Author: Jefferson Vann

Jefferson Vann is pastor of Piney Grove Advent Christian Church in Delco, North Carolina.

THE JOY LIST

THE JOY LIST

Luke 10:17-24 NET.

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 21 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. 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.” 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.”

Last Sunday we learned that Jesus was planning a campaign in which he was going to go to all the towns and villages of Judea on his way to Jerusalem. He was also recruiting a large group of his disciples to go ahead of him to those towns and villages preaching the gospel of the kingdom and winning people to Christ. In the beginning verse of today’s text, we find that …

The Seventy-two took joy from their victory in spiritual warfare (17-19).

They said “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” When they obeyed Jesus call to go on a mission to preach the gospel where it was not known, God’s Spirit went with them and removed the obstacles in their path. It did not matter whether those obstacles were cultural, political, social – even if they were supernatural. When God calls us on a mission, he equips us for that mission. He also goes with us because even though we are on a mission from God, we will encounter opposition. We will be involved in warfare. God does not promise to eliminate the opposition so that we do not have to do warfare. Instead, he promises to empower us to overcome amid the warfare.

The Old Testament shows us several examples of this. God sent Moses to Egypt to rescue the Israelites. He was at first opposed by the Israelites themselves. God empowered Moses to demonstrate his authenticity. Then Moses was opposed by the Egyptian magicians. God gave Moses power to overshadow the tricks of the Egyptian magicians. Pharoah was stubborn and he would not let the Israelites Go. God intervened a third time to show his power over all the gods of Egypt.

God sent David to do battle with the Philistine champion, Goliath. God did not strike down Goliath. He empowered David to do that. David had to obey the mission before he would see the deliverance. God was faithful to enable his missionary to overcome.

God sent Daniel to spend some time with the lions. Daniel was faithful to keep praying, which was all he could do. God was faithful to shut the mouths of the lions.

God sent Daniel’s three Hebrew friends (Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah AKA Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) on a mission to defy the order to worship the golden statue. They obeyed that mission, and it got them thrown into a very hot place. The furnace even destroyed the soldiers who threw them in there. But God was faithful to keep the fire from harming the missionaries.

So, the seventy-two should not have been surprised that they would overcome in spiritual warfare. God’s people following God’s call to do God’s mission will overcome any opposition – even the opposition of the devil.

But Jesus tells these victorious missionaries that if they wanted to rejoice, there are some other things that they should take more joy from. Today I want to talk about that list.

Jesus said they should take joy in being known by God (20).

He said they should rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Most of the time when I thought about that statement, I thought Jesus was talking about the certainty of their eternal destiny. Since their names are written in heaven, the God was going to remember them and give them eternal life when Jesus comes again. But as I meditated on that statement this week, I realized that Jesus did not say that their names are going to be found someday when the role is called up yonder. No, his statement was “rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Monday, Penny and I drove to Ridgecrest so that I could attend the ACGC Triennial Convention. It was a long 4 ½ hour trip. When I drove into the conference center, I stopped at the first building of several, and I wondered how long it would take for me to register. When I got to the counter, I told them my name. They immediately presented me with a key to my room, a meal ticket for the week, and a map to the building where I would be staying. I was in and out of that registration in less than three minutes. What made the process of registering so easy was that I had already preregistered a month ago. So, they already knew I was coming. They already knew my name.

What Jesus is saying is not just the fact that we have an eternal destiny waiting for us when Jesus comes back. No, it’s more important than that. Our names are already written in heaven now. We have a Father, and He knows our name. When Jesus returns, he’s not going to have to look your name up in the logbook to see if you will qualify for eternal life. Your name’s already there. You are important not because you will inherit the kingdom of God but because you presently have a relationship with the God of the kingdom. Your future is certain because it is already written down in heaven. You’ve got a key waiting for you with your name on it. You’ve got a meal ticket waiting for you with your name on it.

The hymn asked, “Is my name written there?” Jesus told these missionaries “Your name’s written there.” If you want something to rejoice about –- something to put on your joy list – put this: my name is written in heaven.

