sermon-archive – Page 23

LAWFUL LISTENING

LAWFUL LISTENING

Luke 10:38-42 NET

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

The reason I wanted to stop and look at this story in the life of Jesus is like the reason we stopped and looked at the parable of the Good Samaritan last week. This will become more evident as we look at the story. It is a simple story, and you will notice that there is no direct command from Jesus in the story. In fact, in the story, Martha asks Jesus to command Mary to do something, but he refuses her request.

Notice the characters in this story.

The first character we see in the story is Jesus. He is stopping at a certain village. Luke does not mention the name of the village, but we know from John that the sisters lived in Bethany. Luke tells us that Jesus stopped as “they went on their way.” Jesus is stopping for a rest while his missionaries continue their outreach to the towns and villages of Judea in the south. Even though Jesus is invited into this home for a meal and a rest, he continues to teach the good news to everyone who is willing to hear it. We already know that preaching the message is crucial at this time because this will be the last chance for many of these Judeans to hear the gospel.

The second character in the story is Martha, who welcomed Jesus as her guest. Martha is apparently a wealthy woman, and she might be one of the women who supported Jesus and his apostles as they ministered. She appears to be unmarried but owns her own home. She opens her home to Jesus (and whoever else is with him at the time). She is all about serving the Lord. She has gifts in business management. She is one of those people who is always busy doing something. Her task at hand is to make sure that Jesus has all he needs while he is in her home. She is also task oriented. While Martha and Jesus know each other, it is also clear that Martha is so busy doing things for Jesus that she is not taking the time to get to know him better.

Martha is focused on meeting a need. As such, she is acting like a character we met in Jesus’ parable we recently read about the Good Samaritan. That story did not give us any dialog between the Samaritan and the victim that he rescued. All we read about is what the Good Samaritan did for the victim. He was busy saving the life of this Judean robbery victim. His love for his neighbor was entirely manifested by what he did for his neighbor. That was an important lesson for us because it was intended to show us how to obey the command to love our neighbors. We don’t manifest love by saying “I love you” but by showing our love through our actions.

The apostle James teaches that “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself” (James 2:15-17). Martha’s faith was not dead. It was demonstrated by the care and concern she had for Jesus. If she had anything to do about it, Jesus would not go hungry, and he would get the rest he needed.

We need Marthas in this world. We need people who can see the need and –- like the Samaritan – use their resources to meet those needs. That is how loving our neighbors is done. When Penny and I go to work at the food bank on Thursdays, we are putting our faith into action. We have had the privilege of helping hundreds of local families and it feels good to do that. We also get to see the smiles of those men and women who realize that they are being blessed – and they know that ultimately God is responsible for the blessing. All of you who are able are invited to join us. All it takes is time and energy, and it’s only one day a week. That’s a good thing, because it is hard work, and it is tiring.

Martha was apparently getting tired, too. She looked around at all she was doing. She was busy in this room and needed to be busy in that room. She needed an extra pair of hands. That was when she looked at her sister Mary. Mary hadn’t lifted a finger to help her. She thought that there was something wrong with that picture. Here she is doing everything for everyone while Mary just sat and listened.

Mary is the third character in today’s story. The text says that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said.” That sounds simple, but it reveals something quite extraordinary. You might remember that the man the Lord delivered from the legion of demons sat at his feet as well. In fact, sitting at someone’s feet was an expression that indicated that you had committed yourself to be his disciple. Mary was not just interested in what Jesus had to say. She was devoted to him. She recognized what a tremendous gift it was to just be in the Lord’s presence and to hear his words.

Notice the command which was NOT given.

We have been looking at the commands of Jesus, but today’s text has Martha asking Jesus to give a command which he refuses to give. Martha wants Jesus to command Mary to get up and help with the hospitality. There are meals to prepare, rooms to clean, tables to set, animals to tend to, supplies to buy, water to fetch – things to do! Lord! Tell her to get up and help!

