 with me. [SLIDE] 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Our God, the uncreated One, took on flesh and identified with straying sheep. Jesus is compared to a lamb, even as we are compared to sheep. But this lamb, not like us who justify ourselves so quickly before God and man, was silent knowing his innocence, as he stood before his judges and was taken to his death. Why was he silent? Because he was fulfilling God’s plan of redemption, standing in our place as a substitution for our sin. There aren’t many better places in the Bible to point to substitutionary atonement. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace…the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Jesus suffered what you and I deserve a million times over so that we could have the life he deserved. He was stripped of peace so that we could have peace. He was wounded with nails in his hands and feet, and a spear in his side, and a crown of thorns on his head, and with lashes all over his body, so that we could be healed of our pain, our diseases. He was crushed under the weight of the cross and the wrath of God so that you and I could be sprinkled clean with his blood and enjoy the presence of God again. Like the lamb that was slaughtered at Passover, or on the day of atonement and sprinkled on the altar and on the people, our Jesus was slaughtered by God for our sake so that we might be saved! Hallelujah! What a Savior! PAUSE As I was suffering this week in some of the most intense pain of my life, the Lord showed up in a tangible way and started talking to me about his sufferings. I was reminded in those moments that sorrow, pain, and loss are normal for the human experience. Peace is not. Painlessness is not. When we feel peace and go without hearing about some horrible loss or tragedy for an extended period of time, we are living in an unusual moment. I was reminded further that so many people right now, inside and outside the church are suffering in really intense ways, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, some without any real idea of when the pain will let up. And I was reminded that all of this sorrow we face is the grim result of our separation from God. It is deserved suffering. It is deserved sorrow. But then the Lord reminded me of this incredible truth. Jesus came to buy peace for us. He came so we don’t have to hurt anymore. He came so we don’t have to worry any more, or feel loss anymore. And that should cause us to lift him up with our worship. That’s what Christmas is about. Some of you have suffered greatly in this life and are still suffering. And if you are a Christian, I have a simple message of hope for you today. Hold fast to Jesus because he entered your grief and sorrow on the cross and will soon bring healing for good. The suffering is just a little longer and then it will be done forever. Maybe you feel alone and misunderstood in your suffering. Know that you are not alone. Jesus has carried your griefs and sorrows. All of it! I need you to know that our God is not a God who hangs out in lofty places with the rich and powerful feasting with holiday cheer pretending that everything is ok. No. He is God who took the title “Man of Sorrows”. He identifies with you in your poverty and brokenness Why? So that all that’s wrong in the world could be made right. All will be made new. Even Isaiah’s prophecy doesn’t end in death and sorrow as we know Jesus’s death didn’t end there either. Look at verse 10-11 [SLIDE], which we didn’t read today: “…when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” Not only was the death of Christ prophesied 700 years before it happened, so was his resurrection! We’re told that he would live to “see his Offspring” and “prolong his days”. Who are his Offspring? Jesus never had physical children. Rather, it is all who put their faith in him. If you are here today and you need to get right with God, it is as simple as believing on Jesus and all that he has accomplished for you. You can stop trying to prove your goodness and let God make you righteous through his Son Jesus. And if you come to him you can be sure to be healed both now and ultimately in eternity. One final word for us this Christmas. Let’s be like Jesus this holiday season. Don’t be afraid to enter the suffering of others. We don’t need to pretend like everything is ok. Jesus showed us that success in life is not about escaping suffering or avoiding others suffering. Rather, his glory and exaltation came through his suffering, especially his suffering for others. If that’s true, you can know that as you enter into other people's pain you’ll find more of Jesus. Now we're going to worship our risen king, Jesus, who healed our suffering by suffering in our place. Let’s pray.
ISAIAH 7:10-14
Why God Became a Baby Ross Tenneson / General
Why God Became a Baby Ross Tenneson / General Intro Today is the first week of the season of “advent.” “Advent” is a Latin word that means “arrival,” It’s the time of year we anticipate celebrating Jesus’s arrival on Christmas. For these next four weeks of advent, we are going to take a break from our series in Luke and spend some time in Isaiah. Why Isaiah? Because he’s a prophet who especially anticipates the arrival of Jesus and talks at length about him hundreds of years before he comes. One of the first famous texts on the messiah from Isaiah is in Isaiah 7. This text will address common emotions we all feel, some of us more acutely as the holidays approach: fear, apprehension, and isolation. I remember a couple years ago my finger ended up getting a deep cut on it. It went do deep it cut the nerve. Just like that, it went dark…couldn’t reel with one side of it anymore. I went into the ER and the doctors were like, “oh yeah, the nerve will regrow and you’ll be fine.” When I visited the surgeon a few weeks later to talk more, she was pretty blunt, “that’s not going to happen.” I remember feeling fear and dread that I would live with this for the rest of my life, and to this day I still do. How do you think God wants me to respond in this situation? How do you think he wants you to respond to the things you fear and dread? Our text will tell us this morning. Before we jump in, we are going to orient ourselves with some context. Revelation We are about seven hundred years before the birth of Christ. The nation of Israel has been in decline for some time now. As a result, God is punishing Israel with various judgments, including the attacks of her enemies. In this instance, the Northern kingdom of Israel has joined forces with the pagan nation of Syria to overthrow Judah. There was overwhelming military power coming down against the little kingdom of Judah, it’s a desperate situation. Isa 7:2 says, Isaiah 7:2 ESV 2 When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. Ahaz is the king of Judah and his heart and both he and his people lack faith. The pressure and danger of this moment reveal what’s really inside. And God is so amazingly kind to this unworthy king. He sends his prophet Isaiah to him to promise him that he will deliver him from these two kings. Then he urges Ahaz to trust in the Lord because God is going to devastate these kings that are threatening him. But, Ahaz is having trouble believing God’s word. So, God sends Isaiah to him again. That’s where our passage picks up in verse 10, Isaiah 7:10–11 ESV 10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” The Lord invites Ahaz to ask for any sign, as high as heaven or as deep as Sheol, that is, it could be a supernatural sign like Lord, don’t let the sun set for 24 hours or Lord, let the fleece be wet and the ground around it dry in the morning. The purpose of this sign is that Ahaz could finally trust the God he’s holding out on. So, how does Ahaz respond to this gracious, over-the-top offer from God? Isaiah 7:12 ESV 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” Wait, what? Does he actually refuse? Almost unbelievably, this man whom God offered a supernatural sign turns it down. Man, at first I just couldn’t see myself doing that. Then, Ahaz gives the reason for refusing God’s offer: “I will not put the Lord to the test.” So, Ahaz actually quotes Scripture as his reason for turning God down (Deut 6:16). His reasons sound pious: he sounds like he has a religious reason for not asking God for a sign. Friends: nothing could be further from the truth. Putting the Lord to the test does not mean receiving a sign that the Lord freely offers. Putting the Lord to the test would be demanding another sign after he gives you one because it wasn’t good enough for you.[1] This was not his way of obeying God’s Word, it was his way out of it. Ahaz’s heart is far from God. Here is a reminder to ourselves that we can disguise our sin with justifications that sound biblical, but actually are not. I’ve actually noticed that the colder someone’s heart gets to the Lord and the deeper they get in their sin, the more prone they are to twist and misunderstand Scripture. If you are wanting to go down a path you wonder if it is wrong, or others have told you it’s wrong, but you’ve been able to find a Scripture to “make” it right. Don’t trust yourself. Instead, go to others in this community and ask if you are seeing the Word rightly. We don’t want any of us wandering into the path of sin with the false belief that the Scriptures permit it when they don’t. That’s one reason we follow Jesus in a community, so others can help us see where our own fallen hearts distort God’s Word. But why did Ahaz resist receiving a sign from God? What was it about seeing a sign that repelled him? If he asked for a supernatural sign and God gave it to him, then he would have to surrender to the God didn’t want to surrender to. The book of Kings says Ahaz was an evil man who even burned his children as an offering to an idol (2 Kings 16:3). He did not want to serve the God who said, “you must not do that.” He would rather face two kings and their overwhelming military might on his own, without this God who demands repentance. To put it bluntly: he would rather die than depend on God. Friends, we must be aware of this inclination in us if we are going to fight against it, as this passage will show us how to do. Isaiah 7:13 ESV 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? God responds to Ahaz’s wicked reply through the prophet Isaiah. He says, “pay attention, O house of David!” That is, he is addressing the king and his court with his rulers and officials.[2] He points out that Ahaz’s stubborn unbelief is weary and frustrating to men. And if to men, how much for to God? God is offering to move heaven and earth so that man can finally trust him.[3] And what’s his response? Nah. Here we get to see a picture of moments we stubbornly persist in unbelief and disobedience offend the heart of God, even though he’s given us so many evidences of his goodness. Yet, at this low point, here’s where things get even more marvelous. You would think that an all-powerful God would be inclined to immediately wipe him and his kingdom out. He had his chance after all. You would think the next verse would be, “therefore, I will destroy you.” Yet, that’s not the next thing God says: Isaiah 7:14 ESV 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. The Lord, disappointed with the king’s unbelief, insists on giving him a sign. The king doesn’t believe and the Lord’s response is “therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.” The patience of God with stubborn, unbelieving human hearts is remarkable. He gives him a sign he doesn’t deserve and doesn’t even want so that he could hope in God. Now what’s the sign that the Lord gives to him? Isaiah says, “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Let’s just take it one piece at a time. (There’s different schools of thought on how to interpret this verse, the best I can do is interpret it as best as I can and share that with you). God starts out by saying “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” What does the word that’s translated “virgin” mean? It could mean two different things: most frequently, this word means “marriageable girl” or “young woman”.[4] That is, a young woman who is of an age for marriage and child bearing. So, what does this word mean in this context? Since the context doesn’t point to this birth being a virgin birth and the Hebrew word tends to mean “young woman,” it would seem the best way to translate this sign is that there is a young woman who has a child in the ordinary way. Likely, this woman is Isaiah’s wife as Isaiah 8:18 says, Isaiah 8:18 ESV 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. The children the Lord gives to Isaiah (of which this child seems to be one) are signs. A sign is something that points to something greater than itself.[5] Think of the Lord’s Supper as an example.[6] It’s ordinary bread and juice, yet it points to the realities of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It’s a sign that signifies something greater than itself. What does this sign point to? First, Isaiah mentions the child will be called “Immanuel.” When we translate it, this name means, “God is with us.” The child is a sign that points to the greatest hope God’s people have: that they will get to live in intimacy with God again. Yet, that’s not all. Later in our chapter, Isaiah says of this child, Isaiah 7:16 ESV 16 For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. Essentially, the child points to the defeat of the life-threatening enemies God’s people are facing: there is hope in an otherwise hopeless situation (before he is of the age where he can identify right and wrong, just in a few years, the enemies you face will be no more). Putting these ideas together, the sign of the child points to God’s nearness to his people and the defeat of their oppressors, basically our two most basic needs: that we would be with God, and that he would keep us safe from the things that would destroy us. So, how does this sign work that God gave? Why would this child create this assurance for anyone who was willing to trust God? Here is what I suspect is going on here: child-birth is not a neutral concept in the story of the Bible, it’s laden with rich symbolism, prophecy, and expectation. In the book of Genesis, after Adam and Eve has sinned and God had banished them from the garden, he makes them a promise Genesis 3:15. Eve will have an offspring, a descendent of hers who will defeat the enemies of his people and restore intimacy with God. Sounds kind of like our passage huh? This promised child to Eve will accomplish the exact same things the child who is a sign to Ahaz points to: his victory will bring humanity back into the presence of God, something they lost with their banishment from the garden (“God is with us” will be a reality again). It seems like rather than doing something entirely out of the blue, God is pointing Ahaz back to the promises he made in the garden and forward to hoping in the arrival of this offspring who will finally bring a full restoral of God being with us. (Which a baby is a great sign!! You can’t help but feel hope and joy when you look at a little baby smiling). Now let’s ask, how does this relate to Christmas and Advent? To do so, we are going to fast forward to the gospel of Matthew. At this point, Joseph is engaged to Mary. However, he discovers she’s pregnant and resolves to break off the engagement from her. That’s when the following happens: Matthew 1:20-21 Matthew 1:20–21 ESV 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Joseph, like Ahaz before him, has to confront his fears. He fears to take Mary as his wife because of the apparent immorality she has committed. Also, a messenger of God shows up to him with a Word of the Lord to bring him comfort. This word is that the child Mary had conceived was not a result of immorality, but a work of God. More than that, this child will fulfill the purposes of God: he will be the one who removes sins from the people (which keep us from God), so Immanuel can come to pass (God can truly be with us) Then, Matthew writes the following, Matthew 1:22-23 Matthew 1:22–23 ESV 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Wait a second, what? What does this prophecy from Isaiah have to do with the baby in Mary’s belly. Matthew uses the word “fulfill,” which means something like “to bring to completion or fulness.” We tend to think of prophecy mostly as direct predictions such as “the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem” (Micah 5:2), and then Jesus was born in Bethlehem. However, that’s not the only way Jesus “fulfills” or “completes” the Old Testament Scriptures. He also lives out and completes the patterns of how God works in the Bible to rescue his people. The pattern Jesus fulfills is that God uses children who were born in miraculous circumstances to save his people, and that points back to the promise in Genesis where a child would come who would defeat the serpent. I take “fulfill” in Matthew 1:22 to mean that the birth of Jesus completes this pattern we see in the Scriptures that there would be a child who would defeat the enemies of God and restore relationship with him. The child in Isaiah’s day points to God’s plan to rescue his people from these two kings. Yet, that’s as far as God’s rescue and deliverance goes in Isaiah’s day. The people are still in bondage to their sins and soon will be in bondage to another king, the king of Assyria. Jesus, on the other hand, is better and fuller and brings lasting relief. Matthew says, “he will save his people from their sins.” That for which God’s people longed for generations and generations, what they received only in part, we have received in full in the birth of Jesus. In Isaiah’s day, God defeated temporary enemies who threatened the physical lives of God’s people. In Jesus, God defeats our permanent enemies of sin and death. In Isaiah’s day, God reminded his people that it was his plan to dwell with them again; in Jesus, God has begun and will soon completely dwell with his people again. In Isaiah’s day, a natural birth pointed to God’s purposes to defeat his natural enemies; in Jesus, his supernatural birth, pointed to God’s plan to defeat our supernatural enemies and give us life with him forever. Church, our main point this morning is that God became a baby so you could have a sure reason to trust him in all of life. Think about it: if God didn’t want to truly and fully help his people, he would not have gone through all of the effort from Genesis through the birth of Christ to fulfill this promise. If he wasn’t actually going to help us, why spend thousands of years building up to this moment? And if God didn’t mean to rescue you from sin and death and also from every other pain and struggle you deal with in his timing, why would he do the miracle of becoming a human baby? I once read that “the most amazing miracle in the entire Bible,”[7] the infinite God somehow taking the form of a limited human child is more profound than anything.[8] And he did that in order to come and rescue us from sin and death (our greatest need) and to help us in the midst of every other failure, weakness, pain, and limitation we face in the meantime. Jesus’s birth doesn’t mean he will fix every problem we have immediately, but it does mean he will give us the grace we need to endure until he does. Here’s my concern for us this morning: that God has given us more than a sufficient sign that he’s going to make everything right, and our emotional states of being, day to day, don’t reflect that. We can be so full of worry, or disappointment, or fear that someone who was talking with us wouldn’t think that God had given us sure hope that he will make all things right. I can get so discouraged by injuries or pain that don’t heal fully in my body, or about the whole COVID situation, or about loved ones who aren’t responding to the gospel. And it affects my demeanor. And God is like, “Ross, didn’t I become a baby, didn’t I cross the infinite barrier between heaven and earth, in part, to show you that I have a sufficient solution for everything?” Friends, it is right for a Christian to feel sorrow in this broken world, but our hope should overpower it because our reasons for hope in Jesus are far bigger. We can feel so disappointed with how our relationships are going, or our jobs are going, or how our family of origin is (and those things make sense why they weigh on us, but they should not control our mood!). This child’s name is “Immanuel” which means, “God is with us.” Are any of the problems we are facing weightier than the reality that our God is with us? If that’s the case, what should have the stronger impact on our mood and emotions? I think a Christian who is hoping in the promise of God to put things right, will rightly feel sadness in this broken world, and it makes sense that we would feel anxious about certain things. Yet, these emotions will not be most prominent in what we express or how others perceive us. Rather, hope-filled confidence should be the emotion that others perceive most in us, if we have a reason as great as this to have hope. You might say, “Ross, this is easier said than done! I can know my emotions are supposed to be different, but that doesn’t change how I feel.” And that’s the point I’m trying to drive at this morning: God gave us a sign to meditate on, thank him for, draw assurance from, and hope in to help us become the sorrowful yet even more rejoicing Christians God has called us to be: he became a baby. The way we don’t become Ahaz’s whose hearts are shaking like the trees, but instead be Isaiah’s who have bold faith, joy, and peace is we receive this sign of God with joy. If God were not going to be the solution and overcome our problems, he would not have become a baby period. But he did do something as extraordinary as become a human child, and that human child grew up and did something as extraordinary as dying for all our sins. And those things being the case, do you think you can trust him to help you with the weight you are bringing in here this morning? Here’s one application I would like for you to walk away from this sermon with: when you are feeling different disappointments, fears, and worries rising up and stifling for faith and joy in Jesus, pray, “God, if you became a human child to rescue the whole world, you can certainly help me with this.” It’s not that we have insufficient reasons to hope, it’s that our attention is often on something else besides our greatest reason for hope. And if you are here this morning and you are not following Jesus yet, and you don’t have a reason to have invincible hope, please talk to me or any of our members before you leave. Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:12 PM November 26, 2021. Admin Oaks2021!!!!!
[1] Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 88). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[2] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
[3] Motyer, J. A. (1999). Isaiah: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 88). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[4] Koehler, L., Baumgartner, W., Richardson, M. E. J., & Stamm, J. J. (1994–2000). The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 836). Leiden: E.J. Brill.
[5] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 437). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[6] John Calvin, John Calvin: Commentary on Isaiah - Volume 1 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org).
[7] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Zondervan Academic, 1994), 563.
[8] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
In this podcast, a few of the pastors of All Peoples Church press a little deeper into the topic of divorce and remarriage, which was brought up in our recent sermon on Luke 16:18. Thank you for listening.
Outline:
Majority and Minority positions Exception Clauses Situational Questions
As part of our leadership support practice, the pastors of All Peoples Church brought the leaders of APC together for a half-day seminar with the topic of spiritual disciplines (habits of grace).
These talks are meant to drive home the importance of our daily abiding in Christ as we minister to others, as well as provide practical help for personal and corporate study of God's Word and prayer. We hope these teachings are helpful to you.
Talk 1: Intro to Habits of Grace
Talk 2: 5 Questions: A Simple Approach for Dynamic Bible Study
Talk 3: Strategies for Prayer and Fasting
Talk 4: Rest Your Soul
As part of our leadership support practice, the pastors of All Peoples Church brought the leaders of APC together for a half-day seminar with the topic of spiritual disciplines (habits of grace).
These talks are meant to drive home the importance of our daily abiding in Christ as we minister to others, as well as provide practical help for personal and corporate study of God's Word and prayer. We hope these teachings are helpful to you.
Talk 1: Intro to Habits of Grace
Talk 2: 5 Questions: A Simple Approach for Dynamic Bible Study
Talk 3: Strategies for Prayer and Fasting
Talk 4: Rest Your Soul
As part of our leadership support practice, the pastors of All Peoples Church brought the leaders of APC together for a half-day seminar with the topic of spiritual disciplines (habits of grace).
These talks are meant to drive home the importance of our daily abiding in Christ as we minister to others, as well as provide practical help for personal and corporate study of God's Word and prayer. We hope these teachings are helpful to you.
Talk 1: Intro to Habits of Grace
Talk 2: 5 Questions: A Simple Approach for Dynamic Bible Study
Talk 3: Strategies for Prayer and Fasting
Talk 4: Rest Your Soul
As part of our leadership support practice, the pastors of All Peoples Church brought the leaders of APC together for a half-day seminar with the topic of spiritual disciplines (habits of grace).
These talks are meant to drive home the importance of our daily abiding in Christ as we minister to others, as well as provide practical help for personal and corporate study of God's Word and prayer. We hope these teachings are helpful to you.
Talk 1: Intro to Habits of Grace
Talk 2: 5 Questions: A Simple Approach for Dynamic Bible Study
Talk 3: Strategies for Prayer and Fasting
Talk 4: Rest Your Soul
The Path to Feasting with God Intro One of the most unexpected guests I ever had at my home is a man named Mr. Lopez. He came for dinner and staid on the couch for a few nights when Scott and I lived together. He barely spoke English and had little he could offer us apart from his company (which was a sweet blessing). The situation got complicated and got messier than I hoped it would. It didn’t seem like there was much benefit that came out of it, as far as I know he’s not walking with Jesus yet (although I did run into him once at the Spanish speaking church that met before us in the CityView building). The question I want to ask this morning is: was it worth it to open up my home to someone who had little to offer and created an emotionally hard and difficult situation? And if it was, why was it worth it? Our text will help answer that for us this morning. We will focus most of our time on verses 12-14 since in the other verses Jesus is reiterating some themes we have already talked about in other places in Luke. Heading 1 Revelation In our passage from last week, Jesus was attending a dinner that a leader of the Pharisees invited him to. He first addressed the guests and called out their glory-seeking behavior. Now, in our text this week, Jesus addresses the host. What word of challenge does Jesus have for the host? He utters the amazing words in this passage... Luke 14:12 ESV 12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. Jesus divides up people into two different groups: those who can pay you back and those who can’t.[1] In this verse, we see the first of the two groups: those who can pay you back. This could be friends, family, or business relationships that give you some kind of social or financial return. I just want to clarify quickly: Jesus does not mean you are not allowed to invite your friends or family over.[2] This would be a really unfortunate passage for our church if that were the case. Rather, Jesus is using exaggerated language to make a point. What’s the point he’s making? Jesus’ followers should make feasting with the poor and those who can’t pay you back a priority. Why can’t feasting with friends and family be our only priority? Look at the reason Jesus gives us, “lest they also invite you and you be repaid.” What’s Jesus’s reason for not just feasting with those it’s easy to feast with? The reward is too low. You are not getting enough out of it. You see, in the way God relates to us, when we do something natural like invite friends and family over, there is a natural reward of them inviting us over in return (there’s nothing wrong with this. It’s just that if this is all you do, you’re aiming too low). On the other hand, when you do something supernatural like love someone who has nothing to offer in return, in those instance, God takes it upon himself to be the one to reward you. Solomon puts it this way in the book of Proverbs: Proverbs 19:17 ESV 17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. What’s this reward God wants to give us for feasting with the poor? Jesus will further clarify that for us in the next verse, Luke 14:13–14 ESV 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Now, Jesus clarifies the other group of people besides those who can pay you back: those who cannot pay you back. Jesus calls them the “poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind.” In their Jewish context, they would not only have lacked the resources to host you, but the social capital to make it worth it for you. Jesus mentions people with specific physical ailments that would have made excluded them from worship at the temple, so they would have been social outcasts.[3] So, having them over does not get you anywhere socially or financially. Who are these people in our culture whom we perceive as not being able to give in return (and I would argue wrongly): 1. The materially poor who ask us for money on street corners.
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Our neighbors who may be socially awkward or disconnected. This could include single moms or people who just struggle to make friends. It could also include people with worldviews so progressive and different from our own that it would be sacrifice to have them in your home.
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Our fellow church members who are not socially or spiritually thriving.
Now, Jesus says that if you invite such people over, you will be “blessed.” The Greek word we translate “blessed” here means “happy.” You will increase your levels of happiness (your levels of joy) by having the poor over to your home. How does this work since this group of people Jesus commended we have over often take from us more than they can give?[4] How can that possibly make us more hopeful or more joyful? Jesus gives us the reason in this verse, “because they cannot repay you.” As we said before, when you serve people who can’t repay you, God himself takes it upon himself to repay you. Indeed, this verse goes on to say the very same thing, “for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” The passive voice in the verb is a way the Bible specifies that God will be the one who rewards.[5] God will go above and beyond any sacrifice any of us have made to love the poor and reward us when Christ comes back and reigns as king. What will that reward be like? One theme throughout the Bible and one that we will soon see come up in this passage is that God’s people are headed toward a feast with God in his new creation. One beautiful description of this coming feast is in Isaiah 25. Isaiah 25:6–8 ESV 6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. 7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. The reward for feasting with the poor now is greater feasting with God forever. The more we sacrifice to welcome people who can’t pay us back into our homes, the more God will delight to shower on us deeper levels of intimacy and feasting with him in the life to come. One statement I heart from one of my professors in seminary was: “what we believe about the future changes how we live today.”[6] This statement connects to our main point this morning: Our future feast with God changes who we feast with now. Before we keep moving on to the other verses in our passage, I want to ask, How would this reality affect our community? I want to mention three ways: 1. Our homes would become pictures of what heaven will be like one day. In the new creation, we won’t have anything to offer to God, yet he will gladly feast with us. Hosting the poor in your home makes heaven more tangible right now. 2. The presence of the poor with us will help remind us that we are the spiritually poor before God. If we look in our passage, we see the words “poor” and “blessed.” Does anyone remember where they come from? The beattitudes earlier in Luke where Jesus talks about what a Christian is. A Christian is someone who considers themselves poor before God.
