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KNEW NOTHING

KNEW NOTHING

Matthew 24:36-41 NET.

³⁶ “But as for that day and hour no one knows it — not even the angels in heaven — except the Father alone. ³⁷ For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸ For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. ³⁹ And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and one left.

The Gospel of Matthew is about Jesus as the king and his coming Kingdom. The gospel can be divided into seven parts. The first part of Matthew explains who Jesus is and why he qualifies as the king. The final part explains why Jesus had to die on the cross. The second part, which begins in chapter 4, verse 12, describes how we can represent the coming Kingdom. That is the part that contains the sermon on the mount. The third part of Matthew explains how to spread the future Kingdom. The 4th part describes how to stay committed to the coming king. The 5th part explains how to live by the standards of the coming Kingdom. The 6th part, which contains today’s passage, tells us what we need to know about when the Kingdom will come.

Each part of Matthew’s gospel focuses on a particular sermon Jesus gave. The sermon in section 6 is in chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel. We have been examining chapter 24 for several months now. By this time, you ought to remember the process we go through whenever we approach one of the texts in this chapter. The first thing we must establish is which question Jesus answers in this Passage. Is he talking about the destruction of Jerusalem? Or is he talking about the second coming? Or is he talking about the end of the age? Those were the three questions a disciple asked him while they left the temple into the Mount of Olives.

It is easy to find the answer to that question in today’s passage. Verse 39 says it will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man, so it is clear that Jesus is talking about his second coming here.

The principle: no one will know the timing of the second coming (36).

Many books about Bible prophecy appear to have some special knowledge about the second coming. But today’s passage teaches that that special knowledge does not exist. It says that as for that day and hour, no one knows it, not even the angels in heaven, except the Father alone.

Now, let’s get practical here. Lots of us know that Jesus is coming back. Lots of us are convinced that Jesus is coming back sooner rather than later. This world’s condition is an indicator that Jesus is coming back soon. I don’t think the fact that Jesus is coming again is what is in question here. Instead, the issue is the timing of the second coming. The principle that Jesus gives us in today’s text is that the timing of his second coming is something that no one will know. Even if you had an Angel from heaven and you grilled him about this secret he could not reveal it because he doesn’t know it. The father alone knows when the son is going to come back.

That is a good thing. All the instructions that Jesus gave us about how to live our lives as Christians representing his Kingdom assume that we are living those lives in ignorance of when he is going to come back. A life of faith demands a certain amount of unawareness. A life of faith requires that we live prepared for Christ’s second coming, not knowing exactly when it will happen. If we knew precisely when the Lord was coming back, we would be tempted to ease off on living according to his commands. The blessing on Christ’s servants is given to us because we keep working for him even though we don’t know precisely when he will return and reward us. We are blessed because we are found serving him when he returns.

The question that the disciple gave Jesus that day is, what is the sign of your coming? Jesus answered that question by telling his disciples that no one knows when he is coming. There will be no preparatory sign. When Jesus talks about his coming, he describes it as an event that will happen suddenly, and no one will be prepared for it. Possibly, the disciples wanted to know when Jesus was coming back so they could quickly prepare for it when the time came. But Jesus point is that there is no preparing for Christ second coming until it comes. There will be no pre-warning. Not even Christians will know when Christ will return. That is precisely why we need to be ready at all times on all occasions. Our master wants us to get prepared and stay prepared.

Jesus doesn’t want us to set our calendars based on our prophetic understanding and then rest until the time approaches. He wants us to live in expectation and anticipation of his return at all times. He wants us to be instant in and out of season. He wants us to represent his Kingdom at all times, not just at the end times. The New Testament frames our understanding of God’s timing in this way: we live in the last days. We don’t know how long these last days will last. But we must always be ready for the coming of the Son of Man at any time.

The precedent: it will be like the days of Noah were (37-39a).

Jesus said that his coming was going to be just like the days of Noah were. The book of Genesis describes Noah and the great flood. It tells that Noah was given the revelation that the flood would come. From then on, Noah had two jobs. He had the job of building the ark that would rescue humanity from the coming flood. He also had the job of preaching about the coming day of judgment to everyone who would listen.

So, Noah built. He built an ark. He built that ark so that it could contain all the animals that God wanted to rescue. He also built rooms in that arc for his family members. He probably also built rooms in that ark for people he desperately wanted to save. But he preached and preached. Nobody came down the aisle. Nobody wanted to be saved. God had warned of a coming day of judgment. God had set aside his messenger to proclaim that day of judgment. Noah built, and Noah preached. The ark grew more extensive, but the congregation remained the same. It was just the preacher, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. Eight people, week after week. Eight people, month after month. God planned to rescue humanity, but an entire generation ignored his plan.

They probably called Noah a lunatic, and he certainly seemed like one. He kept building and preaching, and the number in the pews remained the same.

Jesus said that his second coming would be like that, too. I’m so grateful that he didn’t mean that only eight people would be saved. He suggested that even though the gospel will be preached, people will stay eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day comes, and they will miss their opportunity. Jesus is not promising that we will become famous preachers who reach many people for Christ. He’s not telling us to expect that. Instead, he tells us not to be surprised if we preach and preach and nobody cares about what we say. He’s telling us not to be surprised if the world thinks we’re crazy and sets us aside as insignificant. He’s telling us not to be surprised if the world ignores us and ignores our message.

Therefore, we should celebrate it whenever someone gives their life to Christ. A miracle has happened. A lost soul has been swept into God’s Kingdom against all odds. A generation that has learned to ignore God has produced another believer. What a miracle that is. If God has touched your life and assured you of the truth of his word, and you have put your faith in Jesus Christ according to that word, you are blessed beyond comprehension. You have been snatched not just from the flood but from the fire.