“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things…” Martha was distracted. She was worried about things. Jesus loved Martha. You can tell that by the way he responds to her. He called her name twice. That’s called the double vocative construction and it is a way of expressing emotion to the person you are addressing. Jesus is concerned about this lady. She asked Jesus to get her some extra help, but he understood she needed something more than that. She needed to redirect her life. She had been distracted by her many projects and she had missed out on something that should have been her priority.

So, he told Martha “One thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.” Martha had been so busy with many things that she had missed the one thing.

What had Mary discovered that Martha missed? Mary had discovered the one thing that mattered most in that situation. It was not the home that needed looking after. It was not the meal that needed to be prepared or the table that needed to be set. It was not the things that needed to be done. It was the heart that needed to hear the word of God.

Notice the context of the story.

Last week we saw that Jesus had been interviewed by a theologian who had asked him what the greatest commandment in the law is. “An expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” The expert answered, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28).

Love is the greatest commandment in the Law. If we want to obey God’s Law, we need to focus on loving God and loving others. The Ten Commandments are a summary of what God called Israel to do so that they demonstrated love for God and their neighbors. Here in Luke 10, we have a parable that Jesus told to show us what a person does if that person loves his neighbor. That is the parable of the Good Samaritan. But stuck at the end of Luke 10 – in the same context – is this real-life story that demonstrates for us what it looks like when a person has committed to loving God with all her heart, with all her soul, with all her strength, and with all her mind.

Mary is wholeheartedly devoted to God and so she is listening to his word coming from the mouth of his Son.

The Law was the word of God to the people of God. In Deuteronomy 5, “Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them!” (Deuteronomy 5:1). Then, God gave the commandments. Then, in Deuteronomy 6, we read the Shema (which means, listen!): “Listen, Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You must love the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength (6:4-5).

Mary had a choice. She could have chosen to pick up an apron and follow her sister Martha and to be worried and troubled about a lot of things. But she chose not to be distracted from her primary purpose: to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to the word of God.

Now, brothers and sisters, each of us faces the same choice every day. I’m not telling you this because I am a Mary. I’m telling you this because I am naturally a Martha. It is so easy for me to set a schedule and work on a task and do a deed. It is so easy for me to get distracted with all the things I must do and not take time to sit at the feet of Jesus. When I get too busy, I’m inclined to look around and see all the Marys who I think are not working hard like I am. So, today’s message is first to me, and if it applies to you too – then we will have to join in changing our priorities.

Our Master taught us “Don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the unconverted pursue these things, and our heavenly Father knows that we need them. But above all we should pursue his kingdom and righteousness” (Matthew 6:31-33a). How do we pursue God’s kingdom and righteousness? By sitting at his feet, listening to his words, reading his book, and spending undistracted time with God in prayer and meditation. Since most of us are Marthas, we are going to find that we have priorities that are getting in the way of this priority.

Even good things are the enemies of loving the LORD our God with our whole mind, our whole being, and all our strength. God’s message to all of us Marthas is to put the apron down, pick up our Bibles and join Mary at the feet of Jesus. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her. The good things in life are the enemies of the best thing in life because we do not have time to prioritize both.

Now, we will have time to love others and serve others and do a lot of things. But we need time to get to know the LORD our God because we cannot love others without the supernatural empowerment that comes from a heart completely dedicated to knowing and loving God.

LOVE LESSONS

LOVE LESSONS

Luke 10:25-37 NET

Since we started studying the commands of Christ, we have been looking at those commands chronologically, that is – according to the time when the commands were given, from the first command to the last. But we have skipped a lot of content in the Gospels because those sections do not contain direct commands from Jesus.

We are going to make an exception to that practice in looking at today’s text. It mostly contains a parable that Jesus taught. I have been bypassing the parables because the parables are illustrations that Jesus used, and usually we can find the commands of Christ that relate to the parables and teach directly from the commands.