The presence of the poor in our lives and homes should help us develop a deeper awareness of our own need for God’s grace. Church, who is the poor before God, who is it whom God completely forgave all of our sin? It is us, is it not? The Apostle Paul describes our spiritual neediness in 2 Corinthians 9. He says, 2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. Martin Luther, the german reformer also put this so well. Here is something he said at the end of his life on his deathbed, “We are beggars. This is true.” 1. Feasting with the poor will break down the barriers between the rich and the poor that can often keep the poor from Jesus. The poor often don’t first and foremost need stuff, they need relationship. Yet, the dynamic of a soup kitchen creates the sense that there is a superior person (the server) and inferior person (the person receiving).
Yet, when we host the poor in our homes with an heart attitude of wanting to spend time with them as those who along with us are poor before God, the barrier between rich and poor starts to disappear and real relationship can begin. I first heard this idea from Tim Cain in a sermon he preached in 2015. Here is what he has to say, This passage is about far more than food—it’s really about relationship. This passage is about treating the poor and the crippled and the lame and the blind with the same sense of love and honor and respect and appreciation that we have for our friends and relatives and rich neighbors. One woman who found herself stuck in poverty told the man who interviewed her, “I know people do a lot for me. But what I want is for someone to be my friend.” What this woman longed for was a friend. She wanted to sit at a table and eat with someone instead of standing in line to receive food from someone. That is what Jesus is calling us to in these verses. He is calling us to open our eyes and invite people who may not be anything like us into a relationship. We will be able to accomplish with our dinner tables and homes what millions of dollars service projects cannot. Getting back to the feast, one of the guests makes this same connection we did earlier between Jesus’s command to feast with the poor and the future feast with God. Verse 15 says, Luke 14:15 ESV 15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” He hears Jesus’s teaching about feasting with the poor. He comes to a correct conclusion: “those who feast with God forever will be happy.” However, there’s something Jesus dislikes about his understanding that he wants to correct. We can see that verse 16 starts with the word, “but,” then Jesus tells a parable against the Pharisees that he is dining with. It seems as if one faulty assumption this Pharisee was making was that all or most of the Pharisees would be at this future feast with God. So, Jesus tells the following parable. Again he uses the familiar image of feasting to teach truths about the spiritual world,[7] Luke 14:16–17 ESV 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ In Jesus’s parable, a man, who represents God, invites many to a “great banquet,” which represents life with God forever.[8] The feast has been prepared, meaning that God is immediately available. “The many” represents the Jewish people and their religious leaders. We know that because one theme in Luke is God’s invites his people and many refuse, especially the rulers. Next, Jesus says, Luke 14:18–20 ESV 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ They don’t come to this feast, because they have other priorities. These priorities are not bad things in and of themselves, but become bad things when they replace the best things. What are these other priorities: (1) “I have bought a field” could represent life priorities such as where you live and what you own. (2) “I have bought five yoke of oxen” could represent business priorities such as career advancement or starting a new business. (3) “I have married a wife” clearly represents romantic priorities, as in whom your pursing and whom your with. As I said before, none of these are bad things. They only become bad things when they choke out the best things. This is a word of caution from Jesus to the Pharisees that we would do well to take to heart: don’t go around feasting with the poor, hoping it will do something good for them and for you spiritually, if you are not already feasting with God. The whole point of feasting with the poor is so that you and them can all have deeper intimacy with God. The imagery of feasting makes this point well: fellowship over food brings people into deeper relationship with each other. Yet, if you allow another priority to crowd out intimacy with God, feasting on his word and enjoying him, you won’t find your efforts to feast with the poor or do anything else ultimately fruitful. Do you happen to have another priority right now that is choking out the highest priority we should already have of being with Jesus? We are waiting for a future feast with God, yet we are already invited to indulge in knowing and receiving him. Ps 34 says, Psalm 34:8 ESV 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! The answer is not to completely cut out other priorities in our lives, but contain them to reasonable boundaries so that we can be with our Father. What happens next? Luke 14:21 ESV 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ It is insulting to the master that so many reject his invitation.[9] It even makes him angry. This points to the deep displeasure God had in the Pharisee’s and many Jewish people’s rejection of him. Jesus is saying to this guy at the feast, “you think it’s going to be such a good time feasting together, but you and many of your friends won’t even be there because you’ve rejected me: you have other priorities than being in a relationship with the God who made you. You need to repent of that if you are going to be one those who are blessed in this feast to come.” While many of us shrink back from loving others when others wound us, such is not the case with God. Instead, the master tells the servant to go invite more people. Who does God invite? None other than the poor and crippled to the feast. These “poor and crippled and lame and blind” are the uneducated, common people who make up many of Jesus’s disciples who come to him (and may even represent Gentiles, that is non-Jewish followers of Jesus).[10] When we invite the poor into our homes, we are mimicking our God. He invites those who have a sense of their own spiritual need into his kingdom. When we invite those who are poor according to this world, we are turning our homes into a visual representation of that truth. After inviting the poor into the feast, the passage says, Luke 14:22–23 ESV 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. So, the servant has went and invited some of the poor to come and there is still room. I think this detail in the parable represents a part of the character of our God: he has a huge heart and he desires to save and will save. I have a hesitancy that can keep me from pouring myself out to invite more people to know God or to come to my home. It’s that from time to time, I can have a low view of God’s purpose to rescue and to save. When I don’t see him move in the lives of many unbelievers for a while, I can become discouraged and not want to persevere. Yet, I make a huge mistake if I base my evangelistic efforts on my own experience or my own past success. I am far safer to base my efforts on the character and heart of God to rescue sinners. The parable goes on to share what the right response to there being “room” left is, when you grasp that it is God’s purpose to rescue all kings of people: “‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.” By compel, Jesus means to earnestly persuade.[11] We leave the comfort of our own homes and go out and compel people to know Jesus and come to our homes when we grasp how large God’s heart is and his purpose to save sinners. When we have confidence that this is his heart, it starts to become our heart, and our lives start to show it. Does this verse describe your efforts to invite people to Jesus and into your home? If not, I submit to you that you have too low a view of God’s heart to save and we need to grow in that. Luke 14:24 ESV 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ” The most tragic thing in the world is when people refuse a dinner invitation from God. Yet, we should not let people’s rejection of God give us a low view of our God’s heart to save. Rather than approaching ministry with less zeal when we see other reject Jesus and us, we should approach it with greater zeal because God desires to save and rescue. One final word for us: if you are listening to my voice, don’t be among those who refuse to go into the feast and eat with God. Don’t be like those Pharisees who refused to acknowledge their spiritual poverty and come to Jesus. If you want to know how you can have your sins forgiven and feast with God forever, please talk to one of our members before leaving.
[1] I got this insight from Tim Cain’s sermon, Bethlehem Baptist Church.
[2] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 166.
[3] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1266). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
[4] I got this insight from Tim Cain’s sermon, Bethlehem Baptist Church.
[5] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1267). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
[6] I heard this from Dr. Jason DeRouchie in his Old Testament course in 2014. He mentioned he got it from Scott Hafemann.
[7] John MacArthur, Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble (gty.org).
[8] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1273). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
[9] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 559). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[10] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 172.
[11] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
How to Receive Glory from God Intro I remember in High School I wanted to be recognized and popular. One important ingredient for success is whom you associate with. There were some nice guys who lived near me who wanted to hang out. However, they didn’t come with any social currency. In fact, it would cost me socially to hang out with them. So what I did was avoid them and made up excuses when they wanted to hang out. My plan didn’t work out. I didn’t end up being popular and I missed out on some sweet friendships. Glory-seeking cost me. Tension Most of us understand that there is something wrong about trying to seize honor and attention and elevate yourself above others. Yet, all of us have a desire for recognition. The question I want to ask this morning is, Is there a legitimate way to receive glory in God’s kingdom and how can we go about it? Or is it always wrong to desire to receive honor and we should avoid it? Let’s take a look at our text to find out. If you are visiting, we are so happy you are here and I trust God’s word will speak to you as well. There’s two parts of our text today. Jesus is at the banquet of a Pharisee in both of them. In the first one, he will heal on the Sabbath again. Since Luke has brought that example up a handful of times, we will move quickly through this part. In the second part, Jesus talks about the right way to receive honor; that’s where we will spend most of our time. Revelation Luke 14:1 ESV 1 One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. As is so often the case in Luke, he is sharing a meal with someone. This meal is on the Sabbath, so, essentially, Jesus went out to lunch with folks after church.[1] However, this lunch is not going to go how lunches after church usually go. There’s going to be some serious conflict. We already know from previous events in Luke that Jesus and the Pharisees don’t get along, especially on the Sabbath. So here we have yet another conflict brewing as Jesus dines with these Pharisees on the Sabbath. Luke also leaves us a foreboding detail, “they were watching him closely,” it seems as if they are trying to catch Jesus doing something. Luke 14:2 ESV 2 And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. Suddenly someone shows up whose presence is going to bring the conflict into the open. Luke uses the word “behold,” to draw attention to this man. He had dropsy, which is a medical condition in which fluid builds up in your body and causes it to swell.[2] Then Jesus says, Luke 14:3 ESV 3 And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” The conflict, as before, comes down to Jesus healing on the Sabbath. Healing on the Sabbath breaks the Pharisee’s religious law. Yet, this particular issue shows the spiritual deadness in the Pharisees since God had never forbid healing on the Sabbath, and here they are opposing God in the flesh for doing something that was totally allowable, all in the name of obeying God. Luke 14:4 ESV 4 But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. Although they disagree with Jesus’s healing, they remain silent. He had just put them to shame in chapter 13 for their views on the Sabbath, so maybe that’s why they don’t have anything to say. Luke 14:5 ESV 5 And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” Jesus makes the same argument he had before. “You don’t fail to preserve and promote life on the Sabbath, so why should I? You act “immediately” to rescue children and animals, so why can’t I?” You rescue your children and animals that fall into the water, so why can’t I rescue this man filling up with water?[3] Luke 14:6 ESV 6 And they could not reply to these things. They lacked any kind of answer to Jesus’s point because he had clearly exposed their hypocrisy. He showed them how even in their rule keeping, they still found a way to have hearts opposed to God (this is an idea we will get to more in chapter 15). As an uneasy silence hangs over the room, Jesus begins to teach, and expose their sinful hearts all the more: Luke 14:7 ESV 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, A “parable” is an illustration meant to teach. It uses something familiar to teach about something unfamiliar.[4] Luke says Jesus taught them a Parable “when he noticed how they chose the places of honor.” Jesus has flipped the tables now. The Pharisees were previously watching him, but now he is observing them.[5] Jesus is going to go further in exposing their sinful hearts that oppose him and his work. This is a generous act of Jesus. When Jesus exposes our sin, it’s a gift. If he doesn’t and we don’t become convicted, then we won’t repent. This is a severe mercy for these dinner guests. What had Jesus noticed? He had noticed that when people arrived for the banquet, they had sought the most distinguished seats, closest to the host.[6] These are the seats where they would get the most attention, the most eyes would be on them. They would make them seem to be more important than the other guests at the feast. Jesus directs his parable at this situation, Luke 14:8–9 ESV 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. Jesus points out an example of shame that accompanies this kind of honor seeking. Someone competes for the most honor for himself by taking the best seat available. Rather than retaining that position, the host notices someone more honorable than that man. He comes and asks him to move seats to make room and he ends up taking the lowest seat of all. What transpired here? He ends up in the lowest place by trying to seize honor for himself. This is a temptation we all face: to try to seize honor for ourselves (even those of us who are already in Christ). I’m guessing not many of us have been in the situation where you are competing for the best seat at a banquet. So, this heart defect is going to show up in different ways in our culture. What are some ways we can fall into the trap of glory-seeking? (1) Who do you gravitate towards in conversation? It feels like honor for us to talk to more distinguished, more respected people, so we tend to seek out these people in social situations. Pay attention to this, and ask yourself if there is a certain kinds of people you show partially toward in conversation. (2) What do you tend to talk about in conversation? Do you find subtle (or not so subtle ways) to weave details into the conversation about yourself that make you seem impressive? There is nothing wrong about talking about parts of your life that are important, but, do you try to move the conversation in ways that lead to you disclosing impressive-sounding things about yourself, or making intelligent sounding comments that make you seem impressive? (3) How do you use social media? There is a legitimate way to use social media to inform others about your life in healthy ways. Yet, that can easily morph into curating a false version of yourself as happy and successful, and you go through labor to maintain this depiction of yourself online. In all of these examples I shared, there is the common denominator of seeking attention. Just as these people were seeking attention by trying to be at the center of the room at the host’s side, we tend to do the same. Attention seeking and glory seeking go hand in hand. I noticed that I can fall into this trap just as easily as any of you. I have several opinions about culture that are not-conventional. Someone could use the term “controversial.” There’s nothing wrong with having opinions that differ from the mainstream. However, I tend to share those opinions in ways that intentionally stir the pot. Why do I like to do this? Attention. I found I can get more intention by shocking or irritating people with my views. This is also a kind of glory-seeking where I try to make social interactions about me rather than others. Where does this man in the parable end up? Not just in a “lower” seat, but in the “lowest” seat. A life of glory-seeking always ends up in failure and shame. For those of you who are familiar with Jesus’s parables, you know that Jesus is not trying to teach us how to secure the best seat for ourselves as a feast. He’s teaching us about how to relate to God. In other words, how we are relating to others in day to day life is revealing how we are relating to God. Whether we seek to seize glory from others or to honor them reveals our hearts toward God. I like this text so much because it shows that the way our hearts are relating to the king of the world manifests in how we treat others in ordinary, day to day life. And, the demotion of the man at the feast represents the ultimate and eternal demotion anyone who spends their life glory-seeking. Yet, Jesus presents an alternative to glory-seeking, Luke 14:10 ESV 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. Jesus commends the opposite of the inclination of our flesh. He advises that instead of trying to obtain honor from others, that we instead seek to give it away, to let others have it. What happens in the parable to the person who voluntarily takes the lowest seat? The host comes and finds them, and elevates them to a higher seat in the site of all. Again, Jesus’s point is not to show us how to get places of honor at a banquet. He’s teaching us how to receive honor from his Father.
His Father will honor anyone who gives honor away rather than trying to seize it. One question you can always ask in any interaction is: “how would I behave if I really believed this other person was more significant than me? I think that’s something that we are able to imagine. I’ll just point to one more concrete example: our culture is at a severe deficit when it comes to question asking. It can be rare to have someone else ask you a question. Yet, if you were to approach someone else with the intention of honoring them, you would ask them questions. One way in our culture to give someone else the “seat of honor” is to ask them meaningful questions. Then Jesus gives the ultimate reason (see the word “for”) why we should try to give honor away to others rather than seek it for ourselves, Luke 14:11 ESV 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” The reason we should try to give glory away instead of seeking it for ourselves is because of the way God responds. In the gospel of Luke, God has already made it clear that he was sending Jesus to cast down the proud and lift up the lowly. Mary (Jesus’s mother) says in her song in the beginning of Luke, Luke 1:52 ESV 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; God loves to humble the proud, and he loves to lift up the humble. Why is that? What we find in the Scriptures is God’s purpose of glorifying himself above all. Isaiah 2:11 says, Isaiah 2:11 ESV 11 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. Did you catch that? The Lord “alone” will be exalted in that day. God’s work in casting down the proud is connected to him receiving glory alone. We worship a god who alone deserves glory and praise. He’s that big. Imagine for a moment the greatest being you can think of. Whatever you just thought of is way smaller than God. Here is Isaiah 6:1-3: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Every time we try to receive honor above others, we are communicating something to God: I belong on the throne. They are subtle attempts to redirect the glory that belongs to God to ourselves. In essence, the pursuit to glorify yourself is to be a “glory-thief..” This is why James 4:6 says, James 4:6 (ESV) 6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”[7] God only opposes the proud because they have already set themselves in opposition to himself. On the other hand, God loves to “give grace to the humble.” Or, as Jesus says, “he who humbles himself will be exalted.” The humble are those who do not seek glory, but who seek to give it away, to God and to others. God loves to exalt these people because their attitude toward him is right. The humble recognize that the honor and the glory rightly belong to God, and so they seek to offer it all up to him. In the Christian life, other people who are made in the image of God serve as place holders for a God we cannot see. To show them honor in the name of God is a way to show God honor. This is why a high regard for God will show up in a high regard for others. This is why the humble will treat others as more significant than themselves. God loves to show honor to such people because they are not trying to take glory from God. They don’t conceive of themselves as big and God as small, but God as big and themselves as small. And here is the great irony in it all: when we stop trying to seek glory for ourselves, and gladly give it up to God, he gladly shares his glory with us. The phrase from verse 10, “then you will be honored in the presence of all.” A more direct translation of those words are, “and it will be glory to you before all.” God loves to raise up and glorify those who are not trying to take glory from him but gladly give it to him. This leads us again to our main point this morning: The only way to receive glory is to give it away. What this means is that in the age to come, others will recognize you as valuable, important, and worthwhile, but never more than God, or apart from God, but only because of God. The glory you receive from God will also draw all attention back to God who gives it to you. So still your purpose will be to give God glory. I want to share a story about how truly beautiful it is when we give honor to others: George Whitefield and John Wesley were the two leaders of the first Great Awakening in the mid 1700’s. God used them to bring thousands upon thousands into his kingdom in the British Isles and America in a time of godlessness. During the course of their ministries, Whitefield and Wesley entered into conflict over some big points of theology. Wesley, especially, responded to Whitefield in uncharitable ways. Nevertheless, Wesley was the one who got to preach the message of Whitefield’s funeral. Here is where the story I want to share picks up (I first read this story in Dalimore’s biography of Whitefield): One day, after Whitefield's decease, John Wesley was timidly approached by one of the godly band of Christian sisters who had been brought under his influences and who loved both Whitefield and himself. "' Dear Mr. Wesley, may I ask you a question?' "' Yes, of course, madam, by all means.' "' But, dear Mr. Wesley, I am very much afraid what the answer will be.' "' Well, madam, let me hear your question, and then you will know my reply.' "At last, after not a little hesitation, the inquirer tremblingly asked, ' Dear Mr. Wesley, do you expect to see dear Mr. Whitefield in heaven?' "A lengthy pause followed, after which John Wesley replied with great seriousness, 'No, madam.' "His inquirer at once exclaimed, 'Ah, I was afraid you would say so.' "To which John Wesley added, with intense earnestness, ' Do not misunderstand me, madam; George Whitefield was so bright a star in the firmament of God's glory, and will stand so near the throne, that one like me, who am less than the least, will never catch a glimpse of him.'" It is a beautiful, beautiful thing when we defer honor to others instead of horde it for our selves. Wesley’s attitude of considering himself “less than the least” is something I want to strive for. Such acts of humbling oneself and showing honor to others are so beautiful because they reflect the greatest instance of this in history: Later in Luke, he records the following about the death of Christ, Luke 23:34-37 Luke 23:34–37 ESV 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 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!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” While Jesus was dying, they were mocking him, treating him without any honor at all. Yet, in that very moment he was seeking their forgiveness, and treating them as more significant than himself. This moment of Jesus serving sinners brought more glory and honor to God than any other. And this is why Jesus will receive the highest amount of glory in the age to come. Phil 2:9-11 Philippians 2:9–11 ESV 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. If you don’t know this Jesus yet, I invite you to talk to me or any member after the service. For those of us who do know him, God has called us into the same amazing pattern of life. In Jesus, we get to give glory away and to receive it back from God in greater measure. What I’m so blown away by is how this huge principle that God’s glory is above all gets worked out in things as ordinary as our relationships with one another and our neighbors. If we believe God is most glorious of all, we will treat people differently. It’s precisely living out these huge truths about God that will make our community feel supernatural. Where in the world can you find a place that where people truly seek to defer honor to others rather than take it for themselves? Our community will feel more heavenly if we embrace showing honor to others rather than seeking it ourselves. We will feel at home and unbelievers will want it to be their home. It’s a surprising and wonderful thing when you meet a group of people who are more curious to know about you than they are to impress you or ignore you. This is precisely the kind of place the gospel of Christ can turn this place into all the more. Church, to answer the question raised at the beginning, how can you legitimately receive glory in God’s kingdom? The answer is: The only way to receive glory is to give it away.
[1] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 543). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[2] Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Dropsy. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 643). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
[3] John MacArthur, Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble (gty.org).
[4] John MacArthur, Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble (gty.org).
[5] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 551). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[6] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Lk 14:7). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] John Macarthur drew my attention to this verse when I listened to his sermon: Humbling the Exalted--Exalting the Humble (gty.org)
Intro Special thank you to everyone who helped!! How will we begin our time here? We will preach Christ from the word. Revelation Luke 13:22 ESV 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. Luke makes clear here what we have repeated several weeks: Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. By this, Luke does not mean that the city itself is in focus as much as Jesus’s purpose in going to that city. His impending purpose to die for sin is in view. All of these passages (including today’s) aim steadily toward the cross and the cross will help us understand what Jesus is saying and doing. As he journeys, someone asks a question: Luke 13:23 ESV 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, Someone must have been listening carefully to Jesus’s teaching along this journey. As I have mentioned, Jesus’s teaching in these verses is very direct and convicting. As this man was listening, he came to a reasonable conclusion. Not all the Jewish nation would be saved. Many of God’s people among whom he lived had not submitted their lives to the Scriptures and the Lord. So he asks, “will those who are saved be few?” As usual, Jesus has a rich answer that goes far beyond the question that the man asked. Let’s take a look at that answer: Luke 13:24 ESV 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Jesus commands us to “strive” to enter the “narrow” door. People would use the word “strive” to describe the activity of an athlete competing for a prize: he’s exerting tremendous effort.[1] “Narrow” denotes a constricted entry way which may itself require effort to get through. It would not be wide enough for a group to pass through, but only individuals.[2] What is this “narrow door” that we are to strive to enter? The narrow door is the challenging, direct teaching of Jesus that we have been hearing week after week now. Almost every text has been a call to repentance, to make a complete surrender to Jesus as king above all others. The narrowness of this one door points us to the reality that this is an exclusive path. There is no other way to approach God but through Jesus and the word of Jesus. As I mentioned, this exclusive path is responding rightly to Jesus’s teaching. Jesus calls this the most essential thing earlier in this gospel.[3] Luke 10:39 ESV 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. Later Jesus says, Luke 10:41–42 ESV 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” In the time of Christ, they had their Old Testaments (which Jesus referenced often), and the very Words of Jesus that constituted this path to life. Today, we have this book, the Bible, that consists of Jesus’s Old Testament, his words while he walked on this Earth, and his Apostle’s teaching on his Words. In other words, we can sum up the narrow path on which Jesus is calling us to walk in one question: How are you responding to this book? How you are responding to the words of God will tell you everything you need to know about how you are responding to God himself. How much you weigh and care about what another has said or written clearly reveals your heart toward that person (and an attitude of apathy or uncaring towards the words of others reveals a low esteem of that person). Does the word “strive” describe your life of knowing and living according to this book? Having a genuine, living faith in Christ produces a desperation for his Word and a desire to live according to all it says. Christian, we have to strive to be in this book daily and strive to obey what God is calling us to obey in it. Have you grown lax in spending time in this book or doing what you know it says? What Jesus say is, “strive to enter through the narrow door.”