But Jesus tells us to be faithful like Noah was, even if we experience the same kind of rejection that Noah did. He does not guarantee that we will be successful. He warns us that we might not make a difference, but he calls on us to be faithful like Noah was.

Jesus said that that generation knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. They could have known something. They could have put their faith in God’s word through his prophet Noah. But they chose to ignore him and so they knew nothing. We can know some things about the second coming of Christ. Just like Noah’s generation could have known much about what God was doing if they had listened to Noah. The tragedy is that there was something to know, but the generation chose to know nothing, so they knew nothing. We are living in such a generation today. They pride themselves on being agnostic. The word agnostic means ignorant. It means not knowing. There are people in this generation today who wear the title agnostic as if it is a badge of honor. It is not. It is a sign of shame. When God has given us his word in 66 books filled with infallible inherent knowledge, to claim to be an agnostic about God is ridiculous. Yet this generation continues to know less and less about the things that matter.

If you had been part of that generation during the days of Noah, you would have noticed the sky growing darker and the rains coming down. You might even have noticed that that boat that crazy Noah had built is now beginning to float. You might have wondered whether Noah was crazy or not. But even if your head raised your voice to the sky and cried out to the God of Noah, your prayers would not be answered. God gave that generation 100 years to listen to him. They never found the time to do that. Once the judgment began, there was no time to change their mind. The flood had come, and they had been left behind.

The purpose: we need to be ready (39b-41).

Jesus tells us that it will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. Those who had never dared to enter the church will suddenly be interested in the Bible and the church. But it will be too late for them. There’ll be no time for church and Sunday school. There’ll be no time for preparation. The coming of the Son of Man will be a time of separation.

There will be two men in the field. One will be taken and one left. There’ll be two women grinding grain. One will be taken, and the other left. Scholars disagree over precisely what Jesus is describing here. He could be talking about the rapture. When Jesus appears in the sky and believers are caught up to be with him in the air. But he could also be talking about judgment. The people who are taken could be taken in judgment. Either way, Jesus is saying here that there will be a separation when he comes. The sheep will be separated from the goats. The wise will be separated from the foolish. The faithful will be separated from the unfaithful.

An immediate judgment will divide this world into the haves and the have-nots. Once again, there will be no time to change your status before God when Jesus returns. There will be people praying at that time, but they will be praying for the mountains to fall upon them to hide them from God’s wrath. They will be weeping in mourning over their eternal fate. They will be gnashing their teeth in anger at the God who is putting them on trial and punishing them for their sins.

But just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be on the day when our Lord Jesus returns to this earth. The day of preparation will be over. The day of separation will come. The day of preparation is now. Tomorrow may be too late. Tonight may be too late. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to get ready for the coming king.

REMEMBER

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REMEMBER

Matthew 24:15-28 NET.

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation — spoken about by Daniel the prophet — standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁷The one on the roof must not come down to take anything out of his house, ¹⁸and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. ²⁴For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵Remember, I have told you ahead of time. ²⁶So then, if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. ²⁷For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Here in the United States, we are celebrating Memorial Day this weekend. Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives while defending their country. We have been studying Jesus’ eschatological discourse. In that discourse, Jesus predicted that this entire age would contain war after war. During these wars, we will lose loved ones. They will make the ultimate sacrifice and die for their country. It is fitting that we honor these people. It is also vital that we remember the reason they died. We are living in an age of international strife. Jesus predicted this age. He told us that there would be wars throughout this age. But he also told us that these wars are not signs that the end has come. They are signs that we are still living in the present age.

There is another reason I find today’s passage very significant. When Penny and I returned from our trip on Tuesday, a flyer was waiting for us in the mail. The flyer stated that the Bible says two huge worldwide events are about to happen. One of those events is called the Secret Rapture. The other event is called the seven-year tribulation. We must study eschatology because there’s a lot of misrepresentation of the Bible. Let me say at the outset that the secret rapture is a deception. Also, the seven-year tribulation is a deception. I hope as we discuss these statements that Jesus makes in his eschatological discourse, we will better understand what Jesus actually predicted. We will see how the scripture texts have been misrepresented by popular theology. And I also hope that we will take Jesus’ commands seriously. The command in today’s text is remember.

The importance of remembering (25).

Jesus told his disciples that they were going to experience something. He told them that when they experience that thing, they should remember what he had predicted. You cannot remember something that you never experienced. This is a clue for us as to which question Jesus is answering. You remember that in verse 3 a disciple asked three questions of Jesus. He wanted to know when the destruction of Jerusalem was going to happen. He also wanted to know the sign of Jesus’ coming again. And he also wanted to know when the end of the age would come. This disciple probably thought all those things would happen in his lifetime. But as we have seen from verses 1 to 14 of this chapter, Jesus negated that assumption. He told his disciples there would be a long time before his second coming. It would be an age in which many events would happen and happen again and again. Jesus told them that the purpose of this age is that the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the inhabited earth. We are living in that age. Jesus told us to watch for his second coming. But he did not want us to be deceived about when it would occur. From the beginning, the church has set dates for their expectation of the Lord’s coming. So far, all those dates have been wrong. We are anxious for the Lord to come back. So, we take all of these signs mentioned in the eschatological discourse as if they are signs of the immediate second coming of Christ. But we must remember that there were other things that Jesus talked about in the eschatological discourse. So, what is Jesus talking about in this section?

A terrible time for Judea (15-20).