Now, the Bible doesn’t say that we are going to go to heaven. But it does say that when Jesus comes back, even if we have been asleep in our graves for a thousand years, we are going to hear his voice and come out of those graves alive and intact. It doesn’t tell us what he’s going to be saying. Maybe he will do for us what he did for his friend Lazarus. He said “Lazarus, come out” and Lazarus came out. I’d like to think that someday I’m going to hear “Jeff, come out.” Oh, what joy to be woke up by the Master’s voice!

Another thing we should put on our joy list is knowing what God teaches us (21-22).

Jesus rejoiced in that. He 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.” You and I are the little children. God has taught us some things in his word that the greatest philosophers and thinkers the world had ever known missed. Hammurabi didn’t put it in his code. Plato and Socrates didn’t teach it to their students. Confucius didn’t know it. The Buddha couldn’t fathom it. But it’s common knowledge among us kids who read God’s word and believe what we read.

The popular and highly credentialed scholars of today look at God’s words and poke fun of them. But we know them as the words of eternal life. They think of them as myths and fairy tales. We think of them as the Lord’s instruction that makes us like a tree planted by the water: firmly planted and fruitfully living. We see the same words on the page as those worldly scholars do. The difference between us and them is that we know the author of those words. Other people stumble over those words, but to us, they are a lamp unto our feet and a light for our path.

Another thing we should put on our joy list is experiencing what God shows us (23-24).

Jesus told his disciples “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 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.” They were living in amazing times. The kingdom of God was being built – one believer at a time. One village at a time. One town at a time.

The same is true today. God is still in the business of turning the world upside down and using ordinary believers to do it. Yes, ordinary believers. At least we know the names of the twelve original apostles. We don’t know the names of these faithful seventy-two. But they were successful and victorious because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit – the same Holy Spirit Jesus poured out on us.

Have you ever met someone whose life was dramatically transformed by the gospel? I have. I have seen it happen time and time again. I’ve seen whole families converted through simple acts of faithfulness by ordinary Christians. It can happen in your family. It can happen in our town. God wants us to see these things – to experience them. The prophets and kings could only imagine these things, but you and I can live them out. We are living in the gospel age, and the gospel is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.

Michael Card writes of this passage “The world is being turned upside down because the Father wants it that way, and Jesus could not be more joyful at the prospect. It is a rare moment of light on an otherwise dark journey to Jerusalem.”[1]

When we say “Yes. Lord” when Jesus calls us to a mission that proclaims the gospel, we experience mutual joy with our Lord himself. He is committed to bringing the lost into his fold. He loves it when you and I cooperate with his plan. There is no happiness like the happiness of making the Lord Jesus happy.

[1] Card, Michael. Luke: The Gospel of Amazement. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2011. p. 137.

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MISSION FIRST

MISSION FIRST

Luke 9:57-62 NET

57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

We are continuing to study the commands of Christ as they appear chronologically in the Gospels. Today’s text begins with the words “As they were walking along the road” and that gives us the setting for the commands that Jesus gives. Jesus had been involved in a major ministry in and around the region of Galilee, but then he set his heart to change his location. He was on his way to Jerusalem. When the Samaritans learned that he was heading to Jerusalem, they rejected him. But Jesus was bound and determined to go to Jerusalem.

On his way, Jesus is recruiting evangelists to spread the gospel — to go ahead of him as he passes through southern villages on the way to Jerusalem (10:1-2).

  • 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Just like Jesus had commissioned the twelve to preach the gospel in Galilee, he is now recruiting followers to preach the gospel in Judea. He is also apparently recruiting people to recruit others to continue the work of evangelizing this region. That is why he is telling them to pray for more harvesters. Jesus knows that for many of these towns and cities, this will be their last opportunity to respond to the gospel.

As I read commentary after commentary this week in preparation for this message, it occurred to me that most of them read this passage out of its context. They treat this passage as if it is a general conversation between Jesus and people who are considering becoming Christians. They miss out on the fact that Jesus is recruiting people for a specific mission: the mission to reach the Judean villages and towns with the gospel.

The big idea that this passage is talking about is that when the Master calls you to a mission, the mission comes first. All other commitments must take second place because of the urgency of the harvest.