Now, I need to say a word about Christian striving. It’s a unique kind of striving that differs from worldly striving. Wordly striving struggles to obtain something it does not have. Christian striving acts out what is already the case. One picture we get of someone in the gospel of Luke of someone who is striving to enter by the narrow way is Mary (she’s doing the one necessary thing according to Jesus). And what is her posture? “She sat at the Lord’s feet.” That’s a strange way to strive isn’t it? To be at rest? And yet, that’s precisely when the person you are striving to relate to is Jesus. Jesus wants us to pursue him with intentional and real effort. It takes effort to spend time in the Bible and to put it into practice, and that’s a good thing. However, our striving does not come from a heart that’s anxious, unfulfilled, or uneasy. Why? Because the foundation of our relationship is not our striving to be with him. The foundation of our relationship with him is his life, death, and resurrection for us. That means before we ever start to strive, he accepts us. Before we ever start to struggle, he welcomes us. It’s the welcome of Jesus, it’s the free forgiveness from him that makes us want to know him more, that makes us want to strive to listen to his book and obey it. Truly receiving the welcome and forgiveness of Christ changes what we want the most and changes what we apply our effort to. The Christian life must be one of effort and striving, but it is never built on the foundation of trying to get into a relationship with God. It is always built on the finished work of Christ and that he has already received us into a relationship with him. This leads us to our main point this morning: Strive to listen to the one who’s already accepted you. (Like a son striving to know a Father) And if you are here and you have not fully surrendered to Jesus and trusted him this morning, he is willing to accept you right now if you come to him. Please don’t leave here without doing so. Jesus continues with his teaching, Luke 13:24–27 (ESV) 24 For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ Verse 24 has the word “for” in it, which in this case means, “because.” This is the reason we should strive so much to reach total surrender to the words of Jesus. Because many who seek to enter eternal life with God will not be able. Jesus tells us more in verse 25, “When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door,” There is a time where the door is shutting. The pathway that is open for salvation is only a temporary one. It will eventually close, either when your life ends or when Jesus returns. So, don’t plan on striving tomorrow, strive today. “and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’” Those who did not strive in this life will desire to enjoy eternal life with Jesus. Yet they will not be able to obtain it. Jesus will say, “I do not know where you have come from.” Jesus has knowledge of all things, so this is not a lack of awareness. So, he must be speaking of intimate knowledge that happens in a relationship. They lacked an intimate relationship with Jesus. If you lack intimate relationship with Jesus in this life, you will lack intimate relationship with Jesus in the next life too. Only those who know him now will get to know him forever. This often for me can look like overwhelming anxiety. What can keep me from the Word and from surrendering to Jesus is, “Jesus, I have too many things to worry about.” Rather than rising in the morning to surrender fully to Jesus, I spend time worrying about my finances, my relationships, my church, my health, whatever. Yet, at the end of the day, this failure to strive will devastate me if I don’t turn from it. Jesus uses the word, “strive” for a reason. It takes real conscious effort to put your bad habits, your idols, and your distractions to death to come and spend time with him, surrendering to every word he has said. Luke 13:26 ESV 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ This group that thought they were Christians, but were in fact not, bring up this objection: “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” Their claim is that they associated with Jesus and his followers. Their hope is that they have some form of innocence by association. I was around Jesus’s followers and Jesus’s teaching. Perhaps that describes you today. Your spiritual hope comes from church attendance and friendships with many Christians. It’s easy to think this way. There were points in my life where I have. Thinking that my church attendance and association with God’s people is what pleased God. Or perhaps, like these people, you could point to some good deeds you did or organization you were involved with. This things shows I’m a good person and must be right with God. However, it doesn’t work like that, Luke 13:27 ESV 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ Again, Jesus emphasizes, I am not looking for you to have familiarity with my followers, or a list of good deeds, but intimacy with me. He calls them “works of evil.” This is revealing. While there was an outward agreement with Christian principles, there was not a vigorous attempt to put sin to death and live in accordance with the word. The old lifestyle and habits lived on. One commentator made the point that the narrow door would only allow one person to enter at a time.[4] Friends, Jesus doesn’t save groups of people at the same time, he saves individuals who surrender to him in trust. He puts those individuals into a family, yet they only enter one at a time. Have you entered yet, just yourself, into a posture of total surrender and listening to Jesus, or are you banking on your association with other Christians? Luke 13:28 ESV 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. Jesus loves people, so he warns people about what is waiting for them if they won’t turn to him. The “weeping and gnashing of teeth” describe the misery of those who die apart from Jesus. There could be nothing worse than spending all of eternity under the judgement of God. And what adds to it is the awareness that they have of missing out on the kingdom of God. Luke says they can see “Abraham and Issac and Jacob.” I want to pause here and clarify: Christian, you have the most important job in the world. Why? Because it’s your job to keep this from happening to as many people as possible. That’s what we are still on this earth for. This is another reason we have to strive to enter the narrow gate, because if we don’t, we won’t be able to call other people to do the same. Friends, we cannot give away what we don’t possess. Just think about it, if someone was drowning and you jumped in to help them but didn’t know how to swim, how would that go? When we strive to enter, we do not only do so for the sake of our own souls, but for the sake of others as well, Then Jesus says, Luke 13:29 ESV 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. He’s a twist in Jesus’s teaching. His primary audience is the Jewish people here. Many of them wrongly thought that their ethnic heritage and religious lifestyle put them in a right relationship with God (innocence by association). However, Jesus just got done teaching that each of them individually must enter by the narrow door, no one, Jew or Gentile, would be saved if they cameto Jesus without striving. No one is born a Christian; all must become Christians. Therefore, many Jews who thought they were in a right relationship with God would be lost. On the other hand, an unexpected group of people would find life instead. The nations who surround Israel, who come from “East and West, and North and South,” who come from pagan cultures, would recline at table in the kingdom of God. Jesus makes this offer to strive to everyone and anyone who hears the gospel. There is no prerequisite to become his child other than complete surrender and trust. As a result, the make-up of heaven would shock an ancient Israelite, who would suspect that mostly Jews would be in the kingdom of God. Still today, God loves to save those far from him and those we don’t expect him to. Christian when you reach heaven, you will be surprised at which people you will find there. What’s the point? Never give up on anyone and never withhold the gospel from anyone because you don’t think they will respond. Jesus loves to upset human expectations. He says as much in the next verse, Luke 13:30 ESV 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” The man comes up to Jesus and asks him, “will those who are saved be few.” Jesus’s answer to that question does not seem to be “yes” or “no.” Instead, his answer seems to be, “are you saved”?[5] Jesus isn’t worried if you come from a religious background, if you’ve lived a pretty good life or not, but whether or not you’ve surrendered to Jesus in trust today. Luke 13:31 ESV 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” Verse 31 starts with “at that very same hour.” The Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders, don’t like this message very much. That’s not hard to understand why. Jesus just got done saying that many Jews would be lost while those from all kinds of nations would come to life. So, they try to intimidate Jesus and drive him away from his ministry with fear.[6] They say, “Herod wants to kill you.” Which, he probably did. But Jesus refused to bow to intimidation. He has a powerful response: Luke 13:32 ESV 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Jesus responds by calling Herod a “fox.” It’s an apt description. Herod is a cunning killer, much like a fox. He’s already responsible for the death of John the Baptist in this gospel. Yet, Jesus does not fear his ability to kill him. Jesus says in effect, I have a short time allotted to me to fulfill my ministry and then I will die and rise again. Until I fulfill my purpose, you can’t harm me. Similarly church, no one else can kill you or severely hurt you until you finish your purpose from God. If your still breathing, it’s because he still has work for you to do and will protect you until it’s done. You could die for being a Christian, but not before God says its time. Then Jesus says, Luke 13:33 ESV 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ Jesus then focuses his death, which will happen, not because it’s Herod’s plan but because it’s God’s plan. He mentions that his death place will be in Jerusalem, in line with the long line of prophets that had come from God and the Jewish people have killed. Again, he points out that the Jewish people have a history of rejecting God and his message, not of being in a right relationship with him. Again, he makes clear, it’s not those who have a religious past or religious lineage, but those who have truly surrendered who are his own. Then Jesus says, Luke 13:34 ESV 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Jesus now expresses his heart to us in relationship to the lost. He says the name of Jerusalem twice as an expression of deep sadness over the city.[7] Then, he describes his desire to protect and nurture them with the beautiful image of a hen spreading her wings over her children. What was the problem? The Jewish people were not willing. Their hearts stubbornly refused to come to the place of surrender to Jesus. Even right now, Jesus’s will is not against anyone here or anyone in this neighborhood: it’s us who set our wills against him when we refuse his offer to come to him and live. These verses that reveal the heart of Christ should characterize our own hearts for this neighborhood as we begin church life here. Powderhorn MC got to walk around the neighborhood on Wednesday evening. We met several lovely people; I was blown away by how welcoming they were. And yet, as in the case in much of America today, it’s likely that most of them still need to come to Jesus. The godly response to their condition is not indifference, or a sense of superiority, but sorrow. Has God cultivated in your heart yet a sorrow for the lost? I want to encourage us to have a heart for these people who live around this particular building as folks God has placed near our place of worship. That gives us an extra responsibility for their souls. At the very least, I encourage us not to rush in and out of this building on Sundays, but to take our time and to be willing to greet, converse with, and minister to those from the neighborhood we meet. Part of the reason I’m striving to enter the narrow way, fighting to be close to Jesus, is so that when I interact with them, they are experiencing what Jesus is like. As we move into this neighborhood and begin to worship here, should we be joyful or sorrowful? The answer is “yes.” Our hope that we know Jesus and will forever should create a wellspring of hope and joy in our hearts. The fact that so many others don’t yet should lead to sorrow for them. And the combination should be a bitter-sweetness about us where we are both filled with joy and sorrow all together. I imagine that’s what Jesus was like and our emotional life should reflect as well. Luke 13:35 ESV 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” “Your house is forsaken.” Jesus describes the true emptiness of a city or a person who lives apart from him, no matter how happy or prosperous they might seem. “I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” No person or city will get Jesus unless they want Jesus. That’s true for Jerusalem and that’s true for Corcoron. Church the only way we can help others want Jesus is to enjoy him so much that they want him also.
[1] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 1, p. 376). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
[2] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 942). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[3] I believe this thought was inspired by a thought in this commentary: Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 113). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 942). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[5] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1241). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
[6] John Calvin, John Calvin: Commentary on Matthew, Mark, Luke - Volume 2 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org).
[7] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
Ross Tenneson Luke 13:10-21
The Most Remarkable Thing a Christian Can Do Heading 1 I grew up in a church just a few miles south of here in East Bloomington. Just about nothing in my life has made an great of an impact for good in my life as this church that loved me well. And yet, when I go to visit it now in my adulthood, I can’t help but notice how ordinary it feels. The people feel unremarkable, the building feels a little old, and everything considered there’s not much that’s very impressive about it (at least by worldly standards). This feels similar to my life following Jesus. There’s nothing more important to me than being with Jesus and obeying him. Yet, my life of following him often feels so unremarkable. It feels ordinary and unspectacular. The ordinary things I do as a Christian don’t cause me to stand out in a special way. Does anyone else feel that? Does anyone wonder why the church and the Christian life through which God is working to redeem his world, feel unremarkable many days? This is actually part of God’s design for his people and for his church as we will see in this text. Let’s take a look: Revelation Luke 13:10 ESV 10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. On this journey to Jerusalem, it seems as if Jesus stops one Sunday in a town he is passing through to speak at one of their synagogues (which is like a “church” before Jesus’s death and resurrection). Jesus has taught in synagogues on the Sabbath before (Luke 4). When he has done so, he has consistently provoked conflict with the religious authorities in Israel. This will be no exception. When we hear the words “he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,” we should think, “get ready conflict.” It’s not a conflict that Jesus baits others into. He simply minister with steadfastness and truth and his spiritual enemies retaliate. The conflict starts after a sudden development, Luke 13:11 ESV 11 And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. One of the people at this synagogue was a woman with a disability. Luke says she had a “disabling spirit:” that is, an evil spirit caused her disability. It sounds like there was some Spirit producing a disability in this woman. Not all physical disability and sickness comes from evil spiritual power (in fact probably a lot doesn’t), but it can, as is the case here. Wherever her disability or anyone else’s disability comes from, it always points to the universal spiritual disability all of humanity has and our need for Jesus. Her greatest need is to for Jesus as is ours. And whenever you meet someone else who has a disability, we can’t presume to know the cause (whether it’s a spirit or not), but we can know for certain that they need Jesus. Jesus is going to show up big time in this story as a rescuer for this oppressed woman and her synagogue: Luke 13:12 ESV 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” I love how this verse begins: “when Jesus saw her.” Our Lord noticed her suffering. Our Lord sees the weak and the needy. Her eighteen years of suffering did not escape his notice. The people she lived around may have stopped noticing her; her family and friends may have found her insignificant; Jesus did not. Are you ever tempted to believe Jesus isn’t aware or doesn’t care about your pain? He sees you just the same as this woman. Your suffering is on his mind. He became a man, a human being, so that he could sympathize with our weakness and pain and ultimately take it away. Your pain is important to him, and he will end it one day forever. Our pain, at it’s very worst, is only temporary. It is not permanent. Sooner or later he is going to say to you and me what he said to this woman: “You are freed;” “You are freed.” Let’s take a look at that phrase a little close: he says, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” Why does Jesus use the word “freed”? Why not “healed” or “restored”? Answer: because the emphasis in this passage is on Jesus releasing people from the influence and power of his enemy, Satan. We know this because Jesus says in Luke 13:16 that he’s releasing her from the bond of Satan. Satan has worked in history and continues presently to bring pain, destruction, and death. Jesus is working to bring about the opposite: healing and life. Here we see a picture of what he has come to do and will do. As long as we live in this world, all of the Christian life is done in conflict with the kingdom of darkness: preaching the gospel, doing acts of love, and praying for healing and deliverance for others are all acts against the evil one and his power. Luke 13:13 ESV 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. This constant struggle and battle we find ourselves in would be discouraging were it not for one fact: We are on the decisively winning side. There’s actually no conflict. Jesus exercises his authority, and he wins. He says a word, he touches her, and she stands up strait, worshipping her God. What a sweet picture of the kingdom of God: the sick and weak encountering Jesus, experiencing his healing, and worshipping him. This act of healing and deliverence is going to rub someone the wrong way whose highest allegiance was not to the God of Israel and his purpose to heal and save through Jesus: Luke 13:14 ESV 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” The opposition to this beautiful work of Jesus comes from a surprising source: the leader of the synagogue. Who more should rejoice that a work of God happened before their eyes? Yet, he shows us that having a religious appearance or position does not ultimately matter: it’s only having a heart that has changed to know and love Jesus. As religious as he seemed, his old, worldly heart aligned with Satan and stood opposed to the purposes of Christ. What was his complaint? Jesus had healed on the “Sabbath.” This is a strange complaint from our point of view. The Sabbath day, as he explains, is the seventh day on the calendar on which God commanded his people to rest in the Old Testament. For Jesus to heal on the Sabbath does not actually break any Old Testament law from God. It only breaks Jewish laws meant to protect the Sabbath.[1] In other words, to prevent anyone from breaking the Sabbath law, they created extra laws around the Sabbath to make sure no one broke it. Yet, you can’t change hearts with extra rules. This man might have never broken the Sabbath law, but he didn’t love God. Rather, it seems he loved the laws his people had come up with more than God since when Jesus broke those rules, he became angry. Jesus healing on this day was apparently conflicting with an idol he had in his heart of perfect rule keeping (that surpassed in his heart the importance of relationship with God). Pay attention to what makes you excessively angry church, it’s a good sign there is idolatry in your heart and something is exposing it. This leader demonstrates how greatly idolatry devastates our hearts. What was his reaction to Jesus healing a poor woman who had suffered for eighteen years? Anger.[2] It’s almost unthinkable. Yet, idolatry distorts our hearts so that we respond with hostility toward God instead of worship. Ironically, it wasn’t the woman who is the most disabled one in this story. It’s the leader whose heart was bent the wrong direction and couldn’t love God.[3] Jesus is going to point out this heart defect now, Luke 13:15–16 ESV 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” “Hypocrites” is the word Jesus uses to describe his opponents who are spiritual in name only, and actually thoroughly worldly. He reveals their hypocrisy by pointing to the way they handle their animals. Even on the Sabbath, they “untie” their animals so that they can drink water. Pastor Daniel was going to preach on this text this weekend before baby came earlier this week. One thing he pointed out was that the word “untie,” is essentially the same word that Jesus uses earlier when he says, “you are freed.” Let’s get this strait, they untie (or “free”) their cattle to drink water on the Sabbath, but when Jesus “frees” a woman on the Sabbath and she worships God, they’re angry. He’s concerned his animals get drink, but not as concerned that this woman who is a part of the people of God receives healing. And as Jesus says, there is no more appropriate day for her to receive healing than on the Sabbath. It’s a day of rest that looks back to the rest God enjoyed with Adam and Eve before the fall and the rest all his people will enjoy with him forever in the new creation. This healing, that looks forward to ultimate Sabbath should absolutely take place on the Sabbath day. How far his heart has sunk! He treats animals with more dignity and respect on the Sabbath than people. Friends, sin and Satan distort our heart in awful ways, and how good it is when Jesus comes and does battle on our behalf to rescue us. Apart from Christ, we remain bound and do not love what we ought to love. Now, Jesus has defeated his enemies twice in this passage. First he released the woman from the oppression of Satan, and then he overcame the synagogue leader whose heart was similarly opposed to God. Luke 13:17 ESV 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him. One day, whether now or later, Jesus will expose the shameful evil of all who oppose him. What’s not as clear now will be clear one day. What’s wrong will clearly become visible as wrong, and what’s right and godly will clearly appear as Godly before the eyes of all. As Jesus puts his enemies to shame by exposing their hypocrisy, the people rejoice. One way Jesus came to bring joy to his people, and to our hearts, is by defeating his enemies who oppose him and oppose us. Now I want us to focus our remaining time on what Jesus says next: Luke 13:18 ESV 18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It says, “he said therefore.” Whenever you see a “therefore” ask “what’s the ‘therefore’ there for?” It’s a connecting word that shows that the reason he going to say what comes next is what just came before. In other words, this incident where he heals this woman leads him to give this teaching about his kingdom. His kingdom is the alternative society to this world. It consists of God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule. In our case, it is a kingdom in the process of arriving rather than one that is fully here. God is already ruling, but we are awaiting the place where we will live with him, and his rule is not yet complete, but increasing day by day in our hearts. One day his rule will be complete, the new creation will arrive, and God’s kindom will be fully present. In the meantime, it is emerging bit by bit. And, Jesus wants to use this as an opportunity to teach about what this kingdom is like and what its people are like: Luke 13:19 ESV 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” Jesus says his kingdom is like one little mustard seed. Without knowing how seeds work, who would ever think that something so small could possibly become so large? That this little seed, that a bird would likely eat, would become a tree so large that him and his whole family could come and make a nest in it. What is Jesus’s point? That God’s people, who often have such unremarkable beginnings, have such glorious purposes. I want to apply this point to four different people/groups of people: (1) The woman in this story is exhibit A in this teaching. She had a “small beginning.” Sadly, people likely treated her with dismissal or apathy. It’s how we humans tend to respond to the weak and disabled often (though we shouldn’t). And yet, she’s the one who catches Jesus’s attention, she’s the one he calls “daughter of Abraham,” and she’s the one he exercises his power on behalf of to heal. The healing she received in that moment was only a preview of the complete healing and glorification that was already on the way for her in the resurrection. Though she seemed weak and insignificant in this synagogue, the woman she was on the way to becoming in the new creation is beyond imagining, someone the leader of the synagogue and all of us would gasp at if we saw her in her new creation body. She is a mustard seed. At the present she was seemingly unremarkable; she’s on the process of becoming someone astonishing. Satan’s intention was to keep her bound and not let her experience release on this Sabbath, but he could not prevent the unstoppable purpose of God for her. (2) Jesus is the ultimate mustard seed. Here’s how one church father puts it: “Born a man, he was humbled like a seed and in ascending to heaven was exalted like a tree” (2). The prophet Isaiah refers to Jesus as being a seemingly unremarkable person, having “no form or majesty that we should look at him” (Isa 53:3). He grew up in obscurity, worked a menial job, and eventually had a short time as an itinerant minister that ended in his execution. This is not the life story any child dreams of having when they grow up. At the end of it, even his own disciples scattered and hid themselves. And yet, despite his less than ideal life, viewing him from the other side of his execution, we can see that his life was the greatest and we will continue to worship him without end. His death that threatened to mark him as: “insignificant,” “failure,” “reject,” is the very moment we focus on more than any in our worship. How can that be? Because his death that had no significance in the eyes of the world had the most significance in the eyes of his Father. He was fulfilling his Father’s plan to rescue his human family from sin and death. Though the world thought him foolish as he hung there, his Father could not have been more pleased. The moment Jesus more than ever becomes the tree from this parable is the moment he hangs on one for the sins of the world. Who would have thought that a seed would grow to become a home to other living things? And who would have thought that a man dying on a tree would become the source of life to countless people? That’s the wonder of our God. (3) We all become mustard seeds in our oneness with Jesus. To trust Jesus is to become connected to him and for your life pattern to reflect the pattern from his life. Jesus unexpectedly brought life to others and his plan is that you would do the same. I mentioned earlier how from one perspective Christ’s life seems unremarkable in the eyes of the world. I would venture to say that this description applies to the majority of the members of our church. Not many of us are rich, famous, or powerful. I believe that some of us struggle with this reality. We would like to be more successful, more important, more spectacular than we have turned out to be. Does this describe you at all? I know I have struggled with this disappointment at times in my life, wishing I was more reckognized and more praised by more people. And yet, according to these verses about the kingdom of God, what God is doing to us and through something far grander than any famous person in the world is doing. Just consider for a moment: “I rose fast at my job and stayed at the top for a few decades,” or “I wrote a song that lots of people really liked.” These accomplishments pale in comparison to what’s true of us in Christ: “I was dead in my sin and had a spiritual resurrection. Now I am in an unending relationship with person who runs the world. And until I go to be with him, I have become a messenger of the everlasting gospel he uses to bring other people to life and destroy the kingdom of Satan.” It’s true that one day we will all have more glorious and elevated positions in God’s kingdom than we could dream of here on Earth. Yet, church, where I want to focus on today is the wonder of what God is already doing in ordinary-feeling things. Our life still feels and appears seed-like according to worldly standards. Yet, when we view the ordinary Christian life from heaven’s perspective one day, we will see that our obedience to Jesus and love for others actually has a tree-like effect and significance. (I can’t believe I’m doing this again). There was an excellent movie that came out when I was in middle school. Russell Crow plays general Maximus, a leader of men, in the the movie Gladiator. His most striking line was: “What we do in life will echo in eternity.” Now church, the kinds of things that echo in eternity are not remarkable earthly accomplishments, but the ordinary Christian life worked out for the everlasting good of others. When you are sitting at table fellowship with Jesus in the kingdom of God, across the table from fellow saints you served and helped them reach heaven or told about Jesus and brought them to Christ, what will feel significant then? This brings me to my main point this evening: the most remarkable thing you could ever do is live the ordinary Christian life well. If you are letting some other pursuit get in the way of being an exemplary, ordinary Christian, I encourage you to let it go tonight and spend the majority your available time doing the basic things with all your heart: read the Scriptures, pray, go to church, and love your neighbors. If you are wanting to know what you should do when you walk away from this sermon, just do the ordinary, basic things in Christianity with all your heart. (4) The church itself is a mustard seed. In the beginning of Acts, the church had the smallest of beginnings. It consisted of just a small group of men who had fled from their master after his execution. Yet, in a handful of generations, the church had grown so much that it became the dominant religion in a pagan empire that despised it. How was this accomplished? Through ordinary people living the ordinary Christian life well. They didn’t grow by becoming the richest, most famous, or most wealthy people. They grew by taking the sick and dying into their homes when the plagues broke out and the wealthy and elite fled from the city. When other fled from the sick and dying, they went towards them, and the world has never been the same. Individual churches (like our own) will often have this same pattern. We had a “small beginning.” There was no news stories, no public recognition, no big budgets. Just nineteen people taking the Lord’s supper in the Choi’s backyard. And though it’s not obvious, the things God has already accomplished here are enormous: including the salvation of people who will now be with God forever. And although our church still feels small and unremarkable by worldly standards, I believe the Lord has big plans for us. I believe the Lord wants to use us (in conjunction with the like-minded churches around us) to transform the spiritual climate of South Minneapolis in the next few decades. This won’t happen by us becoming rich, famous, or powerful, but by following Jesus in everyday life with all our hearts. There won’t likely be much applause or recognition on this side of eternity, but there will be transformed lives and hearts that will remain forever. To accomplish something truly extraordinary as a church, we have to stop pursing being extraordinary ourselves and give our lives to a mission bigger than us. I want this to be on our hearts as we move to a new worship space: how can we double down on living the ordinary Christian life well? And if your participation here feels small or insignificant, that is a lie. The church thrives when unimpressive people in the eyes of the world meet Jesus and become in instrument to help others. Jesus next asks, Luke 13:20 ESV 20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? Jesus asks the same question to show that he is giving an alternative perspective on the same topic: Luke 13:21 ESV 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” Now Jesus uses the imagery of leaven, but he means the same thing as the mustard seed: something small and unexpected grows to enormous proportions. The little bit of leaven permeates an entire loaf of bread. The church, which feels so unremarkable, is in the process of continuing to spread through the whole world and include people from every tribe, tongue, and nation on earth. This brings us back to the question we asked at the beginning: “Why does the christian life and the church often feel so unremarkable?” I want to conclude by answering why God seems to prefer working among those who seem ordinary and unremarkable? Why is this the case? Because when he works in ordinary people, it clarifies that the power on our lives from from God and not from us. If God preferred the rich and powerful, it would seem as if their own power was the source of their success. But when God uses All Peoples Church and the people in this room, there’s no question where our power is coming from. Being ordinary seeming people makes us more useful to God because at the end of the day, he and he alone will get all of the credit for everything he accomplishes through us.
[1] Williams, D. T. (1989). The Sabbath: Mark of Distinction. Themelios, 14(3), 97.
[2] Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.
[3] Just, A. A. (Ed.). (2005). Luke (p. 226). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Ross Tenneson preaches from Luke 13:1-9.