Numerous clues in today’s passage show that Jesus predicts a terrible time in Judea. Let’s walk through this text and we will see some of them. Note the word you in verse 15. Jesus is describing something that the disciples themselves would experience. What would they experience? They would experience the abomination of desolation. That is, something would happen to make the temple in Jerusalem desolate. That is, the temple would be defiled so it would longer function. The prophet Daniel had predicted that this would happen. Daniel’s prophecy concerned the defilement of the temple under the Greek general Antiochus Epiphanies. That event had already happened in Jesus’ time. But Jesus is saying that it is going to happen again. Jesus is saying that the defilement that happened under the Greeks will happen again under the Romans. Jesus told his disciples that that event was going to be a warning. When they noticed that the temple had been defiled, the Christians were to flee Jerusalem.

Jesus tells them to flee to the mountains. Note that this is a particular prophecy concerning a specific city. Jesus is not telling people in Delco to escape to the mountains. It would take us several hours to drive to the nearest mountain. History tells us that this terrible event happened within one generation of Jesus’ prediction. The siege and destruction of Jerusalem took place between AD 66 and AD 70. It was an awful experience for those who were living in Jerusalem. It was a time of great suffering. But fortunately for Christians, it was not a long time.

A time that will be cut short (21-22).

Jesus said if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect, those days would be cut short. This is another clue that Jesus is not talking about this age. He had described this age as a very long one. But this time of intense suffering for the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be short. Historically we know that this time of great suffering lasted under four years. Millions of people perished. But many Christians were able to survive. They survived because they heeded Jesus’ warning. They fled to the mountains when they saw the evidence that the temple was being defiled.

A time of deception (23-26).

Jesus also predicted that this would be a time of deception. Unscrupulous false prophets would claim that this destruction of Jerusalem was the coming of Christ. But Jesus had already commanded us not to be misled by false prophets. He tells us here to remember that command. He warns his disciples not to be fooled by these people who claim he was coming again in 70 AD. He warned them not to follow their instructions. So, we know that Jesus knew exactly what would happen within one generation of this sermon. And he took extra care to keep his disciples from being misled by it.

We are living in an age when deception continues. As I said at the beginning of today’s message, some are teaching that when Jesus comes again, he’s going to come secretly and take his children away at first. The Bible describes Jesus’ second coming as a worldwide cataclysmic event that cannot be mistaken. Christ will return visibly. He will come back shouting. The trumpet will sound. The Archangel will shout. The dead in Christ will rise. Then, living believers will join them in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). If the second coming is secret, it will be the world’s worst-kept secret. I know what the movie said. I know what the books said. But I can guarantee that when Jesus comes back, everybody will know it.

Not the second coming! (27-28).

What Jesus does next is to explain why his coming is not to be equated with the fall of Jerusalem. He uses two metaphors. The first metaphor he uses is lightning. He says just like the lightning comes from the East and flashes to the West so the coming of the Son of Man will be. When lightning strikes, it is so sudden and so visible that even if it strikes on one side of the horizon, everyone can see it on the other side. There’s nothing secret about a lightning strike. The very point of the metaphor is that lightning is noticeable. You aren’t going to miss it.

The second metaphor Jesus uses is found in verse 28. He says wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. In the North Carolina version, it says there the buzzards will gather. The point here, once again, is that the second coming will be noticeable. If I’m driving down the road and come across a wake of buzzards, I know that there’s something dead in the road. You see the buzzards even before you smell the dead thing. If there’s a corpse around, the buzzards will be there. That is why Jesus used that metaphor. The presence of buzzards is a sure sign of something dead. Likewise, when Jesus comes back, it will be so noticeable that no one will be able to miss it.

That disciple asked what the sign of Jesus coming would be. Jesus was not interested in telling that disciple what date he would be coming. That date is unknown and unknowable. But Jesus does want us to know one thing about his second coming. It is going to be sudden. I can’t tell you whether Jesus is going to come back soon. But I can tell you that when he comes back, it will be so sudden that no one can prepare for it. That’s why now is the day of salvation. Now is the day to prepare for Christ’s second coming. Now, Jesus is knocking on our door, allowing us to welcome him in. But when he returns, there will be no time to change your mind. Today, by God’s grace, we are allowed to make a judgment about Jesus Christ. But when Jesus comes back again, our time of judgment will be gone. Jesus is coming back, not to die on the cross for us but to separate the sheep from the goats. The only one making a judgment that day will be him.

In today’s text, Jesus describes the destruction of Jerusalem 40 years before it happened. He commanded his disciples to remember this prediction. He wanted them to know that everything he told them was reliable. If he predicted something, it was going to happen. Not only did Jesus know what would happen, but he also knew how people would respond to it. He knew there would be deceptive false prophets claiming he had already come. He warned his disciples not to fall for that deception. He also wanted his disciples to know that his coming will be visible, glorious, and personal when he comes. His coming is going to be unmistakable. But no one is going to know about it before it happens. Even today, almost 2000 years after Jesus’ prediction, we cannot guarantee people that Christ’s coming is going to be soon. But we can ensure that it is going to be sudden. And that is why our task is to call on people to respond to Jesus today and not to wait until our prophetic calendars are all filled up.

Jesus is coming again. The Old Testament predicted his first coming many times. All those prophecies were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming. The Bible also predicts Jesus’ second coming in many places. These prophecies have not yet been fulfilled. But Jesus wants us to remember that he is a reliable prophet. If he says something is going to happen, it will happen. If he warns us to get ready for something, we better get ready. In today’s passage, Jesus warns us to get prepared for something. That something is not rapture. That something is not a seven-year tribulation. That something is the second coming of our Lord. If we are going to get ready for something, let’s get ready for that.