When you plant your crops, you expect the harvest at a certain time. When it’s time to harvest, you can’t be involved in something else. If you are, the harvest will go bad before you have a chance to get it. Jesus told these the new recruits (the seventy-two) that the harvest was already plentiful. It was time for all hands on deck.

But, as we see from today’s text, there were a few of these potential evangelists who thought that they should be excused from this mission. Each of these men thought that he had a reasonable excuse. But Jesus essentially told each one that their excuse was not acceptable. The mission must come first.

I don’t know why, but the Lord wants me to talk about these three sections in the opposite order in which they appear in the text. So, the first section would begin in verse 61.

  • ” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”

That is not an unreasonable request. In fact, you may remember that in the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah called Elisha to follow him, but Elisha asked for permission to go and say goodbye to his family first. Elisha said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And Elijah said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So, this potential evangelist probably thought that this would be a good precedent for him to be excluded from this mission.

But Jesus didn’t think so. The mission comes first. In fact, Jesus was also aware of the Elijah and Elisha story. In that Old Testament text, Elisha is plowing with some oxen at the time, and he slaughters his oxen and has a feast with his family and then goes back to Elijah and follows him. Jesus tells this potential evangelist:

  •  62 “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In other words, the time for the mission is now. Your hand is to the plow and if you look back you are going to miss your opportunity. The mission must come first.

Mission first means leaving past entanglements behind (61-62).

For this potential evangelist, the entanglement he was not ready to leave behind was his family. For others, it might be their job, or their community, or their home. Jesus was calling on the seventy-two to leave all these things behind. He was telling them to pack up and go on the road to the southern villages of Judea. That was where the harvest was. That was where the mission was. Jesus needed evangelists who were willing to leave their past entanglements because the present need was in the villages of Judea.

The seventy-two probably came from the region of Galilee. That was where they considered home. They were not culturally attached to the residents of the Judean villages that Jesus wanted them to go to. They would probably be considered outsiders in those villages. The Judeans did not think very highly of Galileans. They didn’t think anything good could come from that region.

But Jesus was challenging these Galileans to think about the harvest – to concentrate on the mission. The mission had to come first, so that meant their own past entanglements – even their family identity had to take second place. The past is not wrong. It’s not bad to be a Galilean. But it is wrong to let your past keep you from doing what your Master wants to do today.

  • 59 Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Here is another excuse slip that seems like a sure thing. Surely Jesus will give this potential evangelist time to go make funeral arrangements? But that is not what Jesus does.

  • 60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Now, the scholars are divided on what is taking place here. Some think that the man’s father is not dead yet – that what this young man is saying is that his father is dying, so he must stick around until he can settle the estate.

But even if that is the case, why would Jesus be so insensitive as to deny his request? Why? Because the mission comes first.

Mission first means leaving present responsibilities behind (59-60).

Jesus wasn’t being insensitive to the man. He was being sensitive to the fact that the man was needed to “proclaim the kingdom of God.” He was being sensitive to the thousands who needed the gospel in those towns and villages of Judea. This man’s mission was not to take second place even to his present responsibilities as a son. The Judean villages cannot wait until he wraps up all his commitments. The harvest is ready now. Somebody else can bury the dead. Any unbeliever can do that. He must reach the living with the gospel.

  • 57 As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

I think this man really believes that Jesus is the king of the Jews. He thinks that eventually when Jesus gets to Jerusalem he is going to be accepted as the new king. He thinks that there is a palace in Jesus’ future. He wants some of that.

How does Jesus respond to this poor guy, who thinks that ministry is a road to riches?

  • 58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Jesus and the apostles had some borrowed rooms in Peter’s house at Capernaum, but they were not at Capernaum anymore. They were not going back to Capernaum. They were headed south. They were going to the villages of Judea.

Mission first means leaving future expectations behind (57-58).

Jesus did not want this man to think that if he just followed the yellow brick road he would eventually get to fame and fortune. He had told the twelve that …

  • “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23).

If you take up a cross, you are not going anywhere but to your death. That is what crosses were for. Jesus was recruiting evangelists to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom in the villages of Judea. He himself was on the way to Jerusalem, not to a palace, but to a trial, and then a tomb.

Mission first means leaving your future in the hands of God. What matters most is the mission, not its outcome. We are not guaranteed a positive outcome in this life.