You Have to Die If You Want to Live Connection/Tension We are still in the heart of Jesus’s teaching and ministry as he ventures toward Jerusalem. This text serves as a climax to the teaching Jesus has been giving the last few weeks, warning people to prepare for his second coming and judgement.[1] These texts right here in the middle of Luke have been pretty weighty haven’t they? Jesus teaches with such weight and gravity because the stakes are so high for each one of us. Our response to God in this life will reverberate for eternity. So, Jesus is direct and clear because the situation calls for it. Jesus talks about repentance in this story which is something as Christians we are all eager to do. Yet, it’s easier said than done. Repentance is something we all want to do, but struggle to follow through with. I had an addition to inappropriate content on the internet, and it took me almost a decade to repent from that. One question I want to ask this evening is: how can we repent when it’s hard? (When it feels like our sin has a fish hook in our mouths). Jesus is going to call us to repentance in this passage and teach us more about what it is in a parable he teaches. Along the way, he will give us power to do what we all want to do more of but struggle. Let’s jump into our passage, Heading 1 Revelation Luke 13:1 ESV 1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus is in the midst of speaking with crowds of people about his return, the final judgement, and the need every person has to get right with him. As people so often do, they bring up an unrelated topic from what Jesus was talking about. Apparently, it was what was on their minds, so they share it with Jesus. What did they share with Jesus? A tragedy had happened in Jerusalem recently. Some Galileans, people from Jesus’s hometown, had made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices.[2] This would have been a great moment in their lives as they got to see the temple and approach God’s dwelling place on Earth. Perhaps they had been anticipating this moment for many years. Instead of making their sacrifice, they die barbarically at the hands of Pontius Pilate, the Gentile governor over Jerusalem. He kills them and mixes their blood with the blood of their sacrifice, a desecration of God’s altar. Their persecution and the desecration of the altar recalls the treatment of the Jews in Daniel and his prophecies about how the nations would mistreat God’s people. It makes sense that this atrocity would be on people’s minds. Perhaps it’s somewhat similar to the way the calamity in Afghanistan had been on some of our minds this week. They come to Jesus and they want to get his take on it. We won’t know whether they are horrified and trying to grasp what had happened or trying to get Jesus to comment on a contemporary political event out of curiosity. Yet, how he does respond must have been very surprising: Luke 13:2 ESV 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? Instead of giving them the answer they were expecting, he addresses a misunderstanding on their part. He poses this question to confront their wrong thinking. That’s a weighty question. In other words, “do you think the reason those people died and others still live is because they were worse sinners than others.” Such an opinion reflected the common understandings of the day.[3] People tended to attribute suffering and misfortune to people getting what they deserve from God. Job’s friends and the way they assumed he had especially sinned because he especially suffered reflect this attitude. Thankfully, not many of us think as explicitly in this manner any more. Few of us would assume that the suffering in Afghanistan or elsewhere is because of specific sins that those people committed. However, I don’t think we should be so certain that this attitude doesn’t linger on in us. While we would be slow to think such a thought about others, I believe it’s our instinct to think in this manner about ourselves. In other words, when my life is going well and my circumstances are good, my God loves me and is nearer to me. On the other hand, when my life is falling apart and my circumstances are poor, God must not love me and is far from me. The error is trying to draw a line of interpretation between a particular event of suffering and God’s heart toward a particular person (or yourself). Here is Jesus’s warning against that. The way he asks his question sets us up for the rebuke he is about to give. I believe human thinking gravitates in this direction because we like to think we control our own fate. We like to think that by our goodness or wickedness we can get God to respond to us in a certain way. Hence, when things go well for us, we tend to conclude God is for us. When they go poorly, we tend to conclude God is not for us. And every time we think in this manner, we are in error. We must not think we can determine the hidden wisdom of God, or the ultimate plan of God, or the true heart of God from individual events in our lives. We simply don’t have the perspective or the wisdom he has. We won’t understand all of the facets of God’s mysterious plan while we are in this life. Next, Jesus provides the answer to his question, providing a true and better interpretation of these events: Luke 13:3 ESV 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. With emphasis, Jesus answers his question: “no!” He interprets this event far differently than commenting on the individual lives of those who perished. Instead, he says, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” In other words, the fate of those who died was not informing us about their own sinfulness. It was a reminder to usof all of our sinfulness. The biblical view since that fall of Adam is not that humanity is in two categories: good and bad . Rather, the teaching of the Bible is that since the fall of Adam, all of humanity is in one category: sinners in need of a savior. Jesus then gives another example to further clarify his point: Luke 13:4 ESV 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? The first example was intentional evil committed by a human against others. In Jesus’s second example, he includes random accidents that also result in suffering and death. Such an event would seem even more to be an act of God since it happened without any intentional human actor. Certainly, here, the deaths of those who died in the collapsing tower, these ones deserved to die more than those who remained alive. Again, Jesus strongly denies this thinking, Luke 13:5 ESV 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” These judgments are not pointing out the particular sinfulness of those who perish in them. Rather, they are pointing to the final judgement where we all will perish unless we repent. Last year, Tom Schreiner (a prominent Bible professor) was commenting on the Coronavirus and what it teaches us about God. Here is what he had to say: “All temporal judgments are meant to direct our attention to final judgement.” The mini-judgments that we see in the world today are not random events. They are warning alarms, they are storm sirens meant to wake us up to the reality of divine judgement. We tend to question the goodness of God when we see these events (“how could a good God let that happen?”). However, we should be marveling at God’s goodness that the vast majority of humanity, who deserve judgement today, are instead receiving time to repent. And the judgments that happen around us are not the random acts of an uncaring God, but his strongest urging to his creation to turn from their sin and live. The fact that God caused the sun to rise today on so many people who don’t care about him or love him and that He has given them a fresh opportunity to repent is a wonderful miracle. What is one way repent when you are struggling? Remember that final judgement is coming and only repentance delivers us from it. I want to drill deeper into this word “repentance.” That’s one of the most important words you will ever hear. With it, you will live forever with God. Without it, you will die apart from him. If there’s anything I want to do in my life, it’s this: to repent. What does it mean to “repent”? To repent is “to turn” from your old way of living. From pursuing your idols and your sin to pursuing God. It’s a renewal at the level of your heart in which you completely surrender to God and give him all of your allegiance. When you repent, you dethrone whatever was your God, and God instead sits on the throne of your heart. Repentance is radical change within from being against God to being for God. There’s nothing sweeter, nothing harder, and nothing better than repenting. You might be wondering where “faith” appears in this passage since the Bible so clearly teaches that faith alone is necessary to be right with God. Very simply: true faith and true repentance are inseparable. That’s because repentance requires trust. To repent before God is to come before him completely vulnerable and completely surrendered. You could never bow down and offer yourself to someone you thought would harm you rather than receive you. You would only keep running and fleeing from him (or fighting against him). However, when you believe he’s good and he alone can help and rescue you, then you come to him in allegiance and surrender. This is why the gospel is necessary for repentance. Friends, Jesus lived and died in our place so that God would freely and joyfully forgive and welcome us. If Jesus did not die on the cross, then we couldn’t trust God to forgive us, to welcome us, to restore us. The fact that we can repent, and that there is a good God who will receive our repentance, is owing to nothing less than the blood of Christ. Repentance, the turning away from our sin to God, is the only way we can escape death and live forever with God. All other alternatives, all other attempts at preserving your soul will fail. All human attempts at saving ourselves are futile. There’s a movie series that used to be a big deal in the 80’s starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator. There’s a famous line from the second movie. Arnold comes to rescue Sarah Connor as her deadly nemesis is closing in. Can anyone remember what that line is? “Come with me if you want to live.” Jesus is making as exclusive, as radical of an offer to any who will listen to his voice today, “Come with me if you want to live.” Every other and all other remedies will fail. I have two questions to ask you before we move onto the next portion of this passage: (1) If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, will you repent? Will you do the most radical thing of your life and completely surrender to Jesus? (2) If you are already a follower of Jesus, have you repented yet today? Repentance is what keeps Christianity from being sterile religion and turns it intoa rich relationship with God. The deep level of vulnerability we are talking about here to a person you trust is the essence of what forms an intimate relationship. Is it any mystery that God seems further off when we give in to sin? It’s not him who’s withdrawing church, it’s us. And the answer is to repent. Next, Jesus transitions into a parable that further illuminates what he means by repentance and what repentance means for us, Luke 13:6–7 ESV 6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ Why does Jesus start telling this parable about fruit right after he warns his audience to repent? The gospel of Luke connects repentance and the image of fruit together. Luke 3:8 (ESV) 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. What does the image of fruit teach us about repentance? Fruit on a tree is the outward evidence of a tree with a healthy root. Healthy trees produce healthy fruit. If repentance is the renewing of the root, the changing of the inner person to trust Christ and flee from sin, then the fruit is the outward changes in behavior and lifestyle that go with real repentance. You cannot change your allegiance and not change your actions. Your ultimate allegiances determine your actions, so changing from surrendering to sin to surrendering to Christ will always produce new ways of life to replace old ones. And fruit equals life, right? Fruit comes from life and sustains life in others. Repentance replaces death with life. We can tend to focus almost exclusively on repentance as putting sin to death and think of it as something unpleasant. However, that’s only part of repentance. It’s also the transforming of behaviors that bring death into behaviors that bring life. Through repentance we become new creations who bring life to others rather than death. A few of us are reading through Rosaria Butterfield’s book The Gospel Comes with a House Key. She did the best of anyone I know of of illustrating this point, “Paul knows how deep real repentance goes- how it undoes a sinner and remakes him, and how it leave him raw, vulnerable, and transparent. I imagine Paul— years after the Lord had made him an apostle, years after his days of slaughtering Christians for religious zeal— breaking bread with a fellow believer and recognizing something in the shape of an eye, the turning up of a nose, the tone of a laugh or cry. I also imagine the horror that could have seized him, stopped him, made him gasp for breath. I can feel the recognition: that eye, that nose, that voice, so similar to someone he had murdered. Paul may have found himself at table fellowship with the children of a faithful mother he had killed in his Pharisaical zeal. Repentance changes everything. Through it, you become something you could never imagine.” (p. 133-134). Repentance isn’t just about stopping sin (though it is that), it’s just as much about you transforming into a new person who brings life to those around you like God brings life to you. (Like a thief who follows Christ and enjoys giving things to others rather than taking them). Each time you repent, you are actually experiencing a death and resurrection. Your old allegiances, your old desires, and your old self-reliance is dying and what’s coming to life in its place are new allegiances, new affections, and a new dependence on God. Repentance is threatening, scary, and hard because it requires us to kill the idols we were trusting in. But what it brings into being within us is utterly worth it. This brings us to our main point this evening: We have to die in order to live. Repentance is both a death and a resurrection. Our old self and our old agenda dies, and our new self and God’s agenda replaces it. So few people repent because no one wants to die to themselves. Yet, we have to die in order to live. If more of God and more of Christ is at the other end of repenting, isn’t it worth doing at every opportunity, Church? No matter how much it costs? A second second way to repent when it feels hard to repent, ask yourself if you want Jesus or your sin more? Don’t repent just because it’s something you have to do. Repent because there’s something (or someone) on the other side you want more than your sin, namely Christ. So, I want to ask us: Where in your life do you need to repent? What needs to die so that fresh life can replace it? For me, one area of repentance I need to walk in is turning from time wasting. It’s so easy for me to get lost on the internet or social media. It’s so easy for me to find some show or game to fill my time. Those things are not wrong in moderation, but when they become habitual and mindless, they are bringing death to my relationship with God and keep me from bringing life to others. I have less time to pray, less time to evangelize, less time to serve. My margin disappears and so does the power that rests upon my life. One sin that I urge us to repent of today are time-wasteing habits that have an inordinate control over my time and life. Getting back to the parable, we have to weight Jesus’s words. He is talking about cutting down the tree that fails to bear fruit. Once again, Jesus is warning these crowds about the disastrous consequences of failing to repent. The man commands the vinedresser to cut the tree down because it failed to bear fruit. These words require me to be blunt: is there sin in your life you are coddling and refusing to put to death? To be clear, if you are not committing a sin less and less as time goes on, but continuing to walk in it habitually, you are not repenting (your allegiance hasn’t actually changed). Repentance is an inward change of allegiance that results in outward change (not merely feeling sorrowful or regretful). Since the consequences of not repenting are so high, I urge you: repent. Do not leave this room this evening without repenting. This could be the last chance you have. The only decision we will ever regret for all of eternity is not repenting. So, please, don’t fail to do this all important thing. These verses in the parable highlight the severity of our Lord in punishing sin. The next verses in this parable will highlight his mercy in restraining his punishment for now, Luke 13:8–9 ESV 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ” The point of this development in the parable is to illustrate the mercy of God, which is sweeter than anything we’ve ever heard of when it’s placed against the backdrop of the justice and wrath of God. The mercy of God is the sweetest and only hope we have. Here we see the mercy of God expressed in the patience of God in withholding the judgement of God.[4] The vinedresser asks for another year to dig around the tree and put fertilizer around it. The patience of God is in withholding judgement that people deserve today so they have an opportunity to repent. Meanwhile, God supplies what’s necessary to repent: the preaching of the word, and conviction of his Spirit, and displays of his kindness in everyday life to draw sinners to himself. If you are still dead in your sins and have not repented, the reason you woke up today and enjoyed life-sustaining food and pleasant weather is not because you have no need of repentance and things are right between you and God. It is because God is giving you yet another opportunity to repent and become his child so you don’t have to experience the same judgement you and I both deserve. Please don’t misinterpret God’s kindness. We live in a world that mixes together blessing and curse, safety and disaster, and it is all serving as a giant invitation to come to the Lord and be right with him before it’s too late. Notice that his patience has an expiration date. After that year passes, he commands the vinedresser to cut down that tree if it will not bear fruit. So, when you die, or when Jesus comes back, which could come at any moment, there will be no more opportunities to repent. Since this evening could be your last chance, don’t hesitate any longer: come talk to me or to any of our members afterward. Jesus is eager to receive you. He’s happy to save you. He died so that you could come to him and receive free forgiveness, so please don’t think this is not something he wants to do. The only reason someone would have to spend eternity without God is not because God refused to open his hand toward us, but because we refuse to take it. So, repent.
[1] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 513). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[2] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 514). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[3] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Lk 13:2). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke: 9:51–24:53 (Vol. 2, p. 1209). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Pastor Ross Tenneson preaches from Luke 12:49-59.
Jesus came to bring division Connection One hard part of following Jesus is that all of us will lose relationships or some relationship we had will suffer as a result. Among the different costs there are to follow Jesus, a relational cost is one of them. I had a friend since second grade and we regularly hung out until about four or five years ago. I didn’t have many friends in High School and this is like one of the few guys I bonded with deeply. After college, we even took trips to Florida together to see his mom. Yet, as I pursued seminary and ministry, he pursued card games, board games, and role playing games as his ultimate focus. There’s nothing wrong with those interests, but there was a tension in our relationship because those things were the most important to him rather than the Lord. A few years ago I reached out to him to see if he wanted to get together to celebrate graduating High School ten years earlier. I never heard back from him. I reached out to him periodically over the next few years and never heard back. I finally asked him what I did wrong and if there was anything I could do to apologize. He finally responded that I did nothing wrong, he just thought we had “become different people” and that he was alright with that. So, just like that, a relationship from second grade is over. Why? He was right: we had become different people, we had shaped our lives around different goals. So, the question I want us to ask and answer this evening is: When our relationship with Jesus costs us relationships with others, how will we respond? Will following Jesus cost us relationships we value and how do we respond in those moments? Let’s take a look at our text to find out. Heading 1 Revelation Jesus starts out by saying, Luke 12:49–50 ESV 49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Jesus continues speaking to his disciples about what life following him will be like. Like so many of his sayings, this one is quite difficult to understand. I bet a lot of us are scratching our heads right now. When difficult imagery comes up, it is often referencing what came up earlier in the book and in the Bible as a whole. Scripture is the best tool for interpreting Scripture. So, when Jesus says something like “I came to cast fire on the earth,” the best thing we can do is think where else in Luke and in the Bible the idea of fire comes up (also we should look for “baptism” since that’s a concept here as well. Thinking of where these concepts already appeared in Luke leads us right to John the Baptist and his words in Luke 3. He was a prophet who came to prepare the way for Jesus by revealing who he is and what his ministry would be like. This is what he said about Jesus in Luke 3:16-17, Luke 3:16–17 ESV 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John uses the imagery of fire two ways here. First, Jesus will come and baptize (“that is immerse” or “wash”) with fire. In other places in the Bible, fire has the property of purifying or refining. Alternatively, Jesus will come and judge with fire. In other places in the Bible, fire images destruction and judgement. Friends, in this short phrase, “I came to cast fire on the earth,” Jesus is teaching something of the highest importance: based on how we respond to Jesus, we will either be purified or destroyed. If we come to him in surrender and trust, he will “baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire,” that is, completely cleanse us from our sin and renew us within. We will become new people just as gold becomes new when the flames burn away the impurities and make it pure gold. Does your sin and your shame feel heavy? Do you feel like there are stains on your soul that won’t come off or that God can’t forgive? Then I am here to remind you this evening that we do not come to a weak savior who is unable to forgive, unable to purify. He came to purify with the unstoppable power with which fire burns. Your guilt, your shame, your past cannot stand up to his power to forgive, period. Your sin is not stronger than Christ’s power to heal and forgive. We serve a God who merely wants to save, but who is strong and able to save. Yet, we must beware that we don’t refuse to come to him in surrender and trust. For, the same power with which he purifies those who believe in him, he will destroy those who insist on rebelling against him. “but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Fire is not only an image of purification, but of unrelenting destruction. Jesus’s desire and my own desire in bringing this up is that no one would have to suffer this fate. The free offer of Jesus is that anyone who trusts him, anyone who repents, anyone who puts all their hope in Jesus will receive purification so they need not suffer the fire of judgement. Then Jesus adds, “and would that it were already kindled!” Just as Jesus is eager to save anyone who will trust in him, he is eager to return to the world and fulfill his ultimate purpose of saving his people and judging the wicked. Then Jesus says in verse 50, Luke 12:50 ESV 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! His baptism that Jesus is looking forward to here is far different from ours. And to be clear, the word “baptism” can mean different things in different contexts. We most commonly think of it as referring to water baptism. Water baptism is a cleansing on the outside of the body that pictures a spiritual renewal that has happened within. When Jesus talks about baptizing with the “Holy Spirit and fire” he is talking about the inner renewal and cleansing that only he can do (that’s why he mentions the “Holy Spirit”), and our water baptisms are symbols and pictures of this. When Jesus talks about his own baptism here, he is referring to his “immersion” not in the cleansing power of God, but in the judgement and wrath of God. The reason he is able to baptize us with the Holy Spirit, cleanse us of all of our sin, and restore us to life, is that he gave his life up. Jesus was immersed in the judgement of God so we could be immersed in the mercy of God. We can only have a baptism of cleansing and renewal that makes us right with God because Jesus had a baptism of judgement and death in our place. Are you regularly in awe of the grace and mercy of Jesus? This is one area I want to grow: not just having a head that understands the sacrificial death of Jesus, but a heart that never ceases to wonder at it. Jesus then says, “how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” Understandably so, his heart and mind is focused on this great sacrifice he will have to pour out. In these two verses, Jesus reveals the two things that are heaviest on his mind and heart (and so should be on ours as well): his death, burial, and resurrection and his second coming to make all things right. The idea of there being but two choices, two ways to respond, leads into the teaching Jesus gives next. Luke 12:51–53 ESV 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Jesus has a striking answer to his own question. He asks, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth?” At first blush, I think our answer should be, “uhm, yeah Jesus, I kind of do actually. This actually seems like exactly what the Bible talks about you doing, bringing peace to your people, bringing peace to the creation, bringing peace to the world”.[1] So, how unexpected when he says, “no, I tell you, but rather division.” What is that all about? On one hand Jesus has come and brought abundant peace: peace between sinners and God and peace between his people in the church. Yet, on the other hand, there remains an unresolved tension with the world: much of humanity has believed in Jesus and become children of God, yet, even more tragically remain in rebellion against him and refuse to come to the truth. The two ways of responding to Jesus that I mentioned above constitute the two groups of humanity that exist. This is the fault line upon which all of humanity divides. There will one day be complete peace when Jesus returns and rules over his multi-ethnic family from every nation. In the meantime however, we have to navigate a tragic and real division. Why is this a “division?” Because at the end of the day, one segment of humanity is living for one ultimate purpose and another segment of humanity is living for another one altogether. There will be inevitable conflict that results. Where does Jesus talk about this division showing up? He refers to the family. He says “in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” This sounds so unexpected because the Scriptures are in favor of families being united, so what is going on here? The nuclear family tends to be the strongest unit of alignment in human history. People from all cultures and all times have loyalty to their families: it’s just natural. Yet, when Jesus comes, he establishes a bond of relationship and loyalty even deeper than natural family: a spiritual family with its supreme loyalty to God. Since our new loyalty to our Lord and our spiritual family runs even deeper than our bond with our natural family, division often results when our natural family does not share our same allegiance to our God. Jesus’s call for our complete allegiance produces division with those who have loyalty to something else, even in our own families.Even within the familiar bond of family, there are different kingdoms depending on who belongs to Jesus and who doesn’t and that brings conflict. Friends, has your decision to follow Jesus created any conflict with your family (either your parents and siblings or your extended families?). I know it to be the case that several of you have suffered division with family for following Jesus. In many places in the world, the division created with one’s family over following Jesus can be so deep that it can even cost you your life. Division with family over following Jesus is a normal occurrence in the Christian life. (And while Jesus chooses to focus on families here, this division spills out into other relationships as well, as is the case with the friend I mentioned). Jesus’s point is that no one can follow him and expect not to have conflict with others. The choice to give our supreme loyalty to Jesus will inevitably divide us in ways from those who don’t share that same value. In order to follow Jesus, we have to sacrifice our idol of getting along with everyone all the time and avoiding tension. Could it be that we fail to share our savior with our closest, most dealry loved relatives because we value comfort and avoiding tension more than their soul? When division arises because of our decision to follow Jesus, we need to accept it as part of following Jesus. Following Jesus could look like your parents disowning you because they don’t approve of your religion, it could look like siblings withdrawing from you because your holy lifestyle makes them uncomfortable, it could look like bringing up an uncomfortable conversion with a relative and calling them to repentance rather than avoiding the topic. When Jesus says he brings “division,” he is not calling us to be unloving or fail to love.If we avoid bringing up Jesus and living obediently for Jesus in order to avoid conflict, we have not loved God and we have not loved our unbelieving family members. We have not loved well. The only way we can have final unity with our unbelieving family and friends forever is if we invite them to follow Jesus along with us and we come to share him as savior. I remember a few years ago at a family Christmas gathering, I was speaking with my uncle who was an atheist. I turned the conversation toward faith and discussing the things of the Lord, to the protests of his daughter who started asking us to stop disagreeing with each other. She wanted a comfortable time rather than a discussion about the most important things of all. Yet, were I to cater to her preferences, rather than the spiritual needs of my uncle, I would avoid “division,” but I would not have lived as Jesus would have. And I thank God I did speak at that moment because my uncle suddenly died of a heart attack last year. I just shared a very, very minor example of family division. Many of you have stories of far, far greater division that have resulted from your decision to follow Jesus. I want to remind you that Jesus is no stranger at all to it. Family division followed him around through the gospels. The clearest place in Luke this shows up in is Luke 8:19–21 ESV 19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Jesus felt separation from his earthy family because of his complete orientation toward his heavenly Father and his spiritual family. When he preached in his home town in Luke 4 and the crowd tried to kill him, there were likely relatives among them. Jesus knows what division from earthly family and natural relationships feels like and he is able to sympathize with you and it is worth it. What is Jesus calling us to? He is calling us to value our unity with him above avoiding division with any person. My main point I want us to walk away with his that Unity with Jesus is more important than avoiding division with others. So, I want to ask you this evening, who are you avoiding conflict with because you value comfort more than their soul? Who are you avoiding talking about Jesus to and living like Jesus around in order to not hurt that relationship? When Jesus brings division and when we bring division, it’s never creating division that didn’t otherwise exist. Rather, Jesus reveals the conflict that already lurks beneath the surface between a sinner and God, and the first step toward healing it is bringing it into the light. I want to say a word about what it looks like when we experience division with family and friends over our faith. As ambassadors of Jesus, the only reason we should divide with another is over the gospel, both in content and in manner. Allow me to explain what I mean, beginning with content: We should tirelessly avoid needless conflict and controversy with unbelievers until it comes to the one crucial area in all of life: how someone responds to Jesus. This is one area we should be unwavering. Jesus was bold with us in calling us to turn from our sin and become his own. We must make this our one issue over which we focus on above all. Okay Ross, but what if they have different politics than me? Friends, do we see Jesus or his Apostles dividing with Romans and Jews over politics in the New Testament? No, it’s consistently over their boldly preaching Christ. Okay Ross, but what if we have serious disagreement over COVID or the vaccine? Nope, someone’s opinion on the vaccine is not a spiritual life and death issue so it is not our focus. Of course we can discuss these things with unbelievers, but if we sense that these issues are creating relational tension, we must find a way to pivot away from them and have conflict only over the things that matter most. In addition, the manner in which we disagree with others must match our message in grace, humility, and patience. If our manner of disagreement with others is less loving and gracious than the gospel we preach, we need to grow. Jesus said earlier in Luke, Luke 6:35–36 ESV 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. In other words, the division we experience with others must never be because we did not treat them well (even if they don’t deserve it!), or over another issue other than the gospel. If there is relational division between us and an unbeliever, it should be because they are rejecting Jesus, not something we said or did (they should be rejecting Jesus, not us). And friends, notice that the relational division I am talking about is one way. Elsewhere in the gospel, Jesus talks about experiencing rejection, but it’s always us experiencing rejection and never us rejecting others. If a relationship breaks with someone, it shouldn’t be because we decided to break it off, we only call to repentance and prayerfully await the response of the other person. Church, we should be able to tolerate division with others (when we have loved well in the process), because we value union with Jesus so deeply. When we cannot tolerate losing earthly relationships over the gospel, it’s a sign that our hearts don’t believe our unity with Jesus alone is enough to sustains us. Yet, unity with Jesus is enough to sustain us. When we lose relationships with others on account of our love for Jesus and them, we enter more deeply into experiencing our unity and oneness with Jesus than before. When we suffer for Jesus, we always get more of Jesus. And who knows, maybe God will save the person we suffered division from and we will end up with true unity with them for the very first time. One final word, since we as members of the same church, all agree that Jesus is Lord, and we want to follow him, there should not be division here. We are all living for the same purpose, with the same book, and the same Lord, so we must fight for unity with one another. The type of division Jesus is referring to here is division between the world and his people, not between the unity his people share with one another and with him. Jesus now shares two examples of healthy, gospel-centered conflict with these crowds for us to learn from, Luke 12:54–56 ESV 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? As you can see, Jesus is bringing division with his words. Yet, it’s the right kind of division: it’s division over people’s response to him, not some other unessential topic. What does he point out? The crowds can interpret nature to predict the weather. They can tell when a rain shower is on the way or a scorching hot day is on the way. So, when they misinterpret Jesus and who he is, it’s not because of an intellectual deficit. Their minds are working fine: they are able to discern the weather. Their inability to discern who Jesus is, when he testifies to himself with such teaching and miracles, is that their hearts are resisting and refusing to come to him. Hence, he calls them “hypocrites.” They portray themselves as spiritual people, and act in spiritual ways, yet are incapable of discerning plain spiritual truth because of their proud and unrepentant hearts. Jesus is making this plain. The reason why people refuse to come to Christ is not ultimately head reasons, it’s heart reasons. Jesus could probably find 1000 different reasons to divide with these people. But which does he focus on? Their hearts’ responds to him. When Jesus divides with others, he is consistently pointing out their hearts’s response to him. He says something similar next, Luke 12:57–59 ESV 57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” Jesus challenges them to respond to him rightly. He brings up the example of an accuser dragging someone to court. This man had obviously done wrong, but there was a way to avoid judgement: get right with his accuser along the way. Likewise, Jesus is offering the opportunity to any sinner, any offender, to get right with him along that way. That is, before anyone dies and faces judgement, they can ask for forgiveness and will receive it. May we never avoid sharing this message in order to avoid division. In bringing up division, Jesus’s heart is always pursuing unity and reconciliation with himself. And in the interest of not avoiding division, I would say to anyone here who has not yet come to Christ, please come to him. Your division is not with me or any other person, it is with God. And Jesus allowed himself to suffer division from God, coming under the judgement of God on the cross, in your place so that you could come and have everlasting unity with him and with his people. So please, come to him. And friends, I leave us with that reminder. If you suffer division in this life for following Jesus, how sweet that you have everlasting and complete unity with our savior because of his life, death and resurrection.