FAITHFUL OR FEARFUL?

FAITHFUL OR FEARFUL?

Luke 19:11-27 NET.

¹¹ While the people were listening to these things, Jesus proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. ¹²Therefore he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ ¹⁴But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us!’ ¹⁵When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. ¹⁶So the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸Then the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹So the king said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰Then another slave came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. ²¹For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ ²²The king said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? ²³Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴And he said to his attendants, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’ ²⁵But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’ ²⁶‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me!'”

We have been studying the commands of Christ. But we have found that the commands of Christ that appear in the Gospels are often hidden within other kinds of statements. That is the situation we find ourselves in when looking at today’s text. It is primarily a parable. Jesus doesn’t give any commands within the parable. But there is one character in the parable who does give commands. When we study this parable of the Minas, we learn how to prepare ourselves for the coming Kingdom. We will find commands in this parable, but we must be careful not to make this parable say more than it says. Jesus gave parables to illustrate something that he was teaching. One danger in studying the parables is that we make the parables walk on all fours. In other words, we make them say more than they are meant to say. So, we must look very closely at the context in which we read this parable today to understand its meaning. If we do that, we will discover it has much to say today. As long as we let it say what it meant to say instead of what we think it meant.

The text picks up where we last left off in the story of Zacchaeus in Jericho. The Lord had welcomed Zacchaeus. All the people were surprised that he had done that. And then Jesus begins to teach about the coming Kingdom. But he is addressing a particular problem. Luke says that Jesus proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they thought the Kingdom of God would appear immediately. The people who believed that were the crowd following Jesus to Jerusalem. They thought they were following the king to his inauguration. We know now that Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to be crowned as king. He was going to Jerusalem to die on the cross for our salvation. Jesus accepted the title of king but told people that his Kingdom was not of this world. It was not of this age. His Kingdom is coming at another age. It’s coming at the end of the age. So Jesus had to teach the people in the crowd that there would be a long delay between his going to Jerusalem and his being crowned as king of God’s Kingdom. That is what this parable is for. This parable is designed to do two things. It is intended to show believers how to conduct themselves in this present stage of God’s Kingdom. It is also intended to make unbelievers fully aware of what will happen to them when Christ does come as king.

With that in mind, let’s dive into this parable of the ten Minas to see what Jesus is teaching and commanding us. I want us to take several of the characters of this parable and try to understand each one. To do that, I’m going to ask a question for each character.

Who is this nobleman?

Jesus identified the first character of this parable when he said a nobleman went to a distant country. Who is this nobleman? The crowd was very familiar with the idea of a nobleman going to a foreign country to gain a Kingdom. In the city of Jericho, a man named Archelaus had left his palace and proceeded to Rome to be anointed as king in place of his father, who had just died Herod the Great. It is quite possible that Jesus and Zacchaeus were within visual distance of Archelaus’s palace when Jesus said this parable. That means that Jesus’ audience would understand the idea of someone going to Rome to be anointed as king. They knew all about Archelaus. They knew about his steward Philippus. While he was away, Philippus had been left in charge of Archelaus’ fortune. So, several aspects of this parable would resonate with the crowd as they walked through Jericho.

But the crowd also knew that Archelaus was not the nobleman Jesus had in mind in his parable. This noble one was going to be crowned as king. And then he would return and bless the stewards that work for him in his absence. Jesus was talking about himself when he talked about this nobleman. He was going to go to the far country of heaven itself. There, God the Father would grant him the authority to be king over heaven and earth. And then, at some time in the future, our Lord, the king of heaven and earth, would return to earth and take his throne. But Jesus used this parable to warn us that there would be a long period in which he would be away and not yet present on earth.

When I talk about this long period, I usually talk about the Kingdom and its present stage and the Kingdom when it comes to fullness. Often, when Jesus talked about the Kingdom, he spoke of a time in the future when he was going to come as king. But he also said we can receive the Kingdom today. We can accept Jesus as our king today even though he is absent. Everyone had to choose what they would do with this nobleman in the parable. The slaves had to decide whether or not they were going to obey his commands. The citizens had to choose whether or not they were going to accept him as their king. So, the message for all of us today as to who this nobleman is is that it is Jesus. He is God’s coming king. Today’s message for this world is have you accepted God’s coming king? The message for believers today is, are we serving God’s coming king?

Who are these slaves?

The second character in this parable is a group of people identified as slaves. There are 10 of them. Each of these slaves is given a mina, a sum of money. They are given a Mina to invest while their master, the nobleman, is away. This parable is similar to another parable Jesus gave, the Parable of the Talents, But there are some significant differences. One of the major differences is that in the parable of the Minas, each servant is given the same amount. That is significant because the exact amount is given to every believer. But the same amount of what? We are not given the same amount of gifts. We are not given the same amount of natural talent. We are not blessed with the same amount of natural resources. Some of us are poor, and some are rich, like Zacchaeus. What is this commodity that we have that all of us have in common?

There are actually many things that could answer the question: What is the meaning of the mina? One thing it could stand for is time. You and I are given the same amount of time. We don’t all live the same amount of time, but we all have the same amount each day. The Lord has invested with us a 24-hour day, our seven-day week, and a 365-day year.

Another thing that the Mina may stand for is salvation by grace. Each of us who are servants of our Lord has been blessed with salvation by his grace through his death on the cross. None of us has earned this grace. There’s nothing we could do to gain it. It is a gift of God and not of our works so that we have no basis to boast.