Paul told the Philippians that…

  • “It has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him” (1:29).

Now, the good news for those who did join the seventy-two is that their mission was extremely successful. They “returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”” (Luke 10:17). But to be accepted to be part of that mission, each of those people had to be willing to be rejected, ridiculed, and even killed by their target audience.

When the Master calls you to a mission, the mission comes first. All other commitments must take second place because of the urgency of the harvest.

It is the same way for our evangelistic missions today. Jesus wants men and women who are willing to leave their past entanglements behind, leave their present responsibilities behind, and leave their future expectations behind. He wants missionaries and local evangelists who dare to put the mission first.

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THREE PICTURES OF JESUS

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THREE PICTURES OF JESUS

John 11:1-15, 34-44 (NET)

I have been to a lot of funerals and memorial services — here and in several countries all around the world. The one passage of scripture that has been quoted and used for a funeral meditation more than any other has been Psalm 23. I think the reason so many choose that passage is that it helps us to concentrate on Jesus as our good shepherd. That picture of Jesus is comforting because it helps us to rely on Jesus and to know that he is going to take care of us throughout our lives and beyond. He is our shepherd, and we shall not want.

But I chose a different text for today’s message because I want us to look at three other pictures of Jesus. I want us to look at John chapter 11.

1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” 4 When Jesus heard this, he said, “This sickness will not lead to death, but to God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 (Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days. 7      Then after this, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish leaders were just now trying to stone you to death! Are you going there again?” 9 Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If anyone walks around in the daytime, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks around at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After he said this, he added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I am going there to awaken him.” 12 Then the disciples replied, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 (Now Jesus had been talking about his death, but they thought he had been talking about real sleep.) 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Here we see a picture of Jesus Waiting (1-15).

I think it is very important that we see Jesus as he waits here. He does not rush to be at Lazarus’ side even though he knows he is sick. He loves his friend Lazarus, but he does not drop everything and rush to heal him.

There will come times in our lives when we pray — and pray earnestly — and it will seem like nothing is happening. We will be tempted to think that God is mad at us and that he is punishing us by ignoring us. That was not what was happening here. Jesus wanted to be at his friend’s side immediately, but there was a greater good that could only come about if Jesus waited to intervene.

A similar thing happened with Jairus. He came to Jesus pleading for him to heal his daughter, and Jesus agreed to do so, but before they got to his house, Jairus was told not to bother the teacher anymore. His daughter was dead. Jairus thought that it was too late. But it is never too late for Jesus to bring life back to the dead. That little girl was dead, but all it took from Jesus was the sound of his voice to make her alive again.

Jesus is waiting today. He waits on the edge of his throne for the time when he can come back and rescue all those who are imprisoned in death. He has a key in his hand. It is the key to that prison. No one else can unlock it. But Jesus has the key, and he is waiting to use it. We can trust him with our loved ones, the same way Mary and Martha learned they could trust him with their brother.

Let’s read on…

34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 Thus the people who had come to mourn said, “Look how much he loved him!” 37      But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see! Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus, intensely moved again, came to the tomb. (Now it was a cave, and a stone was placed across it.)

Here we see a picture of Jesus Weeping (34-38).

Jesus Wept. Oh, what an amazing thing that God’s own son would love a mere human enough to weep over him. He is everything, and we are nothing compared to his magnificence. Yet he has compassion for us and cares for us.

Some believe that nature is all there is — cold and heartless and unmoved nature. But the Bible tells us of a God who so Loved the world that he gave us his Only Son. And it tells us that the Son gave himself for us because he cares. We know he cares. The most natural pose for Jesus is the picture of him weeping. When the people of Bethany saw him weeping, they said “Behold how he loved him!” As he walked to the grave the Bible says he was groaning in himself.

Jesus is in heaven today, but he still feels the loss of one of his own. Before he ascended, he told us that he would be with us wherever we went, until the end of the age. He’s with us today. We do not weep alone.

Let’s read on…

39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, because he has been buried four days.” 40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you that you have listened to me. 42 I knew that you always listen to me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he shouted in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

Here we see a picture of Jesus Winning (39-44).