[1] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 469.
Pastor Daniel preaches from Luke 12:35-48.
Are You Ready For the Return of the King Luke 12:35-48 Main Point of the Sermon: Are you ready for the return of King Jesus? Introduction 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Gal. 6:9). “Don’t grow weary,” “Don’t give up,” implies that this is a constant temptation for Christians. For me, the constant weight of the world’s lostness, my own temptations to sin, close friends and family’s deep suffering and sin make it tempting to give up. I wake up sometimes with a schedule full of hurting people and I feel like running away. Sometimes when I’m out running errands on a Saturday for my family I come across someone who needs my help, needs my prayer, needs my attention, and I hear the whisper again, “run away.” “Give up.” “It’s too hard.” God understands. Jesus knows what it’s like to be burdened by others, tired, and frustrated, and he offers us this comfort. Don’t give up because you will gain a reward, a harvest, at the proper time. Tonight’s sermon is the third and final sermon of our short series on stewardship of money and possessions in Luke. Two weeks ago. Pastor Ross taught us that we ultimately only keep what we give to God. And Pastor Dale called us last week, similarly, to seek the kingdom in trust of God’s provision and promises. This week’s text shows us why it matters so much that we live in these ways. There are both warnings and comforts for us today in this passage that we all need desperately if we are going to finish this race. Let’s Pray. Be Ready Look at verse 35. 35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. In the same way that Jesus has made commands to his followers in the previous sections – “seek the kingdom”, “don’t be afraid”, “don’t worry” – he makes commands here. “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning.” This first command, stay dressed for action, is kind of weird in the original language. It is literally, “gird up your loins”. What’s that mean? The men of that day wore long and loose robes, so to gird up your loins was to have your garment belted and tucked up so that you were ready to run, ready for action. It wasn’t typical to wear a belt so when people did, it showed that they were ready for a journey. They were ready for action. Jesus’s command, then, is like the command of a platoon leader in the Army telling his men to keep their boots and helmets on with their guns by their sides ready for action. “It may seem like the time is right for putting your guard down, but do not! You must be ready for battle all the time!” In the same way, the second command is a call to be ready. “Keep your lamps burning.” Unless your Amish, you probably don’t have a lamp burning in your home, but I’m sure you can understand this statement. It’s like “Keep your lights on! Even though it may seem like sleep time, it’s not! Instead, you must be ready. Ready for what? Jesus says that you must be ready “like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that [you] may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.” Jesus is not telling you to literally keep your lamps on or always have running gear on. No, he is saying that the attitude you have towards life ought to be like this servant who is watching carefully for the return of his master. There is a sense of urgency in Jesus’s words. BE READY! BE WATCHFUL! And why? Why are these commands so important? Because there will be a temptation to let your guard down. The wedding feast picture in this short parable is Jesus’s way of reminding us that the wait may be long. Wedding feasts were often long, and the journey to and from it may also be long. In a little while Jesus was going to ascend to Heaven and there would be a time of long waiting, which would make his disciples sleepy. They might be tempted to think, “The boss is on a long vacation, time for solitaire and catching up on reading!” Right? Wrong! No, Jesus says, you must always be ready. Watching. Waiting. Listening. Again, for what? Jesus tells us a few verses later in v. 40. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” This is the main point of Jesus’s parable. You must be ready for the unexpected coming of the Son of Man. Church, Jesus is the Son of Man, described in Daniel 7, the Divine human King who is promised to be given rule and reign over all the kingdoms of the world by God the Father. Jesus came once to open the way for all to enter into his Kingdom through faith in his name. AND HE WILL COME AGAIN! This time to take his rightful place as King over all the kingdoms of the earth. Every knee will bow to him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is basic Christian theology. The Christian church has always believed in the second, bodily, coming of Jesus. We will one day see him with our eyes. But here is the challenge. Because the Kingdom is here, but not fully here like it will be at his return, the world seems dark and sleepy. Jesus seems distant, like a master long on a journey or a boss on a long sabbatical. We are tempted to doubt his return, tempted to disown our king like the many creatures of Narnia under the spell of the wintery white witch. This is why Jesus urges his disciples and us to be ready and watchful. He will come back and his return will be at an hour you do not expect. And how we live in this waiting time, in this life matters eternally. I cannot express this more strongly. How you live in this life as you wait for the return of the Lord has everlasting implications for you. That’s what Jesus’s next teaching expounds. Rewards and Punishment Look at verses 37-38: Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! When Jesus returns, there will be no hiding. He will come to each of us like this master comes to the servant. Whether we are awake or asleep when he comes makes all the difference. There will be some who are awake when Jesus returns. Jesus says, “Blessed [Happy] are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” Those who are living a watchful and ready life, obeying the master, serving the master, trusting the master, stewarding all that the master has given wisely, that man is blessed. That man is happy! Why? Jesus says, truly, the master will come and serve them! He will dress himself for service and have them recline at table and he will serve them. Friends, it is hard sometimes to follow Jesus in this life. But the reward for doing so is immeasurable. The God of the universe whom we serve, will in fact, serve you. Think about it. The one who served us by setting up the earth for us to enjoy, creating a feast for our taste and our eyes and our ears, the one who served us by sending his Son for our redemption and salvation, this one will serve you for eternity if he finds you awake when he comes. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9). This is what we keep harping on in this mini-series about money and possessions. Our sacrifice in this world is nothing compared to the happiness, the blessedness, we will experience when this race is finished. When he finds us faithful and we see him face to face and hear “well done, good and faithful servant,” there will be no greater joy and no greater experience than what he has prepared for us. The end of history, the end of this short race that we call life, is really only the beginning of eternity for Jesus’s followers. Did I say you’d be blessed?! Jesus thought it was important for you to hear that again, so he reiterates this point in verse 38: 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! Whether in the morning, in the afternoon, or at night, even into the long hours of the night when most people are turning to the world, the flesh, and the devil, the person who is found awake is blessed beyond imagination. But notice also Jesus’s warning in verse 39: 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” After offering encouragement for staying awake, Jesus offers a warning for those who fall asleep. The King’s return will not only seem like a long delay, but it will be sudden and unexpected like a thief. You don’t know when Jesus will come so you don’t get to choose if you’ll “have your fun and eventually get serious about God.” You may die or he may come when it’s too late. Jesus wants us to be ready. What about you, Christian? Are you ready for the return of the king? Is your life telling the story that you and everything you have belongs to a soon coming king? The Faithful and The Unfaithful Jesus continues in verses 42 and following and contrasts two types of people, the faithful and the unfaithful, showing more fully what it means to be ready or awake for his return. 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. The Faithful The one who is ready, he describes as a “faithful and wise manager”. What do you know about managers? Are they typically the owners of the company? No. They simply are given the task of running the show. They are stewards. This manager, Jesus describes as the one who gives the other servants their food at the proper times. Similarly, if you are hired to manage a restaurant, the buck stops at you. A faithful and wise manager makes sure things run smoothly, that all the food is ordered properly, that the employees are scheduled appropriately and paid, and that all the guests are served at the standards the owner has set. Faithful managers aren’t caught sleeping on the job. They work hard even when no one is watching. They work long hours. They fill in when someone can’t make it. They wisely manage the finances. A company thrives or fails based on whether there is good or bad management. This is what it looks like to be ready and awake. We obey God in everything, working to bring honor to God and flourishing to his world in everything we do. The world’s problems–hunger, injustice, orphans, to name a few– ARE our responsibility because we are called to steward God’s world. Even more, issues of the church are especially our responsibility as members of this family. When we steward or manage well what God has given to us, just as a good restaurant owner would reward a faithful manager, how much more God, the owner of all things. He will reward you. Jesus says, that manager will be set “over all his possessions.” Church, this is the marvelous grace that is given to us in Christ Jesus, that we become children of God. God’s sons and daughters get the inheritance. They will be set over everything the Lord owns! Again, the work is long and challenging, but this promise of Jesus is what causes the Apostle Paul to say things like, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later” (Rom 8:18). The Unfaithful Jesus also describes the other type of person as the “unfaithful” (v. 46). First, we see the unfaithful servant reason with himself, “My master is delayed in coming.” Sin always starts in the heart. He grows impatient. Dissatisfied. Sleepy. His faith wanes to the point that he leaves his post, believing that he should have control. He should be able to determine when and how he gets what he wants. He begins to behave in such a way that would suggest that he is the true master. That he owns the house. Why the description of beating the other servants, and the mention of both male and female? I believe this is a description of the mistreatment of other humans, God’s image bearers, all the other people that we share this planet with. We are all fellow stewards, servants of the Most High God. One behavior of an unfaithful servant, Jesus says, is mistreatment of others. Rather than loving a neighbor as we love ourselves, rather than seeking the joy and life of others through sacrificial hospitality and generosity, we become self-serving towards them. We seduce and allure for our own sinful pleasure. We covet others' belongings so we lie, steal, and cheat to get them. We hoard because we are greedy. We are bitter and unforgiving. Our sin is the problem with the world. Secondly, this unfaithful servant eats and drinks and gets drunk. While he beats the other servants, he indulges in sinful pleasure. He no longer is ready to serve. He instead begins to squander the wealth of the master’s house while others are forced to serve him and suffer because of him. This is the description of the unfaithful manager – one who is asleep. And this is the problem with the world. Friends, this is why so many marriages are hurting, why so many kids aren’t thriving, why so many people are struggling. Every time we indulge in the flesh we are choosing to take rather than give, take rather than serve, take rather than build, and with every sinful decision we tear down the world we live in brick by brick. The unfaithful, Jesus says, will be surprised by his coming. “The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. What are his consequences? He will be cut to pieces. This is a description of physical destruction. In the Old Testament time, when people would make covenants with one another they would often include a sacrificed animal in the ceremony. The two parties would pass through the parts of the animal that had been cut in pieces together and say something like, “let it be done to me in the same way if I do not keep this covenant” (cf. Exod 29:17; Jer 34:18). Friends, not be mistaken, God will punish humanity for their wickedness. Those who are found unfaithful before God when he returns will physically be killed. But even worse than that is the next statement. They will be put with the unfaithful. Where are the unfaithful put? Heaven? No. They will be put in another place that Scripture calls Hell. If the faithful will live eternally and be rewarded by God according to their life here on earth, know that the unfaithful will eternally live and be punished for their wickedness on earth. Scripture teaches that the unfaithful will suffer eternal separation from God. They will be removed from the source of life and joy and peace. Instead of receiving the heavenly inheritance that he would have received as a reward for his faithful service and suffering in this life, he chose to indulge in his way and in his time and as a result would receive everlasting punishment. By making eating and drinking his god in this life, he loses his ability to eat and drink in God’s house. This is the foolishness of living our lives only for this world. By choosing these moments of pleasure apart from God, we forfeit the eternal pleasures that God promises in his presence forever. To summarize, both servants described are stewards, or caretakers of the King’s belongings. And it is their behavior that shows whether they are the faithful steward Jesus is talking about, or the unfaithful. In other words, our actions in this life show whether we will live with God in the next. Jesus closes up this parable with these sobering words in verse 47: “And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” Church, Jesus spoke these words to the disciples, and he speaks these sobering words to you and me. Part of the reason Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees and Scribes is that they were the heirs of the Law and teachers of the Scriptures. They were the spiritual leaders who had access their entire lives to the Bible and solid teaching. So, they should have been the holiest people and the servants of all right?! But instead they did exactly what Jesus warns about here. They became slothful and wicked in God’s sight, self-serving. They fell asleep. So Jesus warns the disciples not to be like them. These disciples had walked with Jesus. They knew the master’s will even as the teachers of Law knew. Much had been given to them, much had been entrusted to them. They had heard Jesus’s teaching and seen his signs. Therefore, much would be required of them. The more you know, the more accountable you are. YOU And much will be required of you and of me. If you have been given much, whether wealth or skills, biblical knowledge or other gifts, God expects much of you. I don’t think I’m crazy in saying that every one of us has that to some degree. Just the fact that you own a Bible, probably several, and that you have access to good churches and good teaching, says that you have been given much. And Jesus warns you today, that if you squander that gift and live foolish lives, knowing full well what God expects of you, Jesus warns that your punishment will be severe. It will be even more severe than the punishment that will come on the wicked who were ignorant to their master’s will. Listen, when we, especially we, who claim the name of Christ, behave in this world like we own the place, like we are the king, like we are the masters, we will be punished. We will be placed with the unfaithful. Don’t fool yourselves. If you are walking in consistent sin, Jesus warns you of what’s to come. But know this – Jesus doesn’t want that for you. That’s why he came. That’s why he went to the cross. That’s why he offers these warnings to us as well as these promises of reward. The Apostle Peter, who heard these words spoken by Jesus in person wrote a letter to the suffering churches dispersed throughout the Roman Empire: 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Our job in this life, Peter says, is to “set our hope fully” on the coming of Jesus. That’s what it means to be ready, to be watchful. We are God’s kids and we are waiting for an inheritance. Therefore, we must not behave sinfully like we did in the past, but we must be holy like God in everything we do knowing that our Father will judge us justly according to what we’ve done in this world when Jesus returns. So, I’m begging you to steward your life, your money, and your belongings in holiness, like you believe that it all belongs to King. Even more, I’m calling you to live your lives in preparation for Jesus’s coming because we have been bought, with the precious blood of Jesus. We live our lives not ultimately for our master’s approval, but from his approval. We belong to him. We are accepted by him. So, then, we will live like him. And in the same way that Jesus laid down his life but was then exalted to the right hand of God, raised from the dead and given eternal glory as King over all the kingdoms of the world, he has promised that we too will reign with him as heirs of his kingdom forever and ever if we don’t give up. Stewardship is temporary. Suffering is temporary. Soon, we will inherit the earth if we are faithful. Let’s be ready, Church. He is coming soon.
In this Family Talk, member Beth Lane shares about how God is preparing her for church planting ministry to the poorest communities of Scotland – the Schemes. If you would like to know more about how to support Beth personally, see her support letter below.
"Hello Family and Friends,
It is a joy to be writing to you about what the Lord has called me to in this season of my life. Over the last year, God has been preparing and shaping me to go into full time ministry of church planting. I am excited to say that he has opened the door for me to move to Scotland to be a part of the kingdom building ministry of 20schemes.
What is 20schemes?
The schemes are strong and vibrant Scottish communities with a rich history, but are often hit hard by complex social problems. They also happen to be the places least likely to have a gospel church or
indigenous Christians. Only 2.5% of Scots consider themselves Christians and with the schemes having little to no access to the gospel, there is desperate need for the gospel message.
At 20schemes, our desire is to see Scotland’s housing schemes transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ through revitalisation and planting of gospel-preaching churches, ultimately led by a future generation of indegineous church leaders. If you would like to learn more about their ministry, you can watch a video explaining the work we do at www.20schemes.com/the-schemes
Why me?
In the last year or so, God has been patiently and graciously guiding my heart toward full time ministry. One way that he has pulled my heart in this direction is by growing my understanding of the importance and beauty of a healthy local church in the life of a Christian. We live in a world with oppressive sin and real suffering; but Christ has not left us on our own without help. We have the Holy Spirit and each other. We are called to care for the poor and downtrodden, love the lost and hurting, and live peaceably together and passionately for the gospel. I believe the way to do this most effectively is through the local church. I have experienced the joy of the Lord’s salvation through his church and want to share that same joy with the people of Scotland.
As a ministry intern, I’ll be a part of a church planting team either establishing a new church in a scheme or working on a revitalisation project. The internship is a 2 year term. I will be living and working in the scheme that we are planting in. We want to be involved in the community as much as possible so that the growth of the church is a vital part of the health of the community.
My role in the church could be serving in women’s ministry training and discipling new believers, using my gifts of music in a worship ministry, or in a number of other ways. Whatever the specific tasks I’m doing, my heart’s desire is to be engaged in the community, looking for ways to serve and connect, and always drawing my affection and those I’m with back to our friend, savior, and very purpose of our life, Jesus Christ.
Why you?
The reality of me moving to Scotland to serve with 20schemes is that I need your help. I cannot do this on my own or in my own strength. The Lord has asked me to go and he may be asking you to be a part of sending me. I trust that God will provide everything I need to get there and serve faithfully for the allotted time he gives me in Scotland
There are two ways that you can send me:
The first way to send me is through prayer and encouragement. I am aware of my weakness and that without the power of the Holy Spirit and the prayer of his people my efforts are in vain. I believe that prayer is powerful and that when we ask in faith, we will receive. Our God is good and loves to give good gifts to his children. Specifically, would you pray for faithfulness to the Gospel and the ministry, endurance in the work of church planting, and that I would be fully funded by or before August 2022.
The second way to send me is through giving financially. Before I am able to leave, I need to raise $3,046/month, pledged for 24 month. The total needed is $78,498. I am aware that asking for this money is no small thing but I also know that there is significant blessing in the act of giving. While a one-time gift is appreciated, the greater need is monthly/annual pledges. All donations will go directly to 20schemes and they will distribute the funds to me as needed. I trust that the Lord will provide the funding and I would be honored if you were a part of that.
If giving financial support is something you want to do here is how you can:
● Go to www.20schemes.com
● Click on GIVE
● Click on US & OTHER COUNTRIES
● Click on INTERNATIONAL WORKERS
● Find “Beth Lane” on the dropdown menu.
● Select desired donation frequency
Jesus is the hope and light of the world. I am his willing servant eager for the lost and hurting people in Scotland to know the joy of being called his own.
If you have any questions or would like to know more information about the work I will be doing, or about 20schemes, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or phone, or to set up an in-person meeting.
Sincerely,
Beth Lane
bethsweetlane@gmail.com 989-501-6812
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ``The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:22-24"
In this sermon, Pastor Ross Tenneson teaches from Luke 12:13-21. Thank you for listening!
[1] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 1038). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [1] I borrowed this phrase from the title of Ed Welch’s book When God is Big and People are Small [1] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 483). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [1] John MacArthur, A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 3 (gty.org). [1] Ibid. [1] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 74; A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 3 (gty.org). [1] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (p. 338). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House. [1] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 484). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [1] See Primary Sources - The Martyrdom Of Saints Perpetua And Felicitas | From Jesus To Christ | FRONTLINE | PBS.
Pastor Ross Tenneson preaches from Luke 12:1-12.