Another thing that the Mina may stand for is opportunity. We don’t all have the same gifts, but we have the same opportunity to serve the Lord as everyone else. This is a very satisfying truth. One of us has been given one thing that we don’t deserve. We have been given a chance to show how faithful we are to the one we call our master. The question in the title of today’s sermon is faithful or fearful. Will we live lives that are faithful to Christ, or will we let our fears keep us from serving him?

In the parable, two servants are identified as having been obedient to the Lord — obedient to their Lord and are rewarded accordingly. But one servant is humbled by his Lord because he refused to invest his Lord’s money, disgracing him. This parable is Jesus’ way of teaching us to stay diligent and serve him during this time before he returns. The parable is not designed to teach us that we will be rewarded differently when he returns. The point of the parable is that we should stay faithful. The Lord has allowed us to serve him. We must take advantage of that opportunity.

Who are these citizens?

But let’s go now to the parable’s question of who these citizens are. They are called citizens of the Kingdom in verse 14. It says that his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying we do not want this man to be king over us. They were citizens but they were not acting like citizens. That’s why the Lord changes his name for them in the parable. In verse 27, the Lord calls them his enemies. He says As for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me.

Several commentators say that these enemies are the nation of Israel. It is true that the Israelites as a nation rejected their Messiah and crucified him at Calvary. But Jesus is coming back not just as the king of the Jews but as the king of all the kingdoms of the earth. The citizens who are the king’s enemies are all those who refuse to acknowledge his Kingdom. That includes everyone who fails to accept Jesus. When we talk about accepting Jesus, we have to remember that there is no second choice. Only Jesus is going to reign as king over the universe. If we refuse to accept Jesus as our king, we are asking God to destroy us. There’s no other option. There’s no other Kingdom for us to be part of. There’s no neutral territory in God’s eternal Kingdom. Only those who have pledged loyalty to Christ will live forever with him on the new earth. That is why, in this parable, the enemies are slaughtered when the king returns. Jesus tells us that in hell, his enemies will be destroyed body and soul. The apostle Paul calls it permanent destruction. That is the fate of everyone who chooses some other king other than Jesus.

What is Jesus’ command?

Finally, I want to ask what Jesus’ command is here. The nobleman’s command to his slaves was this: ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ Jesus is telling us the same thing. He reminds us that each of us has been given a limited amount of time to show our loyalty to him during this stage of his kingdom. He has blessed us all with the same undeserved gift: salvation by grace. His question for us now is what we are doing with that precious gift. Are we investing it in the lives of others to help bring them into the kingdom? Or are we hiding it away? Each of us has an opportunity to show our appreciation for God’s love by loving others. Are we taking that opportunity?

For further study:

Blanchard, John, and John Blanchard. Luke Comes Alive! Welwyn: Evangelical, 1986. p. 126.

Bliss, George R. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1884. pp. 279-282.

Bonaventure. Saint Bonaventure As a Biblical Commentator: A Translation and Analysis of His Commentary on Luke Xviii 34-Xix 42. University Press of America 1985. pp. 111-126.

Bond, John, Brooke Foss Westcott, and Fenton John Anthony Hort. The Gospel according to St. Luke: being the Greek text. London: Macmillan and Co, 1890. pp. 140-141.

Byrne Brendan. The Hospitality of God: A Reading of Luke’s Gospel. Liturgical Press 2000. pp. 152-153.

Caird, G B. Saint Luke. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978. pp. 208-211.

Campbell, Colin, James Donaldson, and James Donaldson. Critical Studies in St Luke’s Gospel Its Demonology and Ebionitism by Colin Campbell, B.d. Minister of the Parish of Dundee; Formerly Scholar and Fellow of Glasgow University; Author of ‘the First Three Gospels in Greek, Arranged in Parallel Columns, Etc.’. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1891. pp. 213-217.

Clark, George W. Notes on the Gospel of Luke, Explanatory and Practical: A Popular Commentary Upon a Critical Basis, Especially Designed for Pastors and Sunday Schools. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1876. pp. 415-418.

Collins Donald E. The Reign of God Is in Your Midst: Praying the Gospel of Luke. Upper Room Books 1993. p. 178.

Craddock, Fred B. Luke., 2009. pp. 215-223.

COME DOWN QUICKLY

COME DOWN QUICKLY

Luke 19:1-10 NET.

¹ Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. ² Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. ⁷ And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” ⁹ Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham! ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

We have been studying the commands of Christ. We are looking for clues as to what Jesus wants. Unfortunately, we do not have a written list of commands from Jesus that applies to us. Instead, we have to figure out what Jesus wants us to do based on his interactions with others and his commands to others. Today’s story might be a little tricky. It tells about Jesus’s interaction with Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was up a tree, literally. Jesus tells him to come down from that tree. He plans to stay at Zacchaeus’s house. Zacchaeus responds by obeying Jesus’ command. He also seems to have had a conversion experience. The problem with a story like this is that most of us do not climb Sycamore trees. We are not put in a position like Zacchaeus was. Jesus is not walking through our town on his way to Jerusalem. And even if Jesus was coming in our direction, we are not like Zacchaeus, seeking to get a glimpse of him. We are his followers, so we are more like those in the crowd. But I think there is a message in today’s text for us. We can understand what Jesus wants us to do if we follow three steps.

The first step is to examine Zacchaeus and compare him to another man we encountered recently in the Gospel of Luke.

Compare Zacchaeus with the rich ruler of Luke 18.