The parables are designed to illustrate a teaching found elsewhere. This is clear from the term “parable” itself. It comes from two Greek words: пαρα (meaning “alongside”) and βαλλω (meaning “to place”). A παραβολή is a story placed alongside a teaching to illustrate it – to give an example of what is being taught or taught against.

The parable we are going to be looking at today is the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. I’m making an exception in teaching from this parable today because the command that Jesus is teaching is so familiar to us that most of us assume that we obey it already. That was the case of the religious expert who was talking to Jesus. Jesus used the parable to show this religious expert that he was not doing what he thought he was doing.

In vss. 25-29, we see the context of the parable.

²⁵ Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” ²⁷ The expert answered, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

²⁸ Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” ²⁹ But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

We are introduced to a certain expert in religious law. A νομικός was a person learned in the law, but not political or civil law. This person was an expert in the law of God. We would call him a theological scholar. I have known a few theological scholars, and they are usually quite intimidating. These are the kind of people who can quote chapter and verse on any biblical reference and have a keen understanding of any topic about which there is any controversy. You don’t want too many theological scholars in your congregation.

Anyway, this guy is a theologian. Jesus is not intimidated by theologians. Even when he was twelve years old, he was sitting among the teachers in the temple and amazing the listeners with his understanding (Luke 2:46-47). But this theologian stood up to test Jesus. That’s a bad idea by the way. He should have learned from Jesus like those teachers in the temple did. There is nothing we can ever say to teach Jesus anything, and we are never going to catch him in a mistake.

The actual question was “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” – which is a very important question to ask. This scholar did know his stuff, and he had chosen a question that gets to the point. It recognizes that this life is temporary, so the most important pursuit of human beings who find themselves in this mortal life is about what can be done to turn this mortal life into an immortal one. Unlike many theologians today, he does not assume that human beings were created immortal. The Bible does not teach that, and he knows it.

In answer to his question, Jesus turns the inquiry right back to him. He wants to know what this theologian thinks he should do in order to inherit a permanent life. The scholar is ready with his own answer, and it is directly from Scripture – Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18). The greatest command is to love, and we are to love God and our neighbor.

Jesus said to this theologian that he had the answer. It is a very rare occasion when Jesus says something like that to any of us. As we read through the Gospels, we keep coming to situations where Jesus asks his disciples a question, and they answer him, and you can just see him facepalming. In fact, he once said to his disciples “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you?” (Matthew 17:17). Compared to Jesus, we are all doofuses.

But this theologian had the right answer. The problem was that he was not living the right answer. He ended up asking a follow-up question because he wanted to justify himself. In other words, he knew the right thing to do, but he wanted Jesus to give him permission to keep not doing it. His follow-up question was “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus taught him this parable as an answer to that question.

In vss. 30-33, we see the characters of the parable.

³⁰Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side.

³² So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.

The characters in this parable can be categorized like this: there was one stupid man, two important men, and one hated man.

The stupid man was the man who didn’t have the good sense to avoid traveling alone on the road to Jericho. It was a dangerous road, and anybody who must travel on it should take precautions. Apparently, this stupid man didn’t get the memo. He took off into the valley of the shadow of death with no protection and no company. That made him a sitting duck for bandits who love to prey on the unprotected. The robbers stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.

As Jesus is telling this story, the Judeans who are gathered around listening are doing some facepalming themselves. They are saying in their minds, “What an idiot. You don’t take that road without protection. He deserves what he got.”

But remember – Jesus is having a conversation with this theologian. He is answering the question “Who is my neighbor.” The theologian is trying to keep up with Jesus’ story, and he is probably trying to figure out what the punch line is. So, he might have asked himself if this stupid man was the neighbor he is supposed to love.

The two important men are the priest and Levite. They are important in the Judean culture. They are important religiously – seen as men of God. They are important socially – seen as positive influences in the community. They are important politically because of their connection to the temple.