Intro Good evening church. It’s such a joy to keep walking through the gospel of Luke together. Yet again, we come to a challenging text in this gospel. Jesus is going to directly address some critical areas in the Christian life, one’s we may prefer he not touch. He’s going to talk about whether or not we will claim to follow Jesus at the moments of greatest pressure and danger when we would most want to renounce him. Has anyone else ever shrunk away from sharing Jesus when there was a clear opportunity? In addition, is anyone else worried that you may renounce him in the face of severe persecution? Both of these things are true for me. I remember one time when I was spending time with my uncle, he asked me about why I went to the country of Israel on a mission trip. Instead of being clear and stating, “because a lot of the Jewish people have not yet confessed Christ as Lord and need to so that they don’t fall under the judgement of God,” I shied away and talked about maybe the rich history of the place or something else (I can’t remember exactly what I said). I simply remember not taking a clear opportunity to talk about Jesus. It felt awkward to talk about the gospel at that moment, so I shied away, afraid of things being not comfortable. It wasn’t an outright denial of Jesus, but came from the same heart defect that might lead me to do that in a different situation. I need this text to calibrate my own heart, and I believe all of us do, so that we may remain utterly steadfast in our allegiance to our Lord Jesus in the face of anyone or anything. Let’s jump into our text. Heading 1 Revelation (God) English Standard Version Chapter 12 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." At this point, Jesus’s ministry is reaching pandemonium levels. Thousands upon thousands are trampling upon one another to be near him. Perhaps it’s because he had just called out their oppressive leaders or perhaps its because of his healing and miracles. Either way, Jesus responds differently than ordinary humans do. Usually, we interpret the gathering of the crowd around us as unparalleled success. As soon as we have an “audience” or a “following,” we should do everything in our power to maintain it. We avoid offensive speech and unpopular opinions in order to appease the masses. Yet how does Jesus respond? He does not bow to the crowd in the slightest. He has compassion for the masses of humanity, but does not allow himself to come under their influence. How do we know this? Because in the face of this crowd, he doesn’t alter his plan one bit. Luke says, “he began to say to his disciples first.” As we saw from the early chapters in this gospel, Jesus’ plan to transform the world was not to gather the largest, most impressive crowds. Rather, he planned to use a little family of devoted followers and teach them to live and love like him. He would replicate his life in and through them to rescue the desperate crowds like this one. His plan is still the same as he uses little church families like this one to spread the gospel to our neighbors all around us. What does he say to his disciples? He begins by warning them of a threat that will keep them from being a people-rescuing force in the world, English Standard Version Chapter 12 “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. The Pharisees as you know were the group of religious leaders in ancient Israel. They were highly devoted to a religious lifestyle, which in itself is not wrong. Their error was not their purpose of living all of life for God, but rather the heart that they had behind it all. Jesus warns his disciples to beware of their “leaven.” Leaven, as you also know, is an ingredient that when you add it to bread, even just a little bit, it spreads throughout all of it and causes it to rise and expand. Jesus’s point is that whatever the Pharisees are spreading, it is dangerous. Just a little bit of this in one of you can spread and take over all of you and influence others. What is this leaven Jesus warns about? In this case, it’s not hard at all to figure it out. Jesus says it’s “hypocrisy.” This word means, “to create a public impression that is at odds with one’s real purposes or motivations.”[1] The problem with the Pharisees was that their godliness was only a show, not the real thing. Please listen to Daniel’s sermon from last week if you want to learn more about their hypocrisy. Jesus now warns why this sin will be so devastating for anyone who claims to be his follower, English Standard Version Chapter 12 2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. One day there will be a public revelation of my heart, your heart, and all hearts. Those things we thought we did in secret, that no one else knows about or only who we want to know about it, will become public. Perhaps the true allegiance of our hearts is most clearly expressed in those moments where we believe no one else is watching. Does the public version of yourself you present to others match the private version of yourself you are when you are alone or with just a few others? The degree to which there is a gap is the degree to which you and me are hypocrites. We are acting as if something is the case on the outside, but the reality is we value other things within. Next, Jesus talks about another situation that tests the allegiance of our hearts (perhaps even more so). He also provides the key for not being a hypocrite, but instead being the real thing, a true follower of God whose life and heart matches our confession. We all want to be the real thing don’t we? English Standard Version Chapter 12 4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Jesus shows us two alternatives that our hearts can place their allegiance in, and teaches which option is superior. He says that we will either fear other people or fear God. What does it mean to “fear”? To fear means to recognize someone or something as most important or significant. It’s what grabs and arrests your attention because this person or thing will make a bigger difference than everything else. In this case, Jesus highlights the consequences of disobeying to highlight God’s surpassing greatness and majesty above human beings. The degree of the consequence for acting against someone really clarifies how significant and weighty of a person they are. For example, I was out on Lake and Chicago a couple weeks ago. I sadly witnessed a man strike a homeless man. What was the result? Not much, sadly. Myself and a few others told him to calm down and to leave the other person alone. That was it. I wish there was more of a consequence, but that’s all that happened. On the other hand, I saw a video a few weeks ago of the French president Emanuel Macron visiting with some of his people. One man suddenly reached out and slapped the French President across the face. It was truly unbelievable. How do you think it went for that person? Was he just able to slink away? Almost instantaneously, several men laid hold of this man and dragged him over the barricade and pressed him into the ground. I can say almost for certain he received serious charges of criminal conduct for what he did. While I believe the life of the homeless man on Chicago is just as valuable as the French president, the different responses to them being hit instantly reveals the different weight and value placed on their offices in life. On the one hand, people with political authority or greater strength than you can inflict significant harm. They can even kill you. However, their authority stops there. The most damage they could ever inflict against you is temporary. That’s the limit of their so-called greatness. On the other hand, God’s majesty surpasses that of all people. He is truly a fearsome being. When he revealed himself to his people on mount Sinai, the symbols he used to represent himself were fire, smoke, and thunder. As a result, he has the authority to not only give and take life, but to punish forever in hell. His majesty and greatness is greater than all else. All people and things pale in comparison to him. As the text says, “Yes, I tell you, fear him!” Friends, there is no bigger mistake you can make than living as if people are big and God is small.[2] The displeasure of people bring consequences that can last for a moment whereas the displeasure of God will last forever. You can tell what you fear whenever you are confronted with a fork in the road decision where the opinions of people and God are at odds. Use this substance and please these people or refuse; Join in on this gossip train or refuse; Talk about how important Jeus is to you or remain silent to keep everyone happy. At the end of the day, we either have to orient our lives around the opinions of people or of God. At these moments of testing, our fear of God must be greater than our fear of people. They can only do so much to us, and their judgments have so much less consequence than the judgments of our God. Now, this topic of fearing God: at first, it doesn’t seem to line up with what we know about God. Doesn’t God want us to be near to him? If that’s the case why would he want us to fear him? Jesus’s very next words will help us to get a right understanding of what it is to fear God rightly, English Standard Version Chapter 12 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. Why does Jesus shift from talking about the fear of the Lord to talking about sparrows and the hairs on our heads? I think he wants us to get a right idea of what he means to fear the Lord. There are two different kinds of fear and we want to make sure we settle into the right one. First, there is fear without trust. In this case, that which is mighty and powerful is not trustworthy. The source of fear could come from something that doesn’t love you, like a natural disaster, or from someone who is evil or does not care about you. The proper response to this kind of fear is to run far away and fast. Yet, Jesus wants us to have a different kind of fear of God. His Father is completely good. God takes care of sparrows; somehow they survive living outside in all the elements of Minnesota. And since we are more valuable to him then they are, he will take better care of us. He even knows the number of hairs on your head. Have you ever tried to count them? It would be impossible. The point is that his knowledge of what you need and what you are going through exceeds even your own knowledge of what you need.[3] What Jesus is saying is that God will use all of his might and his authority not to harm you, but to take care of you. There is fear without trust and fear with trust. Fear with trust does not diminish God’s greatness or authority at all. It remembers that he could snuff out any of our lives at any moment if he so chose. Yet, fear with trust recognizes that God does not wield any of his awesome power to harm us but only to help us.So, when something else threatens us, we run to God for refuge because we know that he is greater than our enemy and is willing to help us. It completely changes how we respond to trial and danger. Fear without trust runs away, fear with trust runs towards. Friends, since we both fear and trust God, he is the refuge we run to not run from. That’s why Jesus says “fear not.” “Fear” = recognize God’s greatness “fear not” = recognize his goodness and flee to him rather than from him. Notice also that Jesus starts out by calling his disciples “friends.” He is addressing them with affection. When I was much younger and in day care, I witnessed a father spank his child. Then something happened that I did not expect. The child, crying, ran into his father’s arms for comfort. Yes, his father was the one who had the authority to discipline and commanded the fear of the child. Yet, the child also trusted his father and ran to him for comfort. God wants us to fear him with trust so that we run to him. To fear a good God is to flee to him rather than flee from him. Nowhere do we see these ideas come together more tightly than at the cross where Jesus died. His death on the cross signals that sin is against an infinitely holy God, and because God is such a majestic king, death is the only proper penalty for disobeying God. Yet, Jesus never sinned. He was only dying in the place of sinners so that God could be all the way for us and never against us so that we could come to him in trust. Friends, I invite any of you here who have not yet trusted in God to come to him. Unless we trust God, the sacrifice of Jesus does not help us. Then we remain dead in our sins and subject to the judgement of God. Yet, the moment we trust Jesus, all of our guilt for sin completely vanishes and only a relationship of trust with our heavenly father awaits. Now, Jesus will keep pressing into how the fear of the Lord will affect our day to day lives, Luke 12:8–9 ESV 8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. Jesus is very clear here: our hearts can only have one loyalty. It is either to him or to someone or something else. Whether or not we confess him in moments of testing reveals where our ultimate loyalty lies and who we ultimately fear. We will either acknowledge him before people or deny him before people. We will either fear God or fear people. If we confess him as our Lord before our earthly neighbors, he will confess before his heavenly family that we are his own. If we deny him before our earthly neighbors, he will deny us before his heavenly family. This is not because confessing him before others earns us his love or acceptance, rather it shows whether or not we have trusted him and have already received his love. Those who fear the Lord must trust him, and those who trust the Lord must fear him more than all. Our fear of the Lord as greater than all will result in us confessing him before all. What can this look like in day to day life? People probably won’t call us to deny Jesus outright yet in our culture, but there is still pressure not to identify with him. There may be moments of social pressure where we find ourselves hanging out with some friends or new acquaintances, and there is a natural moment to identify as a follower of Jesus. Instead, we don’t want to for fear of them and not wanting to appear foolish. Instead, may we fear God more than people and boldly identify with him. In such moments, call to mind that God is far, far more significant than this group of people. What he thinks far outweighs what they think. And boldly decide to identify with God before anyone or anything else. One other pressure to deny him would be to endorse and go along with our society’s agenda that is opposed to Jesus. For example, many of us will will likely receive progressively more pressure about standing where the world does on issues of sexuality and gender. I am not talking right now about how we respond to individuals who struggle with sexuality and gender (it’s the exact same response as anyone struggling with sin: patiently love them and invite them to repentance and faith). These sins are not in a category of their own that separates how we respond to the people who are tempted by them. Rather, how to respond to the increasing pressure we will feel from corporate HR departments, government agencies, and social media to affirm certain truths that deny our Lord. Rather, I’m talking about the larger social movement which is exerting lots of social pressure to affirm these lifestyles as morally right. There may be corporations we work for that require their employees to attend certain events celebrating the LBGTQ+ agenda as a matter of employment or similar things like these. Our church may receive severe financial penalties for standing on the Word of God on these matters. And in such situations, we must fear God rather than people.
The Bible instructs us to love other sinners by being honest about sin and pointing others to the cross of Christ with gentleness and respect. The world says that even to call anything in the realm of sexuality or gender a sin is way out of bounds, and is even saying: those who do not affirm these lifestyles are in the wrong. Friends we should not go out of our way to declare these lifestyle as wrong (unless the Lord is calling us to do so in a particular moment), but I am calling us to never to deny our Lord by affirming that which is opposed to him. We cannot affirm an agenda that denies him and not also deny him in the process. Jesus’s teaching next takes a turn that’s a little unexpected, Luke 12:10 ESV 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This is one of the most fear provoking verses in the Bible because it talks about a category of people who will not receive forgiveness. It’s also quite mysterious and difficult to understand. What does this verse mean? To speak a word against the Son of Man (that is, Jesus), refers to something done by those who are ignorant of God’s saving power and goodness (and thank the Lord he forgives those who blaspheme the Son, since we all do so before we become Christians. All of us reject and refuse Christ until he changes our hearts).[4] On the other hand, the Holy Spirit is the revealer of Christ and the one who removes our ignorance and shows us Christ.[5] If we continue to blaspheme the Spirit when he is showing us Christ, when we are no longer ignorant, there is no way for us to repent since we are rejecting the revelation of Christ. It’s a greater level of hardness of heart that still insists on rejecting Christ even after there is less ignorance of him because of the ministry of the Spirit.[6] Think of the Apostle Paul. Before he encountered Christ on the Demascus road, he was blaspheming against God, but with a degree of ignorance. However, if he kept persecuting the church after he had seen Jesus, there would be a whole other level of hardness of heart to which Jesus is referring.[7] In the case of this specific passage, Jesus applies this saying specifically to apostasy, that is, denying Jesus as Lord and savior after having known him as such.[8] In other words, verse 10 is another way of saying what Jesus says in verse 9: to deny Jesus before others after having confessed him as Lord and savior reveals a heart that fears man more than God. This is a scary verse because Jesus uses the language of “will not be forgiven” for those who sin this way. How do you know you have committed this sin? You know when you have committed this sin when your heart has become so hard you will no longer return to God in repentance and faith. Denying the Lord Jesus is so scarey because it is journeying down this road. Later in this gospel, Peter denies Jesus and Jesus restores him when he turns and repents (Luke 22:54-62). Judas, on the other hand, who betrayed Jesus to the officials did not repent but instead hanged himself (Acts 1). Both men were walking down a spiritually devastating road of opposing Jesus, but it was not clear who had blasphemed the Spirit until the end when one turned back to him and one didn’t. I want to make two things clear: 1. If you are scared you have committed this sin and have denied Christ, repent and come back to him. We know from other places in this gospel and in the Bible that God always welcomes back and restores anyone who comes to him. The only way you know if you’ve blasphemed the Spirit is if you never return to Jesus again and keep denying him till the day you die. The proof that you have not committed it is that you return like Peter.
- Don’t play around with denying Jesus. There should be no sin we should take so seriously. Jesus chooses to attach this warning about blaspheming the Spirit to this sin because it’s walking down a road of hardness and there is no guarantee anyone will ever return from it. We should settle in our hearts right now that we will fear God more than man and do all in our power never to deny him no matter how great the cost.
I don’t know if anyone is like me and is scared that you may not have what it takes to keep confessing Christ up until the point of death. It may be that things get that severe, or it may be less severe, but it seems likely that we will receive challenge to deny Jesus in our lifetimes based on where our culture is going. It seems frightening that so much of our spiritual lives can come down to a moment where we feel challenged to deny our Lord. Does Jesus have any encouragement to give us that we might walk forward with confidence and assurance as his trusting children? Here are some precious verses for us, Luke 12:11–12 ESV 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Church, at every moment, even the most crucial moment when someone has challenged us to deny our Lord, grace and grace alone uphold us. God loves to give his Holy Spirit to his dependent children to uphold us in our greatest moments of crisis. Look at Jesus’s words. He says “do not be anxious.” That means we should not worry about these kinds of moments where others challenge us to deny our faith. Even though so much is at stake, why should we not be afraid? “Because the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” The reason why you can have confidence now that you won’t deny Jesus in the day of testing is because God gives his Spirit to help his children. The Holy Spirit and not your own strength is the reason you will be able to stand at the moment of testing and continue to confess Christ. And friends, there are great stories in church history that demonstrate again and again God’s power will be there for us in our moment of need: Felicitas and Perpetua were two North African women in the early church. The Roman emperor Severus sentenced them to death for not recanding their faith in Jesus. Felicitus’s father pled with her to recant her faith in Jesus so she could be spared from the death penalty, but she wouldn’t. They were send to the colosseum to die from wild animals and the sword. This detail astonished me in my church history class in seminary: before her death, Felicitas asked for something to tie her hair up with. Why? To have her hair down would make it appear as if she was in mourning, and she didn’t want to appear to mourn in her hour of triumph.[9] Church, the grace of God will help us. He will provide us with the right words to speak and then deliver us from death, or give us the courage to die well and then live forever. Friends, the main burden I want us to walk away with is that fearing God more than all will keep us confessing him before all. Ironically, if we get this point, we should walk away from this sermon with less fear because the one we fear the most is the one most committed to taking care of us. Let’s pray.
[1] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 1038). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[2] I borrowed this phrase from the title of Ed Welch’s book When God is Big and People are Small
[3] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 483). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[4] John MacArthur, A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 3 (gty.org).
[5] Ibid.
[6] John Calvin, Harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, trans. David W. Rev. William Pringle, vol. 1, Calvin’s Commentaries 23 Volume Set (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2009), 74; A Certain Cure for Hypocrisy, Part 3 (gty.org).
[7] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (p. 338). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
[8] Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 484). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
[9] See Primary Sources - The Martyrdom Of Saints Perpetua And Felicitas | From Jesus To Christ | FRONTLINE | PBS.
In this Midweek Podcast Pastors Daniel and Ross share the elders decision and plan to move forward in appointing both male and female deacons. This podcast seeks to answer the "Who, What, and Why of Deacons".
"The elders plan to select and lay hands on certain holy men and women within All Peoples Church to facilitate certain areas of service within the church that would otherwise distract the elders from the ministry of the Word and prayer on an ongoing basis. These deacons will attend to certain tangible, physical needs and tasks to promote the spiritual flourishing of our whole church family. We will be a better church because of them."
Pastor Daniel Simmons preaches from Luke 11:33-53.
Jesus Exposes Hypocrisy Luke 11:37-53 Exegetical Main Point: Jesus denounces and exposes the Pharisees and Lawyers for their hypocrisy and predicts the great judgment coming on them. Main Point of the Sermon: Jesus lovingly exposes what’s in our hearts. Introduction One thing that scares me and keeps me humble before the Lord is the potential for blind spots. You know, you live your life with a particular set of rules, or a certain view that you are very convictional about, but all along you have it wrong. You have the wrong rule book. I’ve had a few moments in my life where God mercifully showed me a blind spot. For example, for a good part of my Christian life I actually believed that it was bad to confess my sin to others because a) it might tempt them to sin b) it might hurt their respect for me and hinder my ability to minister to them in the future. What?! Man, that couldn’t be more wrong. It’s always shocking when you realize how oblivious you were, and we say to ourselves “How could I be so blind?” Jesus is kind to not leave us in our error, isn’t he? He’s kind to expose our darkness. Last week we saw Jesus challenge the crowds for their unbelief. He even called them an evil generation because of how they were responding to him and his Word. Ultimately, he exposed the hardness of their hearts. And what we’ll see in today’s text is that Jesus exposes more hearts. And it’s not just those who are clearly far from God, but we’ll see him expose the blind and hypocritical thinking and behavior of the Church going people, the religious leaders. I think many of us will be challenged by what Jesus says in this text, so let’s go to prayer one more time and invite God to speak to us and change us. Pray The first section starts in verse 33, where Jesus uses a word picture and a series of proverbs to highlight the importance of the health of our inner being, or our hearts. Let’s see. 33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Like he often does in his teaching, Jesus uses something common – a lamp – to teach a spiritual truth. Jesus is actually comparing himself and his preaching to a lamp shining light for all to see. Jesus just talked about himself as a greater Solomon, so it makes sense that he is still referring to himself when talking about the light. Jesus and his Word are light and that light has not been hidden. He has openly and widely proclaimed the Good News of the way into the Kingdom. But verse 34 shows us that people “see Jesus’s light” or receive his Word in different ways. Jesus said, 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” This can be hard to follow, but Jesus is talking about spiritual sight and the way that our spiritual sight relates to our whole person, spirit and body. Jesus is trying to show that when you see Jesus and his Word with spiritually or morally healthy eyes, you are full of light. But when you have spiritually bad, or literally “evil” eyes, you are full of darkness. So again, Jesus is warning the people to be aware of their inner spiritual health. He says, “Be careful”. It’s possible for you to have blind spots. Pay attention. The “light” or message that directs your life may really be darkness if it causes you to reject me. To put it simply, your perception of Jesus reveals the health of your heart. To have a healthy eye is to have a heart that sees Jesus rightly and therefore responds in repentance and faith. Many rejected Jesus thinking they were seeing rightly. But the “light” in them was really darkness. Some, however, believed in Jesus. These, Jesus said, not only will follow him, but will themselves begin to shine Christ to others by their good works (c.f. Mt. 5:15-16). Again, Jesus is ultimately exposing the health of their hearts, and he is teaching them how to identify whether their heart is good or evil, light or dark. Jesus points out two things that expose our hearts: 1) Your response to Jesus and his Word exposes your heart 2) the works that your life produces exposes your heart. The rest of our text will largely press into number 2, the works your life produces. Look at verse 37: 37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. Who again are the Pharisees? These were religious elites, teachers of the Law. They were the most influential of the three major Jewish sects (the others – Sadducees and Essenes) in Israel. We’re told that one Pharisee asked Jesus to eat with him, and Jesus went. If you remember, the Pharisees have not been the friends of Jesus, but his greatest critics. They’ve threatened him and accused him of being a law-breaker. Nonetheless, Jesus went – which should teach us something about interacting with our enemies. Luke describes the event. Jesus went in and reclined at the table. Verse 38, 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. He was “astonished” that Jesus didn’t wash. This was a big deal to the Pharisees because they held to an oral tradition (in addition to the written Law of God) intended to keep them from ingesting anything ritually unclean. This was not a requirement of Old Testament Law, but rather an addition that the elders had kept for some time. Whether Jesus failed to wash intentionally or unintentionally, I don’t know, but either way, this was an important teaching moment. Listen to Jesus’s reply: 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” What is Jesus saying? He’s calling their hypocrisy and the deadness of their hearts. He points out the fact that while these religious leaders are so concerned about their traditions to prevent uncleanness, their hearts are totally unclean, full of “greed and wickedness.” On the outside they look very religious. They are following the rule book “perfectly”, and others would be very impressed by their ‘spotless’ behavior. But Jesus exposes the fact that deep down these leaders were more interested in selfish gain through their position than they were in worshipping God out of love for him. In other words, they excelled when others were watching but were loveless towards God and others in private. Luke describes the Pharisees elsewhere, as “lovers of money” (16:14). They tithed, but cared nothing for the poor or for God. They received great honor from all people, yet little did anyone know, they were totally dead inside. Matthew’s account calls them “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Mt. 23:27). This Jesus says is total foolishness. “You fools!” (v. 40). Don’t you know that God made both outside and inside? In other words, he knows your heart. He knows your motives, your deep inner thoughts and ambitions. This is a perfect example of what Jesus talked about earlier. The light they thought they had was truly darkness within. Before I go on, I want to speak to Jesus’s tone here. Maybe some of you are caught up on the fact that Jesus just uttered such cutting words. Many people picture Jesus as a man without a backbone. Friends, that’s not the Jesus of the Bible. Yes, Jesus was full of gentleness and kindness, but is and has always been a strong leader, a prophet, bold and courageous like the heroic prophets we read about in Scripture, but greater. He’s not afraid to speak the truth. Further, it may seem like Jesus is angry and this might be hard for you to swallow. Church, he is angry! He is angry and disturbed by the hardness of these people’s hearts, and he wisely and lovingly rebukes the hypocrisy that is leading them and their followers to hell. When you find that Scripture or people in the Christian community challenge your sinful behavior, please understand the heart of love behind the rebuke. Oftentimes, they are doing and saying exactly what Jesus would say to you if he were here. A little bit of painful correction might just be the means by which your soul is saved from an eternally painful punishment. Look at verse 41: 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. Jesus is identifying true worship. True worship comes from the heart. When that’s happening in a person, Jesus says, “everything is clean”. In other words, even things that sometimes break your rule book are perceived by God as holy and clean. Rituals in themselves aren’t bad, but when they aren’t driven by a deep inner love for God and generosity towards others, they mean nothing. Church, you could be the most faithful church attender and giver in this building, but if you have little thought for God or little care about his people when you're here or throughout the week, what does it even mean? Nothing. Jesus said to them, “Woe to you.” What’s with those words in verse 42, “Woe to you.” What an interesting phrase. We don’t use these words much anymore, so let me try to explain what they mean. “Woe” is “an interjection denoting pain or displeasure” (BDAG). It is basically an emotionally strong way to denounce and express the miserable condition of another. This is not Jesus cursing someone in the way that we might see in a verbal fight in a movie, but rather a statement of deep pain and grief, even more, a deep disapproval of the individual and their particular behavior. It essentially says, “You are miserable and your future will be miserable because of the state of your hearts!” I would assume that this is like many of our responses to people who boast in their sinful behavior openly. It grieves our hearts and moves us to pity, saying, “they just don’t understand what they are doing and the misery they are headed for!” I’m not talking about an angry or demeaning heart, but a sorrowful one. That’s good and, yes, God grieves over the godless who reject him, but look how strongly he speaks to church going people like you and me, even to the “spiritually elite” who pretend to honor God while their hearts are dark and cold like a corpse. Now do you understand why Jesus uses such a strong word and is so emotional? Jesus is lovingly, passionately correcting the Pharisees lest they perish in their sin. Luke continues with the narrative in verse 45, when someone responds to Jesus: 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” The “Lawyers” were experts of God’s Law. These were also known as the scribes. The Pharisees were basically students of the Scribes, so naturally they recognized that Jesus’s accusations were directed towards them also. Let’s see how Jesus responds. Verse 46: 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Jesus goes even harder at these guys. He’s not intimidated by their position or even apologetic for “insulting them also,” but keeps speaking the bold, but life-giving truth. Jesus is here pointing out the fact that with their endless laws and traditions, they were making following God impossible for the average person (c.f. Acts 15:10). It’s like they are demanding them to win a race but all the while they’re saying “don’t run like that”, “don’t breathe like that”, “don’t wear those shoes”. Though the people could not bear the burden, the scribes did nothing to help the common person keep the laws. They cared more about their procedures than the spiritual and physical health of the people. But the darkness and evil of their hearts is even worse than that. Jesus continues, 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Wow! What’s going on here? Let’s unpack this. Jesus says woe to you for building the prophet’s tombs because the Scribes ironically “build the tombs” or set up monuments for the prophets to honor them, while they dishonor their word. In fact, through that dishonor, they are actually witnesses and give consent to their father’s actions. How did they consent to their father’s murdering of the prophets? The prophets were ultimately killed for speaking unfavorable messages. Their fathers rejected them and in hatred killed them. Like their fathers, the scribes rejected the message of the prophets of the past and the modern day prophets like Jesus and John the Baptist. Their rejection of Jesus, whom the prophets foretold, and all the other ways they were twisting the prophet’s words, was a rejection of all the prophets they claimed to follow. They are just like their fathers, ultimately, and in this way they “consent” to the killings. Even more, they would be like them in killing those prophets and apostles whom God sent in their generation. Where am I getting this? Look at verse 49: 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ This is complicated, but I think the best interpretation of this text is to see the “Wisdom of God” as referring to Jesus – who is referred to as God’s wisdom elsewhere (1 Cor 1:24,30). Further proof is Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus is recorded saying that he will send prophets who will be persecuted, flogged, and killed (Mt. 23:34). So, this is Jesus prophesying and speaking of what was to come – namely, the prophets and apostles whom God would send would be persecuted and killed by these very men (think Stephen, the Apostle James, Jesus’s brother James, and others who would have been known by Luke’s readers). Not only do they consent to the killing of the past prophets, they would become like their fathers in rejecting and killing modern prophets. Jesus adds these haunting words: “so that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. That’s frightening judgment language. He’s in essence saying to them “at the judgment you will be responsible for ALL of this blood”. Jesus says “this generation” will have to give an account for every drop. Why does Jesus add in this tricky generation language again? If you remember from last week, in verse 29 Jesus speaks to the crowds, saying “This generation is an evil generation.” I think Jesus is pointing out the fact that it is not just the scribes and Pharisees – the leaders – who rejected and killed the prophets, or who would reject and kill Jesus, but also their followers. Verse 52 shows that clearly. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” In this final “Woe”, Jesus says that these leaders have “taken away the key of knowledge.” In their twisting of Scripture and rejection of Jesus, who is true wisdom, they have taken away people’s access to the Kingdom of God. Not only do they fail to enter the Kingdom, they are keeping others from entering also by causing them to oppose Jesus and his message. This generation, who blindly reject Jesus and mislead many to stand against him, will receive this condemnation. We’re told in verse 53 that 53 As [Jesus] went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. This phrase “lying in wait for him” is not about a simple debate with Jesus, but shows their hostility and murderous hatred towards him. They were looking for something to condemn him to death in a trial. YOU Church, when I read this story, it evokes a few different emotions. One, it causes me to grieve over the hardness and darkness of these hearts that would be led to oppose and kill our Savior and his followers. Two, I feel a deep sadness and fear for those who reject Jesus and his message. I feel those words “Woe to you” rising up in my heart for their miserable condition! The Lord Jesus doesn’t waste his words. He doesn’t waste his emotions. If he is so moved to utter these words of warning to this generation, shouldn’t we pay attention to them for our generation? Jesus spoke about judgment and hell more than anyone else in the Bible. How is it then, that we so easily dismiss it and convince ourselves that those without Christ, those living in opposition to his message will somehow be ok. Death and hell can’t be that bad for them can it? Friends, “woe to us” if we fail to preach this Good News that has the power to rescue our family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors near and far from the judgment coming on them. And “woe to you” if you reject Jesus and try to pretend that you are standing on neutral ground. If you are not with him, you are against him. There is no middle ground. If you are not all in, surrendered, following the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, then you are in no better shape than these who would kill the King Jesus. Three, I feel grieved and fearful at the ways my own heart is prone to such hypocrisy and darkness, and for the ways that you are prone to hypocrisy. Woe to me if I take away the key of knowledge from you with false teaching or with a faulty rule book that distracts you from what matters most. And Woe to you and me if we treat Jesus’s commands as suggestions. Woe to you and me if our rulebooks are more important to us than God’s Word. Woe to you and me if I’m willing to give a little money to the church but am unwilling to make myself personally available socially, emotionally, and materially to those who are in need of my help. Woe to you and me if we present ourselves at church all pretty on the outside so that everyone thinks we are good and happy Christians, but inside we are full of greed, lust, and pride, with a serious distaste, distrust, and dislike of God’s people. Woe to you and me if we go through the motions but we have no real love for God. And woe to us all if we oppose Christ and those who lovingly challenge our hypocrisy. Jesus lovingly exposes our hypocrisy. If we knew what we were being saved from we would rejoice and endlessly thank him. I’m convinced that if we could see over the hill to the joy and freedom we would experience in Christ as we let go of that sin and let others help us fight for victory, that we would not despise our brother or sister who corrects us, but we would thank them and invite them to help us all the more. May it be so in this church family! Remember the famous words of the Apostle John. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. Jesus came to warn those who were headed for destruction so that they might find life in him. I’m here, we’re here, to do the same! This may feel unloving, but I promise that Jesus’s words here are only full of love. His zeal and jealousy for his people is what led him to leave his place of glory, to become a man, and die in our place for our sins. We ALL have blood on our hands, we are all condemned, and what Jesus did on the cross was to take all that wrath and judgment stored up for us so that we could have the life and happiness that was stored up for him. He rose from death affirming his victory so that all who believe in him might enter his eternal kingdom. If you are here and not yet following Jesus, now is the time, run from the great wrath coming on you by running into the arms of Jesus, your Savior. He welcomes you now. Church, I want to call you to examine your hearts tonight. Be careful lest the light you think you have within is actually darkness. I’m praying that we will all receive the light of Christ and that his light would expose our hypocrisy, our blind spots, and that through us many who are in darkness would be brought to the light.