They were both rich. When Jesus saw this rich young man coming, he loved him. But when this young man wanted to join Jesus’ disciples, Jesus required that he give up all his wealth. The rich man was not willing to do that. He went away sad because he had a lot of money. He wanted to be a believer and a follower of Jesus, but he did not want to sacrifice his wealth to do so. Jesus was not willing to accommodate his wishes. He told his followers a rich man couldn’t enter the Kingdom. It was like a camel going through the eye of a needle.

And so, this man, Zacchaeus, appears on the scene. He is also a rich man. Will Jesus say the same thing to him? Will Jesus turn him away? We know already from the text that Jesus does not. That is a comfort. Knowing that you can be rich and still be accepted by Jesus is a comfort. But what was the difference in Zacchaeus? How did Jesus know that Zacchaeus was fit for the Kingdom? Why did Jesus accept Zacchaeus and reject the rich young man? We will leave that question for a moment.

They were both famous. Both Zacchaeus and the rich young man were famous among their population. People knew their names, and they knew what they did. They were not renowned for the same reason. They were famous for the opposite reasons. The rich young man was famous for being a righteous person. Zacchaeus was not. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was the chief tax collector. Zacchaeus was a significant person in a city like Jericho, famous for its role in trade and commerce. But he was also a very despised person. He got rich by preying on the people. He cheated people for a living. He was the kind of famous person you didn’t want to have at your house.

They both sought Jesus. The rich young man sought Jesus to have a guaranteed eternal life. We are not sure why Zacchaeus sought Jesus. Perhaps he was looking for something that he had never found anywhere else. But no one else knew about what Zacchaeus wanted. Everyone thought Zacchaeus was a scoundrel, and they didn’t think Jesus would have anything to do with him. They were a little upset when Jesus decided to join Zacchaeus at his home.

They both had a decision to make. The rich young man had a decision to make. He had to decide whether joining the Kingdom of God was worth giving up all of his wealth. He had to determine if he wanted to change his life to get eternal life. He went away sad because he would not make that decision. He decided that the destiny of eternal life was not worth a current life of poverty. But look at the decisions Zacchaeus made. He had a very similar decision to make. He knew that coming to Christ would mean changing the way he lived. He knew that self and money would have to come off the throne. He knew that to follow Jesus, he had to change how he lived. But he decided to do that. This is what we call repentance.

Now, after we have examined these two men and their decisions, we can discuss the crowds. Remember I said we were more like the people in the crowd that day?

Consider the crowds that day.

They all hated Zacchaeus. Their pockets were a little less full because of Him. They despised the man. If Zacchaeus had tried to reach Jesus through the crowd, they would have tried to stomp him and rough him up a bit. He was not popular with anyone. The only ones who would have tried to look like his friends were the people who worked for him.

The people in the crowd were obstacles to Zacchaeus’ salvation. They were not just obstacles to him physically getting to Jesus. By their actions, Zacchaeus was prevented from contacting Jesus. They wanted to follow Jesus to Jerusalem but did not intend to invite Zacchaeus.

They were critical of Jesus’ choice to favor him. The text says that they all complained that he had gone in to be a guest of a man who was a Sinner. They thought that Jesus had made a wrong choice. But what Zacchaeus did showed that Jesus did not make a wrong choice. Zacchaeus made a vow to give half his possessions to people experiencing poverty. He also vowed to repay all the money he wrongfully took from people. He was showing true repentance. But the crowd did not like Zacchaeus. They did not consider him worthy of Jesus. They could not understand how Jesus could accept Zacchaeus.

They were ignorant of his potential for change. They had made a value judgment based on their prejudice. When they saw someone like Zacchaeus, they wrote them off as unredeemable.

Now, here is the point where you and I have to confront a problem we might have. We have to consider whether or not we are like that crowd. To help us consider this, it would be nice for us to ask a few questions about ourselves.

Ask yourself these questions.

If Jesus is seeking the lost, am I? Most of us would quickly say yes, we are seeking the lost. But I wonder if when we really get down to looking at it, we only look for the lost people we want to be saved. Are we like that crowd who immediately dismissed Zacchaeus as a candidate for salvation? Are we seeking the lost but only the lost that we want to come to Christ? Or are we willing to let the Holy Spirit decide who comes to Jesus?

Am I willing to befriend people to share Christ with them? You might notice that in today’s text, Zacchaeus came to Christ because Christ first came to him as his friend. All Jesus said was for Zacchaeus to come down and that he would eat at his house that day. Jesus did not yell up that tree for Zacchaeus to repent for being a Sinner. Jesus did not recite the four spiritual laws to Zacchaeus. Jesus did not quote any Bible text to Zacchaeus. He invited Zacchaeus into his life. I wonder if we would have more people accept Christ through our witness if we first tried to befriend them. Most people I know do not want to talk theology to someone they don’t know. But they don’t mind talking theology with their friends. I imagine the same is true about going to church. They are likelier to attend church with a friend than to appear at a stranger’s invitation.

The essence of friendship evangelism is making friends to reach those friends for Christ. The advantage of friendship evangelism is that people do not want to lose their friends. They are more likely to respond favorably to an invitation from their friends than someone they don’t otherwise know.

Who do I consider unreachable? Probably everyone in the crowd that day thought that Zacchaeus was unreachable for Christ. None of them offered to put Zacchaeus on his shoulder so that he could see Jesus or to bring Zacchaeus to Jesus. He was a hated tax collector, a tool of the Roman oppressors. Most people did not even want to think about Zacchaeus, and they certainly didn’t think about him in the context of religion.

Friends, there are many people like that in today’s world. They are people we might know but not want to be around. They are undesirable. We tolerate them because we have to, but there are people we do not want to get closer to. They are like Zacchaeus. Guess what? These people need Jesus.