Jesus wept at his friend’s tomb but that was not because death was the end. Death is real, and it is an enemy, but it is an enemy that can be defeated. Jesus demonstrated his power over death that day by calling out the name of Lazarus and telling him to come out of that tomb.

The Bible says that ” The one who had died came out.” We are here today not to say goodbye forever but to say, “God be with you until we meet again.” The same Jesus who called Lazarus out of his tomb promises to do the same thing for all of us. He said, “Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out.”

The apostle Paul said We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

The picture of Jesus winning over the death of his friend Lazarus in John 11 is a picture we need to keep with us because it will help us through all these days of temporary death and defeat. When Jesus showed up, Lazarus could not stay in the grave. When Jesus comes back, neither will we. He’s coming back.

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RESTORING CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIPS

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RESTORING CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIPS

Matthew 18:15-22 NET.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.” 21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!

We are continuing our study of the commands of Christ today, and we come to a passage that has been misunderstood, abused, and used to justify lots of wrong thinking and actions throughout the centuries. Usually, when we are studying a passage and trying to get to its meaning, one of the first things we should do is look at how the passage has been understood historically. But today’s passage might just be an exception to that rule because both Catholics and Protestants have used this text to justify their hierarchical ecclesiastical authority. That is not at all what Jesus or Matthew had in mind. Our own churches tend to use this passage to outline a method of church discipline, many including it as a proof-text in their bylaws. I suppose some of the principles this text teaches relate to church discipline, but the passage was not intended for that.

The context in which Jesus gives these words of instruction helps us to understand its purpose. Jesus had just interrupted the disciples’ argument over who was the greatest by bringing a little child and setting him by his side and telling them that this child was the greatest and that they should all welcome him. He warned them not to cause these little children to stumble. Then he told them a parable about one lost sheep, and how the owner leaves the 99 safe sheep and goes looking for the one lost sheep, to restore him to the fold. That is the context in which today’s text is found. Its purpose is not to establish who has authority in the church. Its purpose is not to outline a method of church discipline. The purpose of today’s instruction is to teach believers how to restore those who are straying away from the faith.

It is very easy for us to get caught up in the mechanics of today’s passage and lose sight of its objective. Jesus knew that there would be those who would become part of the Christian community and then would fall away for a variety of reasons. Jesus wanted to instruct his disciples on how they could win back the lost – to restore the lost sheep. Restoring Christian relationships is part of our job description as believers.

We don’t have a good track record of obeying Christ in this area. In fact, we tend to use this very text to drive sheep away from the fold instead of rescuing them. So, it is important for us to go back to today’s text to see what our Master commanded and conform our actions to his standards. Often, when someone walks away from the faith, we tend to think “good riddance” even if we do not say it. Jesus wants us to restore those who stray. But how do we do that?

First, always hope to restore (15-17).

In its context, the sin mentioned in verse 15 is the first step out of the protective pasture. It is the compromise that is often overlooked or ignored. But Jesus does not want us to ignore what is going on in the lives of our brothers and sisters. He wants us to value each other and the blessing of each other’s fellowship. He wants us to be sensitive to the very slightest move outside the boundaries of the family of God. He wants the members of the body of Christ to be always looking for ways to keep the body together. If one limb of the body gets out of joint, others are to immediately come to the rescue – setting it right again.

The first step in restoring is always to be a private matter, avoiding embarrassment and shame. It may be that I will find my suspicions unfounded and discover that the sheep is not straying after all. But if there is straying going on, it is best to correct it as quickly and quietly as possible. If I encounter reluctance to return, then I will want to get the help of one or two others who can assist me to restore my brother or sister. If that doesn’t work, I should get the assembly involved, because my straying friend needs to know how dangerous his or her choices are. Leaving the fellowship of other believers is not just a personal choice. It affects the whole body.

But what happens if the lost sheep refuses to return. This is where our Master tells us to treat them as an outsider – as a Gentile or tax collector. But does this mean formal ex-communication? So many interpret it that way. The book of Matthew has already shown us how Jesus himself treats Gentiles and tax collectors. He befriends them and welcomes them. So, for Jesus to tell his disciples to treat the straying sheep as one would a Gentile of tax collector is to say we will never lose hope that they might turn back to the faith. Always hope to restore the lost sheep. No one living is a lost cause. They might be outside the fellowship right now, but we have not given up hope for their return.