Member Scott Hubbard preaches from Luke 11:27-32. This sermon was preached and recorded lo-fi in the park. Please pardon the quality. The first 30 seconds of the sermon were also missed. Thanks for listening!
Pastor Sam explains the heart behind his upcoming sabbatical starting on July 12th through October 10th.
Member Annie Braasch testifies to God's grace in her life through All Peoples Church over the years. Praise God!
In this week's podcast, we cover the what and why of sabbaticals (seasons of rest). Thanks for listening!
This week Ross preaches on Luke 10:38-42
The One thing that's Necessary
Ross Tenneson / General
Connection Revelation English Standard Version Chapter 10 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. Verse 38 begins, “now as they went on their way…” As we have mentioned, Jesus is on a journey to Jerusalem where he will fulfill his life’s purpose. The next several chapters in Luke will be the story of Jesus on a journey and the different people he meets and situations he encounters. His teaching and life along this journey serves as a model for what our lives should be as we journey through this world toward eternity. Each step in this journey is going to illustrate an important aspect of the Christian life. We need all of these different pictures of Jesus and his teaching so we get a complete picture instead of a lopsided one. So much of Jesus’s teaching in the last few chapters have called for a radical renunciation of all we have in this life and a call to follow him and make disciples. These calls from Jesus are so important, yet if we don’t get what he shows us in this story, we will fall apart as we try to radically follow him. Today, Jesus will show us the one thing that’s necessary to sustain a life of faith and obedience, without which we will certainly fail and our Christian lives come apart. In fact this one thing sustains and empowers a life of obedience and Christ-likeness in all the diverse ways Jesus has called us to be like him. What if I told you there was one habit that could have an impact on all other habits and overflow to help you be like Jesus in every way? Would you want to know what this habit is and how to practice it and grow in it? Our text this evening is going to teach us about this one habit we need above all others. Now, let’s introduce the setting and the characters. Luke says, “Jesus entered a village.” What village? Luke doesn’t even specify its name, pointing to its insignificance. Martha, the woman who welcomes Jesus into his house is also someone we learn next to nothing about from Luke. She was likely a very ordinary person. Jesus will reveal a most significant truth in an insignificant place. What does this mean? That Jesus loves to work in ordinary lives in ordinary places and give the greatest treasures in the world to anyone who comes to him. If you feel insignificant today or unimpressive, Jesus has a word for you. English Standard Version Chapter 10 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. We quickly learn that Martha has a sister named Mary. These two women each represent a different kind of heart posture we can have toward Jesus. Their body language will illustrate for us two different ways our hearts can approach Jesus. How does Mary approach Jesus? She (1) sits and (2) listens to his teaching. Mary’s chief concern is hearing the word of God. Her posture of sitting as the feet of Jesus shows her humility and eagerness to receive from him. What is Mary seeking in this situation? She is seeking closeness and intimacy with Jesus. There is no other way to be close to Jesus except to come to him in humility and with a desire to hear his words. There is no other way to be close to Jesus than to come to him how Mary did. You can’t become close to someone if you don’t communicate with them. If we will be with Jesus, we must listen to Jesus. It takes a little consideration to think about how this applies to us today. How, since Jesus is no longer present with us in his body on earth, can we seek closeness to him? While Jesus is no longer with us in the same way, he’s still with us, and the Bible teaches he is actually more available rather than less available than he was to Mary. After ascending to heaven, he sent his Spirit to his people so that he would be completely available to all his people at all times through prayer and the Scriptures. When we come to Jesus in word and prayer, we come to him in the same manner that Mary did. What is prayer but a demonstration of the same humility Mary had before Jesus? In prayer, we admit our humility and our dependence on Jesus by our very act of praying. Those who don’t pray live as if they don’t need his help. And when we open the Scriptures and read God’s word, we shows the exact same desire for the words of God that Mary did. In listening to God’s voice speak to us through his Word, we get to enjoy the same closeness to Jesus as Mary. Prayer and the word throw open the door to closeness with God like nothing else in the world can. When we think of it that way, how could we go a single day without it? If being with Jesus is better than everything else the world has to offer, and reading the Word and praying is a crucial way to spend time with him, then wouldn’t approaching him daily in this way be the most important thing in our lives? Why does Luke put this story here right after the parable of the good Samaritan and the call to love without limit? Because if we try loving like Jesus, without enjoying our relationship with Jesus, we will start to drift from Jesus (like we see in the case of Martha). The reward we get for loving like Jesus is primarily being nearer to Jesus and enjoying more of his presence. Yet, if we cut ourselves off from the way Jesus has invited us to come and be with him, we will be mere servants who don’t get to enjoy relationship with the one we serve. Then, our hearts turn bitter and cold rather than warm and tender. If we try to love like Jesus yet neglect being with Jesus, our relationship with Jesus will fall apart. How can this happen? How do some of us find ourselves in this place? Let’s take a look at verse 40 to see, English Standard Version Chapter 10 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. Now we get to see Mary’s sister, Martha. She shows us an alternative heart posture toward Jesus. Luke says, “Martha was distracted with much serving.” Martha, on the other hand, makes doing for Jesus her priority over being with Jesus. Luke says Martha was “distracted.” A distraction is something that takes your attention away from what you want to focus on. Martha’s serving was a distraction from deep and close relationship with the one whom she was made to be with. I want to ask you a question, was Martha’s serving Jesus with hospitality a bad thing in itself? Was it wrong for her to give Jesus food and water and a clean place to rest? Absolutely not! Giving Jesus, while he was in the flesh, a good meal and place to rest was probably one of the best things someone could ever do. What’s the point? No matter how good and important something is, if it takes away from the best thing, it becomes a bad thing. Perhaps one reason some of us struggle to spend time with Jesus are all of the really good things we are devoting our lives to: our families, our jobs, our friends, even our ministry to others. Yet, no matter how good any of these things are, if they take away from us having a genuine and deep relationship with Jesus, then they are distractions. We must not compromise; we must not trade knowing Jesus for any other priority, no matter how good it seems. We see in Martha’s next words that her making serving her priority was not an innocent mistake, but rather reveals a heart problem, English Standard Version Chapter 10 And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” We can see that Martha’s actions of serving while Mary listened to Jesus grew into resentment in her heart toward her sister. What is going on here? When we serve Jesus and do things for Jesus without being with Jesus, something harmful happens in our hearts: we start to measure ourselves by what we’ve done for Jesus rather than measuring ourselves by what he has done for us. Why do I say she was measuring herself by what she did? Because she compares herself to her sister. Comparison is a sure indication that you are basing your identity and worth in some way off of what you are comparing with others. If you tend to compare how much you make with others, make no mistake, you also tend to base your worth off of how much you make. When we work for Jesus but don’t spend time with him, we reinforce the false concept that he needs us rather than the truth: we need him. Jesus sees right through Martha’s heart and responds, English Standard Version Chapter 10 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, Jesus responds to Martha and her distracted heart. He speaks directly to her, yet he speaks gently. The double use of her name signals a gentle rebuke.[1] What does Jesus rebuker her for? The anxiety and preoccupation in her heart. Her concerns with other things besides Jesus (even good things) keep her from being fully present with Jesus. You can often feel this in conversations with people: when you are carrying anxiety about something around with you, it can keep you from focusing and being present with the person right in front of you. Anxieties and distractions about life can keep us from focusing on Jesus when we are with him, or worse, can crowd our schedules out so that we don’t spend any time with him at all. Jesus teaches in chapter 12 about anxiety, English Standard Version Chapter 12 22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! In other words, God’s good heart is demonstrated in how he cares for the birds. Since you are more important to him than birds, you don’t have to worry. Let’s put these thoughts together: If worry and distraction keeps us from being present with Jesus and spending time with him, and we experience worry and distraction when we lose sight of God’s goodness, then not spending time with Jesus comes from losing site of the goodness of God. In other words, when we start to become suspicious of God’s good character or lose site of his goodness, it becomes easier and easier not to spend time with him. We become distracted by otherwise good things that we use as substitutes for the goodness of God. In Martha’s case, it’s showing hospitality. She manages her own home to a fault, looking for the affirmation, wholeness, and security in her serving that she was supposed to find in being with Jesus. The reason we can pause from ministry, pause from family time, pause from work, pause from house work, pause from serving our neighbors, pause from our hobbies, pause from current events, pause from entertainment, pause from anything and everything that keeps us from spending time with Jesus is this… because his heart is good and he is willing to give us what we truly need and that nothing else in this world can give. Jesus then says this in his teaching on worry and anxiety, English Standard Version Chapter 12 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It is his and his Father’s good pleasure to give what we need most: the acceptance, the affirmation, the security, the hope that we only find in a rich relationship with Jesus yet we look for else where. It’s God’s “good pleasure” to give it. It’s because it’s his good pleasure to give us all that we need that we can hit the pause button on everything else in order to spend time with him. A restlessness that keeps us from spending time with him says, “I’m not sure if I can really receive what I need from being with him so I need to go and do this and that instead and try to calm my heart’s discontentment on my own...” But friends, the verse says it is his “good pleasure” to give to you what you need most. You can rest from your restlessness because his heart is good. Come and listen to his voice each morning by opening your Bible and listening to his voice, it’s actually what you need more than anything else, and he is glad to give you what you need. Nothing less than his death on the cross was the price that he paid so that we could deeply relate to him. When Jesus died, God ripped something in two, from end to end. Do you remember what that was? That’s right, the torn curtain represents the unhindered access we all have to the presence of God. You may ask, how can I be sure he wants to give himself to me? How can I be sure it’s really worth it to spend my time seeking him day by day? You can be sure because the price he paid to be able to give himself to you was nothing less than his own life. He completely paid for and forgave our sin so that there would no longer be any barrier between us and him. Now getting back to some reasons we struggle to be with God, on the other hand, some of us might feel too restless to spend times with Jesus, but rather feel indifference. Time in the Word may feel dry, lifeless, or uneventful. We struggle to believe it’s as important as we hear it is. I think those in this situation struggle with the same heart problem, struggling to grasp the goodness of the heart of God. If we believed that what he is giving to us is himself, and that he wants to give himself, he’s not holding himself back, then our indifference would turn to desire to be with him. Often times it’s not like a switch in our heart that changes from indifference to desire, it’s rather a process of growing in knowing he is good and cultivating an awareness of our need for him in our hearts. Yet, we get this no other place than being with him and listening to his voice. The way to shake out of our indifference to be with Jesus is to be with Jesus and listen for his voice and ask that God would transform us to want to be with him more than anything. Where ultimately do we want our hearts to be? How does Jesus describe the importance of this part of his relationship with us, English Standard Version Chapter 10 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Jesus uses a phrase that should catch our attention. “one thing is necessary.” If Jesus says that there is one thing that we need above everything else, the only response we can muster is, “what is that one thing that I might have it?” That one thing is spending time with him by listening to his his voice and responding to his voice with your own. Relating to Jesus this way leads to the intimacy with Jesus that we were made for. It’s not that being with Jesus in our Bibles is the only thing that we were made for or the only thing that we need, but so central to who we are and so central to everything else in the Christian life that Jesus uses this striking phrase, “one thing is necessary,” to talk about it. If we are not meant to do anything for God apart from relationship with God, then time to cultivate that relationship becomes the central, necessary thing. I have had times where I have loved and served people just because I made myself do it. I have had other times where I felt God’s help and presence and it made serving others life-giving rather than life taking. Who here knows the difference of what I’m talking about. What I’m trying to share is that our lives of being with Jesus and going to make the biggest difference of whether he’s with us when we are serving others. I want us to see something: Jesus is not just holding out a value for us. He is asking us to have the exact same value his whole life exemplified. When Satan tempted him in the wilderness to turn stones into bread, Jesus responded by quoting Deut 8:3, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When we are listening to Jesus, we are listening to his Father who speaks through Jesus. Jesus depended on the Words and the relationship he had with his Father to live a completely God-pleasing life and to defeat sin and death. I want to ask us a question: If Jesus needed to hear the voice of his Father in order to live a pleasing life to his Father, how could we live as if we didn’t? When we neglect daily habits of Bible reading and prayer, what our lives are communicating is that we don’t actually depend on deep relationship with our God in order to live in a way that pleases him. And since we all know deep down that relationship with Jesus is what we need, let’s make time with him our “one thing.” In each season of life, we all tend to gravitate toward “one thing” that we look to escape to for rest and joy to give us the strength to persevere in the rest of life. I look to a number of different refuges at different times: Intellectualism and books (even books about God) can become my one thing. Politics and watching my candidate win can become my one thing. When I was younger, sports and video games were my one thing. What’s your one thing in this season of life? By, God’s grace, I am moving closer to having my one thing being time with him (although I still have further to go). There has been a shift in my thinking that has helped me grow in this direction. I used to think of my Bible and prayer time in the morning as the greatest part of my being with God. I don’t quite look at it this way anymore. I see morning prayer and Word time as a necessary part of my relationship with God, but I see it more as preparation to relate with God throughout the day rather than the the biggest part of my being with God itself. What does it look like for me to relate to God during the day then? In addition to praying at moments I get a chance, I’m looking for a space in my afternoon or evening. This can be a slot that’s ten minutes long (but hopefully longer). It can be alone or with other people. It’s the slot I’m looking forward to in my day. I then go for a walk outside and talk out loud to God. I also read some more Scripture and listen to his voice. There’s something about doing this a little later in the day that my mind if more engaged and there is something about doing it outside that frees me to express myself more freely to God and makes me more aware of his presence. I think a lot of us struggle to pray for extended periods of time because we don’t know what to say or it doesn’t seem engaging. Try praying while walking outside, and thinking of it as an escape from life to do what you want to do most of all. Here’s a key verse that you can use to shape this time: English Standard Version Psalm 62
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
I’m not to the place where I can pour out my heart to God at all times, but I can do it once a day during this time. I pause and listen for his voice and meditate on the Scriptures I have read so that it’s me listening to him and not just me speaking to him. And wow do I feel refreshed in my soul when this becomes a daily part of my rhythm. I want us to have this church so that when we come together we are coming together with other people who are full of God. Jesus then concludes, English Standard Version Chapter 10 Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Jesus said that Mary’s pausing to listen to him is the “good portion.” That’s a curious word. What is Jesus referring to? The “good portion” is language that refers to the part of an inheritance that belongs to an inheritor. When it comes to God and his people, the Scriptures use this Word to refer to the Promised Land. Yet, as the OT unfolds, it becomes clear that the inheritance of the Promised Land, this beautiful and abundant place to live, serves as a place holder, or an image, of what God is like. What is God like? He is like a field full of green plants, plants, and animals providing you with all of the nourishment you need to live. In the OT, one of the twelve tribes didn’t receive an inheritance in the land because they were going to serve as Priests in God’s temple instead. Listen to this verse that describes their inheritance, English Standard Version Chapter 18 20 And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel. In other words, Martha is working to do what she believes will bring life to herself and others. Meanwhile, Mary is sitting with the source of life himself. You tell me which is a better choice. And finally, it won’t be taken away from her. Everything we work for, strive for, and build can be taken away from us, except for our relationship with Jesus. Only the relationship we cultivate with him and the love we show to others through him will last beyond death. It may seem like Mary is doing an ordinary thing. Yet, the ordinary act of listening to Jesus and being with him is the only real action that reaps benefits forever that no one can ever take away with you.
[1] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Lk 10:41). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
The pastors continue our series on Empty Philosophies (Colossians 2:8), and this week we tackle the complicated world of "Christian" Nationalism. Check out this sneaky philosophy that can deeply hurt the church.
What is it? What can we receive, redeem, and reject from it?
In this special Pentecost Sunday sermon, Pastor Daniel preaches from Acts 1:4-8 on the gift of the Holy Spirit given for powerful missions.
Spirit-Empowered Missions Acts 1:4-8
Exegetical Main Point: Jesus promised power for witness and gave power for witness in the sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Main Point of the Sermon: Seek the God who gives his Spirit for powerful and effective mission to the ends of the earth.