Someone told me a story recently about something that happened to them. They were on a road one day, and a long line of cars had pulled to the side of the road. Another car came by. A very popular and famous man drove a costly vehicle. He went by some of the cars, and they all waved at him. He waved back. He drove by more cars, and they all waved at him. He waved back. When it reached the end of the road, everyone heard a tremendous splash. He had driven his car into a large wave of water. He had to exit the vehicle and swim to safety. When he got to safety, he asked the people why they had not tried to stop him. But they all said they did try to stop him — that’s what they were waving for.

I thought about that story in conjunction with today’s text. I wonder if we are like that crowd. I wonder if many people go by us daily, and the signal they get from us is that everything is fine. When, in fact, we know everything is not fine with so many people’s lives. Lots of people need Jesus. They need someone to flag them down and keep them from going into a disaster. But mostly, they don’t hear that from us. It seems as if we are letting everyone drive by. The crowd in Jericho that day was content to allow Zacchaeus to be left behind. They did not consider him to be redeemable. But the message we get from today’s text is that Jesus loves people like Zacchaeus. He came to seek and save the lost; we should be about that business, too. We should make it our business to look for people like Zacchaeus who are up a tree. We need to look for signs that people are looking for salvation. We need to go out of our way to befriend those people. If we dare to do that, we will find that our evangelism will improve.

For further study:

Abbott, Lyman. The Gospel According to Luke. New York: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1878. pp. 118-120.

Adeney, Walter F. St. Luke: Introduction. New York: H. Frowde, 1906. pp. 332-334.

Allen, Ronald J. Preaching Luke-Acts. St. Louis, Mo: Chalice Press, 2000. p. 130.

Ardizzone, Edward, and J B. Phillips. St. Luke’s Life of Christ. London: Collins, 1956. pp. 80-81.

Balmforth, Henry. The Gospel According to Saint Luke: In the Revised Version, with Introduction and Commentary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1930. pp. 256-257.

Barclay, William. The Gospel of Luke. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1997. pp. 276-279.

Barrell E. V and K. G Barrell. St. Luke’s Gospel: An Introductory Study. J. Murray 1982. pp. 137-138.

Baugher, H L. Annotations on the Gospel According to St. Luke. New York: Christian Literature Co, 1896. pp. 346-351.

Beck Brian E. Christian Character in the Gospel of Luke. Epworth Press 1989. p. 180.

Blaiklock, E M. Luke. London: Scripture Union, 1978. pp. 70-71.

LET ME SEE AGAIN

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20240317 Let Me See Again

Mark 10:46-52 NET.

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many scolded him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.” ⁵⁰He threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus. ⁵¹Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, let me see again.” ⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the road.

We have been studying the commands of Christ as they were given initially – in the context of the life of Jesus and his disciples. The commands were not given as bullet points. They were not listed like the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone for us to memorize and seek to understand how they apply to our everyday lives. No, the commands of Christ come to us as part of historical narratives. They come encased in stories that give us the context in which the commands were originally given. Those stories help us understand how we should obey Jesus.

In today’s story, the only command we hear from Jesus is not given to us. It was given to a blind beggar named Bartimaeus. Jesus tells him to go – that his faith has healed him. Interestingly, the first thing Bartimaeus did after he regained his sight was disobey Jesus. Jesus told him to go, but he continued following him on the road. We can understand this disobedience, though. After all, the first thing this blind man saw was Jesus. He didn’t want to take his eyes off Jesus. Who could blame him for that?

Today, I want us to look at this blind man who showed up on the side of the road in Jericho. Then, I want us to look at him again. Then, I want us to look at him a third time. The Holy Spirit has much to teach us by this man’s example.

Bartimaeus, the nobody (46).

A blind beggar was sitting by the road. It was not an uncommon sight. He had heard that Jesus was heading to Jerusalem, so he stationed himself at a point along the journey where he hoped he would be noticed. He was used to not being noticed. He was a nobody. People saw him every day and filtered him out. Every generation has nobodies like that that you notice by the visual signals. Unkempt, hand out, hat on the ground with a few coins in it. A cardboard sign saying anything will help.

Most of us drive by these nobodies today. We hope we don’t get caught by a red light, so we must suffer the indignity of being stared at until the light turns green. Our windows remain up. We look straight ahead. We breathe a sigh of relief when we get to move on.

It was somewhat like that on that day as Jesus and the crowd following him left Jericho. Most people had been familiar with running the gauntlet as they left the city. Stationed along the road would be a line of nobodies — like servants getting ready to receive an important dignitary. Each of them would hope to be noticed by a famous person. All the nobodies were hoping for a coin or two from the crowd.

Yet this nobody did not have his hand out. He did not have a hat on the ground. He could not see the crowd, so he had to judge its location by the sounds it was making. Bartimaeus had only one way to be noticed. He had a voice, and he was determined to use it. He had heard that the famous person was none other than Jesus from Nazareth. So, as soon as he heard the approaching crowd, he let loose with, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“Shh…” they said. He responded, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Be quiet”, they said. He responded, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Silence,” they said. He responded, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” “Shut up”, they said. He responded, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This nobody had become a somebody by becoming a noisy nuisance. This commoner had become a royal pain. He was the one who was blind but everyone else had been blind to his existence. But he had cured their blindness with the annoying sound of his voice.