The theologian listens to Jesus talk about how these two important men choose to avoid the victim in the story. He probably recalls instances in his own life when he also avoided helping someone for similar reasons. These are men that he would be proud to have in his neighborhood because they bring honor and prestige to any place they live. In fact, he might have had a neighbor who was a priest and another one who was a Levite. But he must admit that they are not acting very neighborly to the victim of the robbers. Mr. Rogers, they are not.

Jesus often put an ironic twist to his parables. In this parable, the hero turns out to be the hated man, the Samaritan. Nowadays, we sometimes use the term Samaritan for someone who helps people in need. But this would never have entered the minds of that theologian or his fellow Judeans. The Samaritans were considered half-breed apostates. They were reviled and despised as enemies. Even the disciples of Christ thought it quite proper to ask him to rain down fire on the Samaritans. They had been flabbergasted when they found Jesus talking to that woman at the well – because she was a woman – from Sychar – in Samaria.

But of all the people in Jesus’ parable, it was a hated Samaritan who was obeying the command to love his neighbor as himself.

In verses 34-37, we see the command of the parable.

³⁴ He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Everything that this Samaritan did in the parable shows us how to love our neighbor. Notice that the important men avoided the neighbor. They passed by on the other side so that they would not be contaminated or inconvenienced by the trouble the stupid man got into by his stupidity. But he “went up to him.” He dared to get close to the problem because he wanted to help. You can say you love your neighbor all day long, but if you never get close, you can never truly show love. Love cannot be practiced from a distance. You can say from a distance “Be warm and well-fed.” But Love comes with a blanket and a sandwich. You can’t email food and clothing. You must get close enough to bring it.

He bandaged the stupid man’s wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. If he hadn’t done that, the victim might have stayed right there and died. We would say he administered first aid. Our Samaritan was the first responder. Our society has some excellent first responders – police officers and firefighters and medical personnel – but this Samaritan was not a professional. He was just a Samaritan. He was a foreigner in that land, and he had no reason to volunteer other than the fact that he saw the need and had something that he could do to meet that need.

He put his bandaged patient on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. He planned for his ongoing care. He didn’t look for the man’s family, or try to get the local government to step in. He did what he could do. He showed mercy. Mercy is undeserved love. The Samaritan was not obligated to help this Judean. He was not a neighbor in the political or social sense. He became a neighbor in the moral and biblical sense.

So, when the theologian admitted that it was this Samaritan who was obeying Leviticus 19:18, Jesus told him to go and do the same. You must get past your own personal prejudice to show love to people who are not like you. Go and do the same. You must get past your own sense of importance to stop avoiding people with problems and let their problems inconvenience you. Go and do the same. You must get past your own selfishness when you see people with needs and realize that helping them is going to cost you some of the resources you thought you would reserve for your own needs and that of your own family. Go and do the same.

The command that Jesus highlights in today’s text is to love your neighbor as yourself. The parable exposes the difference between those who say they love and those who love. True happiness may be a warm puppy, but true love is a warm blanket and first aid. Friendship may be expressed by watching a game together. But true love is sharing a donkey and a trip to the nearest inn – and paying the medical bills.

Jesus demonstrated God’s love by meeting us on the road to Jericho. He refused to pass by on the other side. He came to us. He brought healing to us. He paid the price for our complete recovery. The Samaritan was a character in a story, but Jesus is the one who became a neighbor. He was not one of us, but that didn’t matter. He was the most important man ever, but he took the time to meet our needs. None of us deserve what he did for us. If you haven’t figured it out already, we are the stupid man in the parable. Jesus is the hero, and he challenges us to live as he did. The more we show love to our neighbors, the more they will be drawn to the one who we call Lord and Savior.

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.” ⁵⁹Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.” ⁶²Jesus 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. ²He 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.

” ⁶¹Yet 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.

⁵⁹Jesus 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.

⁶⁰But 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.

THREE PICTURES OF JESUS

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.

RESTORING CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIPS

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. ¹⁷If 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. ²⁰For 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.