Introduction I praise God for my parents faithful example to me throughout my life. Even now, the things that make their eyes light up and puts fire in their souls are the things of the Lord. During their recent visit they were sharing stories of faithful and godly men and women of the past whom God used extraordinarily for great revivals. This conversation stirred my heart so I found a book of mine which documents some of these stories. As I read I was struck by a common theme: these men and women were very ordinary people, like Jeremiah Lamphier, a Wall Street businessman in the 1850’s who’s little prayer meeting with fellow businessmen in New York turned into a daily meeting of over 10,000 faithful praying men and women. It sparked many more prayer meetings like it in other cities, and a nationwide revival with stunning results. In his book A God-Sized Vision Collin Hansen records the events that followed in those years of revival. I’ll be quoting largely from it. “In Boston…police officers jaded by violence and strife were shocked to see an outbreak of joy and goodwill among the uneducated and poor, black and white together.” Similarly, in Philadelphia, where prayer meetings were reaching 3000 attendees daily, “firefighters notorious for brawling with one another opened their halls to evangelists.” Denominations that didn’t often get along collaborated and participated in the revival, even sharing pulpits to demonstrate the core truths they were united around. Conversion stories poured in from every city. In each city, town halls, public squares, and churches were flooded with people. The Chicago Daily Press reported “the prominent topic of thought and conversation…in our streets, in our places of business and in our homes [is] the subject of the religious awakening….It is upon the lips of Christians and of unbelievers.” College campuses, likewise, erupted with revival leading to the unlikely conversions of intellectuals like Lottie Moon - after whom the Southern Baptist Missionary offering is named. Moon would go on to lead hundreds to the Lord as a missionary in China where she would spend her entire life. Her story has inspired many women towards missions. The revival of 1857 and 58 brought reports from around the globe of its effects on society like this one: “The penitent owners of gambling saloons made them available for daily prayer meetings; southern grocery keepers rolled out their barrels, poured their contents on the ground and ‘abandoned the traffic [of alcohol]’; the chief of police in Atlanta, Georgia, maintained that the revival had so reduced the rate of crime that he could dispense with half his force; in the fourth ward of New York City many ‘haunts of sin and shame’ were shut up and ‘hundreds’ of prostitutes allegedly ‘rescued’” (God-sized Vision, 80-93). These people and these stories are examples to us that God is still in the business of taking ordinary men and women who are hungry for him and using them to do the very things he did while walking on earth. What set people like Lamphier and Moon apart? How can we see revival like this in our city and nation in our time? The answer I read in these stories is the same pattern we see in God’s Word: We must seek the God who gives his Spirit for powerful and effective mission. Today I want to show you this pattern in the book of Acts. We’ll see: GOD: 1. Jesus promised power for mission 2. The disciples prayed for power 3. Jesus gave the Spirit for power
- Jesus promised power for mission
The book of Acts is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke, written by Paul’s companion and medical doctor, Luke. While Luke’s Gospel focused on what Jesus’s kingdom was like, the “Acts of the Apostles”, or the “Acts of the Holy Spirit,” as some have named the book, he shows how Jesus’s kingdom advanced after he ascended. Right at the beginning of the book in 1:3, Luke tells us that the Kingdom of God was Jesus’s primary teaching topic during the forty days between his resurrection and ascension. It says that Jesus was “speaking about the kingdom of God.” So it makes sense why this topic was prominent on the disciples’ minds. Verse 6 tells us that they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” That seems like a good question, doesn’t it? They had seen Jesus’s miracles, death, burial, and resurrection. So, now was the time for him to take the throne and begin to rule in Jerusalem, right? Well, not quite. There was still another step in God’s plan of redemption that the disciples didn’t understand, which verses 4-5 begin to unfold. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Yes, Jesus was king. Yes, he promised that he would one day reign on his throne with power, but the next step was for the disciples to… “wait”? Wait?! What’s to wait for?! The promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit. You see, the Father had made a promise through the prophets, which Jesus describes here as a baptism. Not a water baptism like John’s, but a Holy Spirit baptism. The disciples had already been dunked in water symbolizing their repentance and submission to God and his kingdom, but they had not yet received the promised baptism, or indwelling, of the Holy Spirit. They needed to be dunked, as it were, with the Holy Spirit of God. Where does the Father promise a Spirit baptism in the Scriptures? In many places, but most explicitly in Joel 2, the passage Peter would preach from just after he received that baptism on the day of Pentecost. Peter paraphrases it well in Acts 2:17-18. Flip there if you would. 17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. So, why did the disciples need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Joel 2 says they will be baptized in order that they might prophesy. This word prophesy sometimes refers to predicting something in the future, but more commonly it is used to refer to those speaking or writing by divine inspiration. In other words, the Father promised to give the Holy Spirit so that all people, men, women, sons and daughters, young and old, even you and me(!), would be empowered to speak a divine message, namely the message that God has come to save the world through Jesus and his kingdom – this is the Gospel we preach, the one message by which men are saved! The Spirit would be given to “all flesh”, that is every believer, so that not just the prophets and priests, not just pastors and leaders, but that all of God’s people could bear witness to this Good News. So when the disciples asked about the timing of the kingdom, Jesus taught them this truth that the Spirit must come first so that they could be witnesses. The kingdom would advance in this way. Look again at verse 7: 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Simply put, Jesus is saying don’t worry about the end times, focus on the mission I’m calling you to now. You’re going to be my witnesses to the ends of the earth, and you’re going to do it in the power of the Spirit. You see, even as Jesus was uniquely empowered by the Spirit throughout his ministry, the disciples would receive the same power for theirs. So Jesus didn’t send them out immediately, but told them to wait. They knew their mission – “Go and make disciples of all nations” – but they needed power. More than any strategy or organization, they needed the power that God promised to give them. So, in verses 12 and following, we’re told that after Jesus ascended to heaven that the disciples obeyed and went to Jerusalem and waited. But their waiting wasn’t passive. Let’s see what they were doing. This is my second point. 1. Jesus’s disciples prayed for power
Look at verse 14 with me. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Notice two characteristics of this prayer meeting. One, we’re told they prayed with “one accord”. That is, they were all after the same thing – united hearts. Two, they were “devoting” themselves to prayer. In other words, this was not a onetime event, but something they did consistently. This waiting was active. They came together consistently and prayed with fervency and expectancy. Though we don’t know what all they were praying, surely they were asking the Father to fulfill his promise to pour out his Spirit. And were told that about ten days later, when the day of Pentecost arrived, that while “they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1), presumably praying together, the Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind and filled the house where they were sitting. Wow! What an answer to prayer! Church, there are many things to point out in this great text, but I want to emphasize this point: unitedprayer is the vehicle to great moves of the Spirit. This is true in Scripture and this is true in history. When God’s people come together consistently and with united hearts eagerly expecting God to work through their faith-filled prayers, he works. What is it about prayer that moves the heart of God, you may ask? Among other things, it is the posture of dependence. The very act of praying is an admission of our dependence on God, and our dependence on God moves his heart. Where God finds people who know and acknowledge in prayer that they are little help to anyone without God, that the task is far too great, and our abilities far too small – there he finds a people through whom he can work. Prayer slowly but surely humbles us; it helps us become less and God become great in our eyes. It invites God to reign. And when God reigns in a person’s life they become conduits through which his power can move. And what is it about united prayer that moves the heart of God? Similarly, when we people unite in prayer there is a shift away from any trust in any one person’s leadership and ability, or even the strength in our numbers, to a humble corporate cry that says, “God, we need you!” When we draw near to God in dependence, he is able to draw near to us and move in power through us. This move of power is exactly what we see unfold in Acts 2. Let’s see this in the point. 1. Jesus gave them the Spirit for power
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. These verses record the birth of the church of Jesus Christ. Praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, we don’t have time to get into all the details of this incredible chapter, but I want to point out a few things. One, the Spirit came on “all” of them who were there praying. God is no respecter of wealth, status, age, gender, or anything else. God the Father gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to anyone who has faith in Jesus. And what could be a greater emphasis of your value to God than that he would generously give himself completely, intimately, to you and me, ordinary sinners. Two, we see that everyone who received the Spirit began to speak in other tongues “as the Spirit gave them utterance.” There is a lot more in the Scriptures about speaking in tongues (e.g. 1 Cor 14), but in this case, each one spoke intelligibly in languages not their own “the mighty works of God.” That is, they were empowered beyond their own ability to be a witness. Three, the disciples were empowered by the Spirit for bold witness. Notice in 2:14 that Peter, standing with the other eleven, the same man who denied Jesus three times just a few weeks earlier and the same men who had deserted Jesus because of fear of the people, now stood together to declare the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in the face of those who crucified their Lord. There is a noticeable difference in humans when the Spirit of God is present. We are no longer limited by our personalities, weaknesses, or even our particular giftings. Finally, their preaching brought about conviction and conversion. Verse 37 tells us that when the audience heard this they were “cut to the heart” saying “what shall we do?” And that day “three thousand souls” received Christ and baptism and were added to the church. The promise had been fulfilled. The disciples prayers were answered and they were given power for witness to the nations. And the Holy Spirit was that power. YOU Perhaps you are hungry to see revival, to see the kingdom advance like this, and you have been asking Jesus similar things to the disciples: when will the kingdom come? Where is the fruit? Where is this power we see in Acts and in the revivals of history? Church, if the Spirit of God is the power behind the Pentecost revival we just read, and the power behind the great revivals of history, then the same truth applies today, we must seek God who gives his Holy Spirit for power. We must again confess as a church, it’s not by our strategies, our leaders, our particular giftings, or anything else that we will have power for fruitful witness, but by our trust in the God who is still empowering his people for his mission by the Spirit. In his writings on revival, the famous Reformed London pastor Martin Lloyd-Jones argued that “every revival is a [kind of] repetition of Pentecost… [he said] it is the greatest need of the Christian Church at this present hour.” (p. 26, A God-sized Vision) In other words, we need God to pour out his Spirit on us afresh. Now, before I say more on that, I need to explain an important difference between what happened at Pentecost in Acts 2 and what we are asking for today. You need to know that we have already been given the Holy Spirit. We don’t need another Pentecost like the one recorded in Acts 2. The promised gift of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost is for everyone who calls on Jesus. So, if your trust is in Jesus today, not in your own righteousness or good works, but in Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection for you, then, know that the Holy Spirit lives in you. The moment you put your faith in Jesus was the moment that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit so that your body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit! And not in part, but in whole. If you are in Christ, you cannot have more of the Holy Spirit in the sense that one person is a quarter full and another person is three-quarters full because they’re a little better, etc. No, but you and I have equally been baptized with the same Spirit. But listen carefully to me. Though all believers have been baptized by the Spirit, we do not all walk in the Spirit’s power equally. REPEAT Many Christians live without knowledge of the Spirit’s presence and without dependence on the Spirit’s power in their lives. One pastor compared this type of Christian to someone who lives off the grid. They have access to power, but they choose not tap into it. It’s not that the Spirit never came to them or that he left them, but simply that they do not ONGOINGLY seek God for the filling of the Holy Spirit. Listen to pastor and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, J.D. Greear, on this point: “Throughout our lives, we are to be continually re-filled with the Spirit for mission and to walk with God [emphasis mine]. That’s what Ephesians 5:18 tells us. “Be filled [with the Spirit]…[“Be filled”] is a present imperative, meaning literally “be being filled.” Always. Continually.” Again, I’m not talking about another Pentecost experience. I’m definitely not teaching the Pentecostal doctrine of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, where every believer is first saved, but must then must receive a second baptism in the Spirit. No, I believe that is a dangerous teaching that gives the impression that some Christians are varsity and others J.V. No, but the Scriptures do teach that if we are not seeking and depending on the Spirit of God ONGOINGLY for our mission and for our holiness, but rather slipping in to a self-reliant Christianity, then our mission and our holiness will fall short. Greear says, “If you are a Christian, you have the Spirit! The question now is, Does He have you?” I love this question, “Does he have you?” This question gets at the heart of the matter. It’s not only ignorance or lack of dependence that hinders us, but that many of us are filled daily by things other than the Spirit. Are you filled with wine, by a relationship, some dream, or something else, or does the Spirit have you? Are you filled by him consistently. We see in Acts a people who ongoingly seek God for the Spirit. Turn to Acts 4:29. We’re told that a little while later, after the disciples had already been given the Spirit, following the release of Peter and John from the officials, a group of disciples “lifted their voices together to God” saying 29 “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” This was a group sold out for Jesus’s mission. The Spirit had already been given to them. They had already seen signs and wonders and preached the Word boldly, but here they continue to seek God for power, declaring their need for him in face of opposition. And we’re told the result in verse 31: 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:29-31). This looks like another Pentecost! They set their hearts and minds on the Gospel, and appealed to God in dependent prayer, and were met by an outpouring of the Spirit for more powerful and bold witness. What I believe this text shows us along with many others (e.g. Ac 4:8; 13:9, 52; Eph 5:18) is that Spirit-filled believers should seek God for fresh fillings of his Spirit to empower their mission. Why? Because we know we are powerless without him. Again Martin Lloyd-Jones is helpful here. He says, “…We spend our lives in busy activism, instead of pausing to realize the possibilities, instead of realizing our own failure, and realizing that we are not attracting anyone to Christ, and that they probably see nothing in us that makes them desiring to come to him…” In other words, we are content with status quo. We are content with not seeing people come to Christ through our ministries, through our witness. He continues, “The inevitable and constant preliminary to revival has always been a thirst for God, a thirst, a living thirst for a knowledge of the living God, and a longing and a burning desire to see him acting, manifesting himself and his power, rising, and scattering his enemies.” (Lloyd-Jones, Revival, 90-91) That’s what it looks like for the Holy Spirit to have you. We thirst for God. We crave to see God’s Spirit moving in power. It becomes our greatest longing, and we daily recognize our lack in ourselves and our need for God’s Spirit for power. Ongoing dependence on the Holy Spirit manifests itself in constant prayers that say, “Father, we need your Spirit for power.” “Father, we want to know you more and see you working through us to make yourself known.” “We want it more than we want our comfort, more than we want our plans, more than we want anything.” And we remember as we pray, God has already proven his willingness to give his Spirit. It is more about your heart willingness than God’s willingness. Seeking God for the Spirit simply accesses what he has already given by opening our hearts to what God wants to do in and through us. So, we must seek him. Those who do, the Bible and history has shown, are met by God’s willingness to use ordinary men and women, ordinary churches like ours, in mighty ways. Missions We see in 1:8 that Jesus gave the Spirit to empower the disciples first to witness in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. But in the same sentence, we see that he also called them to witness to the ends of the earth. So let’s consider for a moment how our passage connects to global missions. Jerusalem was the disciples local mission field, moving out also to Judea and Samaria. “The end of the earth” was the global mission. But I want you to see that this mission, near and far, is the same. Spirit dependent Christians will not only care about the lost in their neighborhoods and cities, they will care about the lost of the nations – even those out of sight and mind. Jesus is the Savior of the world! Our hope is that as we seek God for his Spirit together, all of us will receive power to witness Jesus to our neighbors, AND that all of us will be eager to send and some of us willing to go to the nations with the Gospel. We already have a handful of people planning to go from our community, but we pastors are praying for ten or twenty more in the next decade who would be ready and willing to go to the most unreached and unengaged peoples of the world. For those who are unfamiliar with those terms, Unreached People Groups are those who are statistically below 2% Christian as a whole, and therefore, do not have enough followers of Christ or resources to evangelize their own people (Joshuaproject.net). Another category is unengaged people groups who have no known church planting work happening amongst them. Can you imagine? Living and dying without hearing the Gospel! We want to be a church of local missionaries who are passionate about sending global missionaries to unreached contexts. Again, this is not a competing goal but complementary. How is it that God is going to accomplish the promise that people from every tribe and tongue would be amongst his church? Through ordinary people like you and me with Spirit-filled dependence on the God who promises to build his church. The question is do you want to be a part of it? The way to be part of it is, first, to surrender your life to Jesus and his Kingdom. Are you following Jesus? Today is the day! Come talk to me. Second, it is to start praying diligently yourself and with others, whether in your MC or DNA’s or your spouse or any other believers, for God to pour out his Spirit on us for powerful mission. When we do, I believe the Lord is going to lead many of us to more radical hospitality with neighbors, more bold witness to co-workers and friends, to seeing healings and other miracles. And I believe the Lord will lead some more of us to move to uncomfortable and challenging places across the globe for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus conclusion: Let me remind you today that the Good News of Jesus is not that you are enough for him in this mission of making disciples, but that he has promised to always be with you, that he will always be enough for you and strengthen you for the mission he has called you to.
In this week's Midweek, we have a special privilege to hear how God brought Pastor Daniel to treasure Christ more than all of his dreams and ambitions. In hearing this, we have the opportunity to check our hearts on what's our greatest dream is.
Luke 10:21-24
“When God sends us to evangelize, he sends us to act as vital links in the chain of his purpose for the salvation of his elect. The fact that he has such a purpose, and that it is (so we believe) a sovereign purpose that cannot be thwarted, does not imply that, after all, our evangelizing is not needed for its fulfillment.”
-J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
How the Miracle of the Harvest Happens
Ross Tenneson / General
Intro As we have stated before, when we walk though books of the Bible verse by verse, God brings up difficult concepts that we must preach on. Today is one of those days. I want to start by sharing my own personal story in relation to what these verse are teaching, As many of you know, I grew up in a solid Christian home and went to a solid church. Yet, something that I really didn’t hear discussed much was how God’s rule of the world human freedom went together. It wasn’t until I went to Bible school over 10 years ago that I started hearing more about “the doctrines of grace” or “Big-God Theology.” The introduction of these concepts led me into a two year journey of discussing, pondering, and even agonizing over these huge questions. They were difficult intellectually to comprehend and weighed on me at an emotional level because they concern people’s souls and everlasting futures. I spent a summer hanging rain gutter and my boss, who was a very godly man, spend part of nearly every day as we worked together talking to me about these things. Around that time I started going to Bethlehem Baptist church and hearing John Piper preaching through the gospel of John. God used a sermon from John 6 to settle this matter in my heart. I surrendered to the Bible’s teaching that God freely saves his people and overcomes every obstacle in doing so. My purpose in telling my story to is to help you understand that this is not a topic that Christians should only interact with intellectually (as in, “I am curious in learning more about this debate”). Rather, this should be a heart level discussion because it relates so much to how we see and relate to our God. Family, some of you might leave not fully agreeing with me on this issue, and that’s alright. My goal today is to faithfully and humbly preach the Scriptures and trust the Spirit of God to work through my preaching to cause us to love our God more. Anyone who is not yet a Christian, I am so glad you are hear because this text is going to put on display the goodness and greatness of our God. And church, I am eager to preach this sermon today because it will illuminate a part of our walk with God that is so important for us to know. This text will help answer the question: How do people become Christians? Last week we heard Sam preach about how God has a harvest of people he will bring into his kingdom. This week we get to talk about how that happens, how someone, whether its you or me or someone we know, becomes a Christian. The title of this sermon is The Miracle of the Harvest. Revelation English Standard Version Chapter 10 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit Our text begins in verse 21 by saying, “in that same hour.” What hour is Luke referring to? Luke is referring to that same hour that his disciples, the 72, return from their mission to the cities Jesus was about to go to. They received a mixed reception. Some cities and towns brutally rejected them while others received them and their message about Jesus. In these places, they exercised the power of God and freed people from their spiritual bondage. They returned to Jesus with the good news that God had worked in the face of oppression and rejection to rescue people. At which point, Jesus exhorts them to rejoice even more that their names are secure in God’s book of life. In other words, they should rejoice most of all that they know God, more than any success they have in ministry. Jesus’s words that we are about to see in our text are going to further reveal the wonder and the glory of having one’s name in the book of heaven. Now getting to our text, the disciple’s report of God’s works and Jesus’s reminder of God’s book in which he has recorded his people prompts an emotional response in our Lord: “he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.” Whatever Jesus rejoices in should catch our attention. Whatever he rejoices in should be what we aim to rejoice in.[1] What is Jesus rejoicing in…? Thankfully, he gets more specific for us and says, English Standard Version Chapter 10 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. Jesus thanks his “Father,” a term that has in mind God’s generosity in mind. Then Jesus calls his father the “Lord of heaven and earth.” This term points to God’s breathtaking greatness and rule over everything. His next statement will then illuminate God’s goodness and God’s greatness, “you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” Wow. This verse teaches a weighty truth. What does this verse teach? God rules over who does and doesn’t respond to Jesus with faith and repentance. I’m going to say that again, God rules over who does and doesn’t respond to Jesus with faith and repentance. That’s the level of bigness and greatness that the Bible attributes to our God. His rule extends to every area, even this one. Don’t take my word for it. Let’s see whether this is what the verse is teaching. Jesus says that the Father has “hidden these things from the wise and understanding.” What are “these things”? (take a look in verse 22 to see…) Jesus is going to clarify in the next verse that they are knowledge of the Father and the Son (or relationship with them). The word, “hidden” means “to keep from being known.” The people of the the towns that rejected Jesus did so because God did not reveal to them the things about Jesus and their own sinful hearts could not help but choose to reject them. According to our own expectations, who would be the best candidates for God to reveal himself to?… the rich, the famous, the powerful, the wise? Yet as we will soon see, the “wise and understanding” whom God often hides himself from are these very people. They are those whose success, wealth, and power have made them feel independent from God. They see themselves as self-sufficient and as having no need of God’s help. In his good plan, God often (but now always!) chooses not to reveal his Son to these. And who does God reveal himself to? Jesus says, “and [you] revealed them to little children.” “Little children” are the opposite of the “wise and understanding.” They are those people whose humble and ordinary life circumstances often lead them to feel a need to depend on someone greater than themselves. These kinds of people are the ones whom God, in his good plan, loves to save. This verse helps to answer the question I asked before, “how does you (or anyone) become a Christian?” Answer: God chooses to reveal his goodness and beauty to you, and, finally seeing him for who he is, you choose to place your trust in him. According to the Bible and the gospel of Luke, we must make real decisions to trust in Jesus if he will rescue us. Yet, that decision does not ultimately come down to us being good enough to decide to trust him, but him being good enough to reveal himself to us. If God does not take that step, then we will never believe. Here is the Apostle Paul keying off of this language Jesus uses in this passage and confirming to us this interpretation, English Standard Version Chapter 1 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. God’s choosing is what Paul means by “called.” Let us not confuse the concept of “called” in this text with God’s general call to all to come and receive life (which he does generally call all). Rather here, like in our text that we have from Luke, the call is God’s specific call to specific people he has chosen to save that results in them trusting Jesus. Verses 23 and 24 confirm this interpretation, English Standard Version Chapter 1 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Christ remains a stumbling block and folly to those whom he has not called. Yet, he becomes the power and wisdom of God to those whom God calls, just as in our text the ones who see and know the Father are the ones to whom Christ has revealed him. What is one huge consequence of this conclusion? If God has chosen to reveal Jesus to you and you love and trust him, this should utterly humble you. God didn’t choose to save you because there was some quality in you that deserved saving. In fact, the opposite is more likely true, that your life was so unworthy of salvation that saving us highlights the grace of God for all to see. Here’s another reason this teaching should humble you: nothing good in you caused you to place your trust in Jesus, instead, God revealed and called you to himself so that you would become a Christian. Just think about it. Other people have heard the exact same gospel presentation as you have, and have completely rejected Jesus. On the other hand, you trusted him. Did you trust him because you were wiser than them, or smarter than them, or more virtuous than them? The resounding answer in this text is, “no.” It’s because it was God’s gracious will to disclose himself to you. You didn’t make the difference in coming to God, Christ did! Notice what Jesus says next, English Standard Version Chapter 10 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. This idea that God rules over even who and who doesn’t respond to Jesus in faith is immense. It’s hard to comprehend, it has so many implications and mysteries. Myself and many others I know can get lost trying to grasp how this all works. Jesus does something quite different and quite more helpful for the soul: he simply affirms the goodness of God’s plan to save the lowly in the eyes of the world. Rather than the response of trying to pick apart the intricacies of how this works, this passage calls for a different response: rejoicing in God’s goodness that he is saving people. Our God is using his almighty power with which he rules the universe to save people from sin and death. I want to think about the alternative for a moment, What if God was not acting like this, choosing to reveal himself to his people with almighty power that results in them becoming his children? The answer is that if God was not ruling at this level, at the level of the heart to bring people to himself, no one would be saved. It takes this level of power and miracle for the fallen human being to come to God in faith and trust. Let me share an example with you, in Luke 18, we hear the story of the rich young ruler who refuses to follow Jesus when Jesus asks him to give his wealth to the poor. Verse 23 says, English Standard Version Chapter 18 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. He represents where the human heart is apart from the grace of God. By nature, we love our sin and our idols more than God. If left to our own devices to trust Jesus, no one ever would become Christians. All of the world would remain lost. How could this rich man go from loving money most to loving God most? Like any of us, it would take an act and work of God within ourselves. The proper response to this teaching about God’s total Lordship is not to say. Next Jesus says, English Standard Version Chapter 10 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus just finished praising the Father’s good will to hide these things from the wise and reveal them to little children. Now, he will turn to his own role in saving his people. We see all over the New Testament that the Father and the Son do not ever work against each other, but always in unison to accomplish their purposes. In this case, the purpose they are working toward is the revealing of themselves to sinful people they have freely chosen to save. Jesus starts by declaring that “all things have been handed over to me by my Father.”[2] That is to say, that the Father has shared his authority over the whole world with the Son. The Father has delighted to share his authority in the matter of whom he saves with his Son. Next Jesus says, English Standard Version Chapter 10 and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” What does it mean to say that “no one knows who the Son is except the Father?” It is to say that the Father has a unique relational bond with the son that no other being has or shares with the Son. It’s an exclusive and wonderful love and enjoyment of the other person that’s unique to the Father. One place you can look to see this perfect bond of relationship is in Luke 3 at Jesus’s baptism when God says, “this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.” Jesus confirms as much when he also says, “or who the Father is except the Son.” The Son also has a unique and deep knowledge of the Father than no one else enjoys. The Father and the Son love one another perfectly: they are never alone, they know and are fully known, they always delight in one another. In other words, the relationship they have sums up everything we are thirsting for. This makes the next phrase in this verse so breathtaking and wonderful. “or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” What this passage is saying what Jesus does is to bring his people into the same relationship with the Father that he enjoys. God’s love for his Son, God’s complete acceptance of his Son, God’s joy in his Son, all of the things we want from God and want for him to feel about us, become true when Jesus reveals himself to us and we finally become Christians who trust him. When we started trusting Jesus (some of us remember when that was and some of us don’t. That doesn’t matter as much as that we do). Whenever that was, this the greatest thing that ever happened to you and the greatest moment of your life, and it is a miracle that the Lord himself worked in your heart. The point is that the grace of God goes deeper than we would think. He didn’t just created the opportunity for any of us to come to Jesus in repentance and faith, he also changed our hearts so that we would come. That’s how good he is. No matter what’s going on in your life, if you know Jesus today, you should think of yourself as the most fortunate person on the planet. Visitors and Guests You may not yet be a believer in Jesus and wondering, “if these things are true, can I come to Jesus?” And the answer is, “if you want him, you can have him.” Yes, it takes a work of God to change your heart to even want to trust and follow Jesus. But if you feel today a desire in your heart to know this God I’m talking about and to have your sins forgiven, then it is likely God is working in your heart to bring you to himself. What should you do? Trust that Jesus’s death on the cross was all that is needed for God to forgive you for your sin and welcome you into his family, and tell someone here that’s what you want. What if you don’t want him yet? Start praying to him and asking him that he would change your heart to want him. God revealing Jesus to us does not mean that we don’t make a decision to trust him, it just means that we depend on him to be able to make that decision. There’s no mind control here; there’s no forcing you to do anything, it’s simply God freeing your heart from spiritual blindness so that you can make the first totally free decision of your life to trust Jesus. One big objection to the truth that God saves whomever he wants to save is “why then would I pray for the lost and invite them to know Jesus?” If God’s just going to do it anyways, then what’s the point? Notice how this passage is connected to the last one where Jesus instructs his disciples to pray and evangelize (the miracle of the Harvest had just happened through the 72, now God pulls back the curtain and shows us how it happened). God ruling over everything does not make prayer and evangelism futile: it makes it possible. Think about it, we pray to a sovereign God because he is actually able to answer our prayers. We evangelize to spiritually blind people because God is actually able to make them see. Here is how J.I. Packer put it,
“When God sends us to evangelize, he sends us to act as vital links in the chain of his purpose for the salvation of his elect. The fact that he has such a purpose, and that it is (so we believe) a sovereign purpose that cannot be thwarted, does not imply that, after all, our evangelizing is not needed for its fulfillment.”[3]
God both has an unstoppable purpose to save who he wants and he incredibly uses us as his instruments to bring that purpose to pass. How in the world could that make us want to pray and evangelize less? What does it look like in day to day life to embrace this truth that God rules over who believes in him? It looks like a life devoted to prayer and evangelism with the excitement, trust, and awe that God is ruling over every detail of your life including the answers to your prayers and the fruit of your ministry. Then Jesus says, English Standard Version Chapter 10 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Jesus concludes this chapter with some more incredible verses that could be their own sermon if we had time for another one right now. There are two groups who are blessed in these verses. It is not the wise and understanding of the world and it is not the prophets and kings of old. Instead, it is the little children who put their trust in Jesus, and here it is those who live after Jesus comes into the world and reveals the Father. We get to see more than what the prophets and kings in the OT saw when they looked forward to the coming of Jesus. They only looked forward to his arrival, we get to see what he is like when he arrived and know him even more intimately than they did! Your intimacy with God can be greater, in one way, than that of even King David or Moses because Jesus has revealed more of God to us than those men got to see. Don’t you see that we are doubly blessed? We are doubly fortunate? God has opened our eyes to see, and what he has shown us is greater than what the people of the past God to see. We see what they only looked forward to. Church, we should leave this sermon feeling unbelievably fortunate and blessed, unbelievably so. We can see God, and we get to see the Father through Jesus. Our God is so, so good.
[1] Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2018), 176.
[2] Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (p. 294). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
[3] J. I. Packer and Mark Dever, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, Americanized edition (IVP Books, 2012), p. 96.