He had also accomplished his intended purpose by getting the attention of the one man in the crowd who was not blind to his existence. Jesus stopped, and the crowd – like cars at a red light – took turns stopping behind him. Jesus had a purpose for this event. He was now going to heal this man. But healing was only the sign. It showed who Jesus is. He verified Bartimaeus’ assertion that he was the coming Messiah. His healing also showed his character – that he had compassion for the hurt, the sick, and the oppressed.

But this miraculous event contained more lessons than those. The man Bartimaeus himself provided some lessons to the crowd, to the disciples, and us today.

Bartimaeus, the lesson in equality (49).

By choosing to heal this nobody, Jesus provided a visual aid to the previous lesson he had taught his disciples. Last week, we got a glimpse into the hearts and minds of James and John as they requested top billing alongside Jesus in the coming kingdom. Jesus had told them that leadership in the kingdom has nothing to do with who is higher on the totem pole. Citizenship in the kingdom is not broken up into upper, middle, and lower classes. The parable Jesus had taught about the vineyard workers stressed that all the workers in the kingdom would get paid the same wage. The payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). We are all citizens in the kingdom – a kingdom in which there “is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female — for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Knowing that we are equal in Christ should lead to a reorientation of how we think about other Christians. The Apostle James (in his epistle) warns believers not to show prejudice against others based on how their income. He warns us not to make distinctions, preferring the wealthy, prominent people instead of the poor, lowly ones. He says that favoring one group over another violates the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Bartimaeus is the visual aid for that principle. He had nothing to offer except his needs. Yet Jesus stopped the train for him. The lesson for all of us is the lesson we read about in the Michael Connelly novels: everybody counts, or nobody counts.

But as I said last week, the church has a terrible track record regarding obeying this command. Instead of showing love for one another, we have made the kingdom about submitting to the people higher on the totem pole. The only thing the church seems to want to teach about submission is that wives should submit to their husbands according to Ephesians 5:22. But we ignore the previous verse, which tells all of us – husbands included – to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21). If only the wives are submitting to their husbands, that’s a hierarchy – something that Jesus taught against. But if we all submit to and serve each of us, that is the kingdom of God. If only wives submit to their husbands, that is not equality. That’s the way of the Gentiles. But if each member submits to one another, that’s the body of Christ.

It is so easy to ignore the Bartimaeuses. It is easy to brand this group as lesser-than and put them at the bottom of the list. Knowing your place and deferring to the strong is comfortable. On that day as they left Jericho, nobody wanted to stop for the nobody. But Jesus did. He listened to the man that everybody else wanted to silence. He stopped for the man whom everybody else wanted to pass by. The lesson for all of us today is that everybody is Bartimaeus. Everybody counts, or nobody counts.

When we pray together as a congregation, do you sometimes want to pray something, but you stop yourself? Maybe you do not think that you are eloquent enough. Perhaps you think you should let the leaders pray, or let the elders pray, or let the men pray. When the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, do not be intimidated. God wants you to pray. He has opened the doors of heaven and bids you to approach his throne. He has a miracle he wants to perform, and he wants you to initiate that miracle with your prayer. Yes, you. Little, meaningless, nobody you. It is through prayers like yours that the heroes of the faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead raised to life! Every Christian has the power of God within. We share His Holy Spirit equally. That is an important lesson we learn from this used-to-be nobody, Bartimaeus.

Bartimaeus, the lesson in evangelism (52).

The final lesson we learn from Bartimaeus is explained by the fact that Mark lists his name. Usually, names are given so that the readers can make a connection between the story and people they may currently know or know about. It appears that Bartimaeus not only chose to follow Jesus into Jerusalem, but he also followed him as a church member. His name would be recognized as an early Christian. Like Zaccheus, his encounter with Jesus transformed his life. He not only gained his physical sight, but he gained salvation as well.

So, the lesson for you and me from that fact is that we should not discount anyone as a possible convert. Jesus implied the same thing in his parable of the banquet when the household master told his slaves to go out into the streets and alleys and bring in the poor, the disabled, the blind, and the lame. When they did that, and there was still room, he instructed them to go to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in.

To follow Jesus’ implied instructions here – as having to do with evangelism – we need to reorder our lives. Most of us have a set pattern of living that involves regular interaction with only a few friends and relatives. We are not going to fill the banquet hall living like that. The people we need to invite are not in our social networks. They are not comfortably sitting in here. They are out there. They are like Bartimaeus. We need to bring Jesus to them and to do that, we will need to go where they are.

Whole people groups are ready to give their lives to Jesus. They are just waiting for some missionaries to go where they are and share Christ with them. Whole sections of our town are ready to give their lives to Jesus, but they are not going to casually decide to show up for one of our church services. We have to bring Jesus to them.

LORD, give us the insight to notice the nobodies, the compassion to treat them fairly, and the drive to bring Christ into their lives. He has a miracle he wants to do in their lives. Please give us the wisdom not to stand in the way.

For further study:

Ortlund Dane C et al. Mark: A 12-Week Study. Crossway 2013. p. 56.

Perry Edmund. Confessing the Gospel Mark Preached. National Methodist Student Movement 1957. p. 108.

Plummer, Alfred. The Gospel According to St. Mark. Cambridge: University Press, 1920. pp. 131-132.

Rawlinson A. E. J. St. Mark. 6th ed. Methuen 1925. pp. 148-149.

Riley Harold. The Making of Mark: An Exploration. Peeters; Mercer 1989. pp. 126-129.

Robertson, A. T. Studies in Mark’s Gospel. New York: Macmillan, 1919. p. 125.

Vann Jefferson. The Coming King: a new translation and commentary of Matthew’s Gospel. Piney Grove Publications 2023. pp. 203-204.