Second, always pray to restore (18-20).

Jesus talks about binding and loosing here. In the days of Christ on earth, people locked their doors by feeding a loop of fabric into the door and locking it with a key. This was called binding the door. The same key could untie the fabric and thus unlock the door. This was called loosing the door.

Jesus had previously told Peter that he had the keys to the kingdom and that he could bind and loose with those keys. We saw that prophecy fulfilled in the book of Acts as Peter was involved in welcoming the various ethnic groups into the kingdom. First, the Jews, then the Samaritans, then the Gentiles. Binding and loosing were what you did to a door. A bound door was a locked door. A loosed door was unlocked so you could enter through it. What Jesus told Peter was that he had the ability to give access to Christ’s kingdom. He had the power to unlock the door on both sides: the earth side and the heaven side. Heaven’s side would remain unlocked, but Peter could unlock the kingdom on Earth’s side.

Now, two chapters later, what Jesus promised Peter he also promises the rest of the disciples. They would also have the ministry of binding and loosing. They could grant access to the kingdom by preaching the gospel. But what happens if someone hears the gospel, becomes a part of a Christian fellowship, then walks away from that fellowship? Jesus tells us that we all have the keys. We can welcome the lost sheep back into the fold.

But what happens if we offer forgiveness and restoration, but the lost sheep refuse to come back? Then, Jesus tells us, we have the awesome weapon of gathering to pray for them. Jesus tells us that when we pray for the restoration of those who have walked away, he will be in our midst, and the Father in Heaven will be ready to answer our prayers. So, not only should we always hope to restore the lost, but we should also always be praying for them to be restored.

Brothers and sisters, we have a lot of people on our church prayer list, but you know that most of them are on the list because of some illness or injury or perhaps because they are grieving the loss of a loved one. There is certainly a need for us to keep praying for those folks. But today’s passage tells us of another group of people we should be interceding for in our prayer rooms. We need to be praying for those who were formerly members but who have gone away. Those people have made the worst decision that they could possibly have made. They have chosen to defect from God’s forever family. Restoring them needs to be a prayer priority for us.

Third, always forgive to restore (21-22).

Jesus has placed a powerful responsibility into our hands. He has given us the keys, but he knows that in our selfishness, we will be happy to stay safe and sound in the fold and keep the door securely locked so those who have strayed will never find their way back. We do that by refusing to forgive them. Peter revealed this tendency we have by suggesting to Jesus that there might be a limit to how many times one should forgive. Peter probably thought he was being magnanimous when he offered to forgive someone seven times. Based on a text in the Old Testament book of Amos (taken out of context), some Rabbi suggested that you could safely forgive a person three times but stop at four. Peter probably expected Jesus to commend him for being so generous. But Jesus said not just seven times but seventy-seven. Some versions translate the phrase as seventy times seven. Either way, Jesus’ point is that we should not set a limit. Our forgiveness is a way of always keeping the door unlocked. Our goal is not to punish the lost sheep but to restore them to the flock.

Now, we should reflect on the fact that there are some people who have left the fellowship. Jesus wants us not to give up on those people. He wants us to target them with our friendship. He wants us to make ourselves available to them. He wants us to let them know that we want them back. He wants us to seek to reconcile with them. He wants us to find others who can help us reach them. Even if they are determined to stay away from our meetings and refuse to acknowledge their previous commitment – he wants us to keep praying for them. He wants us to focus on them like the owner who left the ninety-nine to restore the one lost sheep.

But he knows we will be tempted to write them off. He knows we will be angered by their defection, and we will not want to forgive them. We will want to hold a grudge against them and stay as far away from them as possible. But he commands us to do the opposite. He commands us to take our time and focus our attention on these sinning brothers and sisters. He wants us to personally take the first step toward reconciling with them. He wants us to value the relationship enough that we ask the help of other Christians to mend the broken relationship. He wants us to focus our valuable prayer time on restoring Christian relationships. He wants us to take drastic measures to keep the door always unlocked so that the lost will know that should they seek to return, they will be welcomed back.

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